Although Evan Carl is very polite over text, I cannot say I would recommend his "home," a place he clearly does not live in himself. The apartment is sectioned off into 4 rooms around a shared kitchen. This means that up to 8 people could occupy the space at the same time. Although there are two small bathrooms, it was quite crowded in the morning when everyone was preparing for their day at the same time.
Our room was as pictured. There was no closet and no full length mirror anywhere in the space. It was also dusty and a pair of dirty socks from the previous guest were left on the windowsill. The light untidiness of the room would have been a minor infraction had Evan Carl not denied our request to drop off our luggage an hour before check in the day we arrived. He insisted that he needed to have the room cleaned and sanitized first and was firm about an on-time 4 PM check in. So, finding the place only minimally cleaned was a bit of an irritation.
Moreover, the common areas were not cleaned the entire time we were there. A single shared washcloth (that was meant to function as a hand towel) stayed by one of the sinks with someone else's makeup stains in it for the 3 days we were there. The bath mats were dirty, wet and crumpled. The floors were sticky, unswept and unwashed. I showered with my sandals on.
The worst part, though, is that the apartment is on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator. Evan Carl did not reveal this key detail in his description of the place, and I think this omission is egregiously dishonest of him.
Basically this place was a slummy hostel without a physical person at front desk to provide fresh towels, daily bathroom cleaning or anything you may need for a stay longer than one night.
The only person this place might be perfect for is for someone staying one night who needs to be close to Columbia University. It's true that the apartment is right off the 1 train, but the 1 train is a local train and it is a bit of a commute to travel to lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additionally, the immediate neighborhood doesn't offer much in terms of restaurants, coffee shops and bars. In fact, Evan Carl's restaurant recommendations were limited to an Ihop and fried chicken place (more evidence, in my mind, that he doesn't actually live in this apartment and maybe not even in the area).