Alright, let me preface this with the fact that I am from the west (not Cali). I'm not a die hard new yorker and I interviewed all over the country (including the major programs in nyc).
I agree with my fellow intern above. You will work hard here, I am almost always capped. The patient population is VERY diverse. I've said this a few times - but every program you interview at will say they are "diverse" which usually translates to "we have all uninsured people." Well, that's great - but when you have too much of one thing then it's not diversity. At Cornell you will literally see every end of the spectrum. You will take care of the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. Don't get me wrong, we have a very large underserved population, but if you plan on dedicating your life to them then Cornell probably isn't the right fit for you. I don't need to explain the fact that NYC is NYC and that it's probably the most diverse place in the world when it comes to nationality/language/etc.
Honestly, I was a little scared when I came to NYC because I thought everybody would be a so-called "east-coast, ivy-league prick." I would have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that everybody is extremely nice. Our chief resident and our assistant chief residents are great, they are constantly looking out for you. NYC can be overwhelming and so can NewYork-Pres Hospital and it's been really nice knowing that they are making sure everything is going smoothly (if smoothly could possibly describe being an intern).
As for housing, we have the best in the city, period. We have five very large apartment complexes and they are very affordable. All of the doctors/nurses/hospital employees live in these buildings, unless they choose not to - but I would say most do. I have an air-conditioned studio by myself facing south on the 33rd floor looking over all of manhattan. I live in the building that's right in the middle of price ranges. There is also a brand new apartment complex that is very, very nice if you are willing to spend a little bit more money (lots of attendings/fellows live there, but I have we have a few in my intern class). Best part about our housing is that everything is literally within one block of the hospital on the upper east side.
We were on probation for three months for work hour related issues last year. They made all the necessary changes after the review last year, yet for some reason they placed us on probation in early april. We had a re-review in August and the RRC realized that everything had been fixed and we were taken off probation. I don't go over work hours.
As for intern year, you are basically q4. You will have two ICU months - MICU and CCU (q4 as well). The rest is spent on general medicine, renal, lymphoma, outpatient, neuro, cardiology, elective, and one month at memorial sloan-kettering (which is also one block away). As a resident, they have essentially done away with q4 call and you do a few months of night float over the last two years instead of taking overnight call.
Again, Cornell is in a great location. I live 4 blocks from Central Park and 3 blocks form the subway that will take me downtown. It's also a little bit more quiet on the upper east side which can be nice when you want to escape from the chaos. The hospital is located on the lower part of the upper east side so it's close to everything downtown. Far closer than columbia and sinai.
To sum it up, I'm happy here. I work very hard, but Cornell is known for having a hard intern year. However, after having survived 4 months I'm getting an experience here that few get and that I'll be more than prepared to venture out.
If you are curious about our fellowship match list then you can go here:
http://www.cornellmedicine.com/education/graduates_where_are_they_now/index.html - if you have any specific questions then feel free to msg me. good luck on the interview trail and enjoy fourth year.