This is the second time we have stayed with Carlos and it will certainly not be the last.
He is a great host and was very helpfull, giving us various Restaurant and Bar suggestions. We tried some of them and the were really good: Kitchenette (for Breakfast/Brunch) and Dinosaur (BBQ southern style cuisine).
I was on a visit to NY as I had a concert with a local band in the Lower East side of the city, I invited Carlos to the gig after a long conversation about music and the current scene in NY.
To my surprise, he turned up to the show!
This just shows how nice and cool Carlos is.
With regards to the appartment, it is immaculate. The room is spacious enough for 2 people, with a big double chest of drawers, a wardrobe and with plenty of space in the room and under the bed to store your luggage during the stay so it is not in the way.
TV, wifi and plenty of light on tap if needed.
The appartment is only a 3 minute walk to the Subway station, it is 125th street but there is a very convenient entrance on 127th that you will get to know.
The "A" train is an express one that takes around 10 minutes to get to central NY (59th, 42nd, 34th streets) and it is a time saver compared to the Local trains. But note that from 125th street it does not stop until 59th, so if you have plans on the West Side of Central Park, just grab a local train.
I have read some reviews stating that the neighbourhood seemed dangerous and unsafe.
My thoughts are that if you have not lived in a cosmopolitan city and/or you are not used to sharing your space with other racial profiles you may be uncorfortable in New York itself.
On the other side, I live in London (UK) and I was completely fine, love NY!.
We meet lovely people on our street, next to the park were a lot of children play basketball (St. Nicholas Terrace); the guys at the Deli were friendly; I had to go to the laundrette on Carlos's street and the lady was super sweet and very helpfull too.
All in all, a great experience and I would not hesitate to stay again and/or suggest to my friends Carlos' appartment.
Great host, lovely flat and extremely well connected transport wise.