Amazing Hotel, Location and Price!!!!
My friend and I travelled to NYC in February 2012. It was my first time in NYC and his second. We both wanted some time in NYC, and decided to book a hotel for 9 nights. That hotel was the Sohotel. 
It was recommended to me by a fellow New Yorker, and it did not disappoint . The staff were fantastic, and your trip will not be complete without meeting Singh or Junior, amongst others. 
The location is phenomenal. You are situated in Little Italy/Chinatown. Take a walk and some of the scenery is straight out a movie. Walk a few blocks to Mulberry where you will find a bar of the same name. The Sopranos and many other movies have been shot here.
Our room was clean, big enough for our needs (sleeping and washing) and had cable TV and an iPod docking station so you could play your music, nice touch.
The rooms were always cleaned and the staff were not intrusive at all.
If you want some criticisms, well here they are but they are tiny. I am a very light sleeper, and find it incredibly hard to sleep when there is noise. The windows are very thin and you can hear the traffic at times including the fire sirens and police sirens, but it honestly didn't affect my sleep at all, I slept very well for my entire 9 days, as did my friend, and I kind of liked the noise, as it reminded me of all my favourite movies. That said the original Ghostbusters building from the 1984 film is really close by, and is situated right next to a superb little diner called the square diner. The Pancakes were amazing. Sorry, I am going off on a tangent.
You will occasionally hear a bit of noise from some revellers, but hey they are on holiday to, so as long as they are not to loud, I am fine with that.
So to conclude, My experience at the hotel was fantastic, and it is worth noting that they have only recently refurbished a lot of their rooms, and it shows. Going in February was always going to be quieter, but I really can't fault this hotel, and I hope you give it a shot to as it is very affordable and in a great location.