Firstly, I want to to mention that people should stop rating hostels as if they are hotels. There will always be some kinks in a hostel, so if you are a high-maintenance person, they are not for you.

That being said, this was my first time staying in a hostel and so I was still a bit worried. However, our experience was overall a great one and I'd definitely consider staying there again if visiting New York City.

STAFF
The owner of the hostel seemed to be there often. We did not really need his assistance for anything; however, when I had emailed the hostel after booking with a few questions, they emailed back very soon and answered all my questions. This was not only helpful but made me feel better about my choice to stay here. My only complaint would be that when we arrived for check-in at 1:00pm, our beds were not ready yet. We waited till about 2:30pm as we were hoping to have a quick power nap due to a long, sleepless bus ride, but no housekeeper came. We then left for Manhattan and when we returned a few hours later, our beds were ready.

CLEANLINESS
As this was my first stay, I had heard horror stories about cleanliness in hostels. However, Lafayette's beds and linen were both clean and surprisingly comfy! The bathrooms showed the wear of being used by so many people so often and I wouldn't consider them "clean" but they were not too bad either.

LOCATION
This hostel is in Brooklyn which is the reason for its incredible price. The neighborhood is definitely not the best one (The KFC a few steps away is proof of this), but I didn't actually feel unsafe in it. Also, the Bedford-Nostrand subway stop is SO close to the hostel, that it would be difficult to feel unsafe for the very short walk over. The one minor issue is that it takes at least 2, and usually 3 trains to get to your destination in Manhattan. This could take 30 min to an hour depending on the time of day. That being said, for the price, I was not too concerned with this.

MISC. NOTES
There are plenty of lockers that you must bring your own padlock for (I believe the hostel has a few they lend out but are usually out of them). The lockers fit my big 15.4" laptop and had room for plenty more. The hostel also offers free WiFi which worked well all but one morning. There's also a free desktop internet station and phone which calls any number in the USA (As a Canadian tourist, this was still useful to me with a simple calling card). There's a common room with a TV with cable and a small kitchen area as well. Many of these things were unexpected and so were nice to have. Like some people have mentioned in other reviews of this place, it's not the most "fun" for some reason. We didn't talk to any other visitors and so it didn't seem like the place to go to make friends. That being said, everyone was very quiet and so we didn't have to worry about late-night partying or getting to sleep which was nice.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this hostel. For the price (I think it was the cheapest one in the New York City area I found), it definitely exceeded all expectations!

I have just stayed at this hostel. I chose it because of the unbeatable price as i shopped around for hostels, and this one was the cheapest.
I thought it was a bit out of the way but it was nice to come back to a quiet place at night.
For the price it was very good value, the person in charge is very nice and helpful.

I arrived in New York after an 8 hour flight from Los Angeles. It was pretty easy getting from JFK to the hostel - I opted to take a taxi from the airport as I was knackered and it was about 9pm - I didn't really fancy getting lost on the subway late at night!!! I would definately recommend taking a taxi - it did cost me $40 (I was meeting my friend at the hostel so I had to pay for this by myself) - but for a half an hour ride I didn't think this was too bad. I went on the subway back to the airport a couple of days later, and although it was cheaper (I think it cost about $6), it literally took like 2 1/2 hours, and unless you know the subway lines quite well, you will most likely get lost.
When I arrived at the hostel, I was greeted by a young man who told me that I was placed in the room on the top floor. He showed me the 'living room' and kitchen area, and the 2 shower/toilets. As I was going up the stairs, there was dried blood on the hand rail... yuk.. (this was still there when I left 4 days later)!!! The room consisted of 4 bunk beds. I was on the one closest to the door - my head right by the light switch! The beds were clean and comfortable, although the room was a bit on the cramped side. There was a doorway just off our room which concealed one of the private rooms - I didn't really see inside unless one of the other guests opened the door, but from what I could see, it did look pretty small.
The showers were an absolute nightmare in the morning. Wanting to get the most out of our trip, we would be up quite early in the morning, but from about 8am - 12pm there was always people in the bathroom. It wouldn't of been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the only two toilets in the whole building were in there as well - so if you're desperate to pee then you're in for a long wait :)
I've stayed in many hostels all over the world, and I have to say that even one which had a hose pipe as a shower in Thailand was cleaner than the bathroom here!! There were little midges flying around the whole time - I'm not scared of bugs at all but this was pretty gross, and if you used the shower on the top floor you literally had to attach the handle to make it work!! I actually thought that this was a joke to begin with and had to ask my friend how the shower worked, however she told me that I had to attach it myself and alter the temperature etc. Once used, the tap would literally fall off. The floor was constantly wet - I would advise wearing your flipflops to avoid slipping!!! It was very grotty.
I can't say that I used the kitchen, and didn't venture into the living room after being shown, so can't say really what it was like, although there were always people in there, and it did seem to give off a friendly vibe. The free internet was a bonus too, although with only one computer you would be lucky to get on it unless it was 4am!
The hostel had lockers by the front door to keep any valuables for no extra charge, although you had to use your own padlock (I didn't think to bring one with me, however I managed to pick one up for like $1 - last of the big spenders!!!).
The subway is literally about 2 seconds away from the hostel, and there is a KFC 2 doors down. I was a bit shocked when I walked in on the first night and there was bullet proof glass covering the counter - it was actually like a bank - you place your money onto this little turntable thing, and then the assistant would put your food on it and turn the table around. There was no contact at all. Although I did find this quite amusing as I'd never seen security like this in a fast food restaurant of all places, apparently the street that the hostel is based, and the streets around it are really, really rough - it's not far from the 'projects' which the taxi driver told me on the first night, under no uncertain circumstances to never venture down alone, or even with friends.
Manhatten and all of the 'touristy' things are about a half hour journey on the subway, not long at all, although it does get pretty hot and stuffy in the day time (think London tubes at 5pm!!!), and are almost constantly packed. We were told that the main place to go out is the Meat Packing District, which we went to on our last night - I would definately not recommend getting on the subway if you're going on a night out!!! It took about an hour to get to which wasn't the problem - the fact that we stood out a mile and attracted some very much unwanted attention on our way was not good. We were not dressed provocatively (long dress with leggings and heels), however people treated us like we were hookers!! On the way home we got a taxi which only came to $20 for both of us. It was quite a good night out, however be prepared to be turned away from clubs unless you buy a 'table', starting at $1500. This was a little bit out of our price range!!! Upon exiting the taxi, we spotted rats running around on the street outside the hostel, which was an unwelcome surprise!!!!

I would recommend this hostel, solely because it is SO cheap compared to others, and the subway is literally a 10 second walk. I was never really disturbed when sleeping, even though as said previously the light switch was literally right next to my head, and it was pretty quiet. However, be careful when you're walking around, I wouldn't say it is a neighbourhood where you could have a look at the sights!!! I would also recommend investing in some good dry shampoo and wet wipes, as the showers really are gross. I never saw the owners after arriving, so if you're looking for some advice from them on where to go in New York, find somebody else - everybody that we met were lovely and were willing to give us advice with directions/subway lines when we asked.

I really liked this place. The girls I met in my dorm were friendly.We even went out together! Beds were comfortable. Subway very close. Supermarket,landary,and bank very close. Staff very nice and they actually care about trying to help you. I liked my dorm a lot. Clean place for it was cleaned everyday. Sometimes have to wait to for the bathrooms, bring toliet paper one roll cause sometimes there will be none for a day. Wireless internet!! Blankets, towels and pillow are given. You can't beat this place for the price you pay.