We stayed for five nights in Jane’s wonderful apartment in the East Village. We were visiting our daughter, who lives in Queens near the L subway line, so this was perfect, since the L station is right at the corner across from the apartment. The neighborhood is lively, with lots of restaurants, a Target on the corner of 14th street, and a Trader Joe's right past the L stop. However, the apartment is very quiet because it is in the rear of the building; you reach it by going through a courtyard.
The apartment is neat and spotlessly clean; we thought the best part was the private courtyard (not the same one you cross to get to the rear building), with its festive little lights on an automatic timer, its comfortable two armchairs and loveseat under a huge market umbrella, and its greenery. We spent most of the evenings out there, sitting around with glasses of white wine. The living room was truly tiny, but three could fit in it if everyone was ok with sitting close together. We didn’t cook, but the kitchenette was certainly adequate for our needs (breakfast, mostly). There is no place we found to put pantry-type items like boxes of cereal. And the silverware drawer is up so high that only tall people (like my husband) can see what is inside. The bathroom was fine, if small, and the shower was great.
The apartment would work best for one person, although it can be made to work for two, as we did. The sofa sort of converts to a day bed, although it is not flat (one end folds down). The twin-size bed in the bedroom was very comfortable. It’s a good thing that our largish suitcases fitted under the bed, because there was nowhere else in the apartment to put them and it would have been hard to walk around them if they had been left out. There is a closet with TONS of hangers (thank you, Jane), also a desk and a very comfortable rolling desk chair, all in a pretty small room.
We’re not sure how we would feel about this apartment in the winter, when you can’t spend time in the courtyard. But for the summer and shoulder seasons, it’s absolutely great!