Staying at Tim's house in New York is almost like living in YOUR OWN everyday house. He'll make you feel it that way.

His house is tidy, clean, comfortable, and big. It's not usual to find all those facilities within ONE same place...

And Tim deserves a special paragraph all for himself: he is really very nice, and without exaggerating he is a great host: he will help you whenever you need his help.

Regarding the neighbor, I would definitely choose again Astoria as the place where to stay if I plan another trip to NYC. Astoria is cheaper, cleaner, safer ( We came back at 2 am in the morning every night and we never had not even one strange situation on the streets!) and it's not as overcrowded as NYC. You get to Manhattan in just 15 minutes with the subway and what's more, living in Astoria gives you a more real idea of how a "real" United States's neighbor looks like.

I definitely encourage you to rent Tim's place of your are looking forward to visit NY.