We spent 2 months in the lovely Bondtastic apartment while spending time with my sister and my new niece. I had never heard of Gowanus but we loved the area - Smith street and Court street are great and we walked over to Red Hook a few times too! The apartment is very spacious especially by NY standards! We enjoyed sitting out and eating out on the roomy balcony in September. We cooked a lot and the compact kitchen had everything we needed. Clarina herself is a delight! I would certainly recommend Bondtastic as a lovely base in NYC.