NYC Housing for FT starting 2019

I know there has been many topics on this website before discussing this, but I wanted to get an updated version for myself as well as other people starting next summer in NYC.

I wanted to know the timeline for finding rental apartments in Midtown East or anywhere near midtown for that matter. When is the normal time to lock in an apartment? Where is the best place to live as a recent college grad? How reliable are a bunch of the apartment finding sites? I have heard a lot try to scam you and definitely don't want to get finessed before I even start lol.

Any advice or information is greatly appreciated!