Last Easter week we stayed in a studio in the West Village, found at - http://newyork.craigslist.org/vac/

This summer we have a brownstone in Park Slope, found at - http://cyberrentals.com/NY/NYC.html

This site, recommended also, is a little pricier than cyberrentals - http://nyhabitat.com/ - there are agents who actively work for you to get what you want.

As I said, we are staying in Brooklyn this 4th of July week, but we considered the LES. Personal preference, but I will usually take gritty over sterile.

I'm sure the UES is a very nice area to stay, but we insist on being no more than 3 blocks from the subway, and the apartments we looked at were somewhat isolated.

And Midtown, IMHO, is strictly for first-time visitors. A nice place to visit, I guess, but I wouldn't want to stay there. IMHO.

We probably are somewhat obvious out-of-towners to natives, but still get asked for directions all the time by even MORE obvious tourist types.