This might seem a little crazy, but I would suggest taking a look at Hotwire, Priceline, and other discount hotel websites.

I did a quick search, you can get a crappy hotel for $60 a night through Hotwire in the NYC area. Consider what you get for that price: free use of clean towels, linens, pillows, etc, free breakfast -everyday-, free toiletries, and possibly room for a second person. You can save money by packing less and buying less going this way.

Compared to a hostel @ $80 a night in a private room, that's a pretty good deal.

Your problem is that "cheap place" and New York are incompatible. How much do you consider cheap? I'm moving to New York and I haven't seen an apartment for less than $1800/m. I don't think you'll even find a share for less than $1000 a month and if you do, it's going to be way out in deep brooklyn, or up in the bronx, or weird (sharing a bed with two albanian guys) or random luck.

Also, craigslist is really the only way to do it.

airbnb.com has good places to crash.

maybe consider new jersey if cost is the biggest issue.

Well, for cheap I mean $1200/month maximum, for a private room in a shared apartment.

I'd have to work in greenwich village, so distance is to be considered; airbnb seems pretty nice with some good offers, thanks!

There are tons of sublets for that price on craig's list. Maybe put up an ad saying you are looking for a space, it worked for me.

I am pretty sure NYU has a summer stay program in their dorms. You may want to check SVA also.

I lived in a student only residence that was run by a private company for 1 semester quite a while ago. Seems like it has changed a bit since then but their site is here: http://www.studenthousing.org

Other than that sublets on craigslist are your best bet.

I don't know if the (http://www.hackerhalfwayhouse.org/) is open to prospective roommates now, but they do throw a helluva party for HOPE. If you need to cheaply fill a gap between arriving and moving in there's always a hostel--a bed and a locker for around $30 per night, or a very small room for around $80.

I already checked studenthousing and SVA and they both offer housing for much longer periods (semester/year) and much much money. NYU asks for a SSN and since I'm from Europe I can't apply.

I contacted HHH, let's see what they say... Honestly, I thought that for a student/intern this would have been very easy!

Try craigslist. I live in a private bedroom in a 3 bdrm apartment in Park Slope, 2 subway stops from Manhattan. I pay $900/month. I have a friend in Sunset Park (brooklyn) that pays around $700/month for a private studio apartment. That's about 30-40 minutes by subway to manhattan.