My wife and I stayed at Mel's place for 5 nights towards the end of July when NY was in a serious heatwave. As, the apartment is based in a quiet tree-lined residential street, this wasn't a problem. The neighbourhood is really nice and pleasant, and unexpectedly to us for NYC we could hear the sparrows chirping, and breath fresh air in the mornings. Good air-conditioning worked a treat and a decent bathroom with a good shower which is always important!
When we first made the booking, Mel messaged me to mention that the place is quite far from the main tourist attractions of Manhattan, which I thought was very decent of him, but I explained that we had friends in the area and we actually wanted to be a bit further out of the city. There is plenty of nice bars and cafes in the area, including Milk & Honey and Sunset Bagels for breakfasts, Kirk Tacos for good authentic Mexican food, and the Sycamore Bar and Flower shop for drinks, plus much more.
Prospect Park is about 20 minute walk from the apartment and Newkirk Plaza subway station is about 5 minutes walk where you can get a train to Manhattan in about 20-30 minutes depending on the time of day and route that you take.
On arrival in NY the airline had lost my bag which took a few days to arrive. Mel offered to help in any way possible, and was always on hand and responsive to any queries we had.