Short story: Guillermo is friendly and welcoming. He met us at the door and provided for all our needs.
The apartment's exterior belies the gorgeous, simple, clean, modernist - but still warm and welcoming, interior. The contrast heightens the experience of staying here. I loved it.

Long story: The neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying. This is a fraught subject for many, but the contrasts are too stark not be fascinating - abandoned lots and homes not maintained in 50 years adjacent to brand new architect-designed web startup buildings, with bicycle (fixed gear, of course) shops and cafes in the middle ground - rehabbing dingy spaces but keeping the rougher edges in place. No artisanal pickle or mayonnaise shops yet - I suppose that's just a matter of time.
The street has rundown houses, metal working shops, and auto repair places mixed in obviously newly fixed up homes, tons of high-end new construction, and young people in skinny jeans. There are public housing projects right across Bushwick avenue and the lower income minority people whose families have lived in Bushwick since the 1960s are still here, in their neighborhood. For how long? Who knows. For an amateur student of class relations, urban studies, and a host of other fields, this neighborhood is fascinating.
Again, the actual apartment is a gem - no need to pretend to be an anthropologist or economist to appreciate it.