finding a place to live in nyc

I know from experience that the best way to start a business is from personal need. 

Entrepreneurs feel the pain; then fix the pain.

My current pain is finding a place to live in nyc.  I've got a big mortgage here in Seattle still so will most likely be renting at first in nyc.  Despite some awesome progress by Craigslist in leveling the playing field a bit, renting in nyc is still one of the biggest hassles in the world.

The whole process is still built around brokers.  Because demand for good apartments so dramatically outstrips supply in NYC, rental brokers have developed a gatekeeping system: landlords list their stock with the brokers, who work with potential tenants to find them a suitable apartment. The tenants then pay the brokers a fee for their time and assistance -- in theory. In practice, brokers realized long ago that with demand so firmly on their side, they can extract huge fees without actually providing much services. All the broker has to do is allow tenants access to their otherwise unavailable stock of apartments.

For my first Manhatten apartment back in 1999, I paid 15 percent of the first year's rent -- a fee of nearly $4,000!  For a freakin studio!

Craigslist has leveled the playing field a bit by making it easier for renters to get access to "no fee" listings, and/or listings by owners or property managers that do not carry broker fees.

But the craigslist user experience is lousy at best.  Too much junk and sheisty realtors and scammers are everywhere.

Make me a site which searches across hundreds of listing sites and helps me easily hone in on the right apartments to look at with no b.s.  One which makes it really dumb, easy, simple to get good info on where the no-fee buildings are, where the for rent by owner listings are, where to watch out for hidden fees, etc.  Even better would be a referral network.

So far, best i have found is HotPads.

Got any other suggestions?

Or, even better, got a referral on a Tribeca loft?