We had a great one week stay at Oscar's cellar apartment.
The neighbourhood was really nice, quiet and safe. It has lots of family housing, a school and some shops, as well as a laundromat nearby. We also really enjoyed the closeness to the Astoria Park.
It's about an 8 min walk to the N/W metro and there are trains about every 7 minutes so we never had to plan before leaving the house. The metro takes about 25 minutes to get you to Times square from the nearby metro station. (using the metro is encouraged)
There is also the pretty railroad bridge nearby, but you don't hear train noise in the apartment at all.
Oscar and his son in law Néstor were great hosts and available in case of any issues.