We stayed at Brenda's during May 2013; two married adults/ chaperones and 7 senior high school students from Northern Michigan on their senior class trip. Brenda's turned out to be PERFECT for us. We could trust the kids to walk around the neighborhood at night and not need to worry--it was great.

Although we never met Brenda, her son Brandon got us set-up immediately upon our arrival. He showed us the apartments and left us with good neighborhood and subway information and answered all of our questions. The place was clean and spacious with air conditioners installed in each room. Everything worked perfectly--we had no complaints at all--and compared with many other NYC rentals, it was a great deal! Within a block's walking distance (2-5 minute walk), there was a bagel/coffee shop/bakery, which was perfect for morning, as well as a convenience market and pizza place, which were perfect for late night, and tons of restaurants and other shops. The walk to the subway wasn't bad at all; maybe a 7-10 minute walk.

I highly recommend this rental for anyone who wants the true experience of living in NYC. We had a commute to get to "the city," Manhattan, just like the average New Yorker, because the rental is in a beautiful, traditional Brownstone home in a great Brooklyn neighborhood. When ever we were ready to head back to Brooklyn from the city for the night, we would just sit-back and enjoy the subway ride, which was about 30-40 minutes and then once we arrived, we were so happy for the serenity of being in a quieter, dimmer part of town instead of all the crazy lights and noise of the typical tourist destinations in Manhattan, where so many tourists also choose to stay. Unfortunately, I don't think many NYC visitors get the full NYC experience because they stay so close to Times Square or the other major hubs. We much preferred the quiet independence our Brooklyn neighborhood granted us in the evening/ nighttime and are happy people like Brenda and her family are renting such great places out of the main way of all the traffic and noise! We would definitely stay there again!