That's way too much to spend for a hostel in Brooklyn during a slow (other than New Year's Eve) travel period. You will be able to do much better than that with Priceline but it's too early to bid. I administer a forum on Priceline travel bidding at BiddingForTravel.com. I can give you a bidding strategy if you post all of the information requested in the Hotels forum in the Frequently Asked Questions section near the top of BiddingForTravel.com's homepage on the New York City forum when you are immediately ready to bid as long as you are patient. In the meantime, book a cancellable backup that you can afford.