Life in the Financial District has long been a unique aspect of New York City. Once the heart of finance, it has now transformed into a bustling neighborhood with a growing population. In the 1990s, the population hovered around 13,000, but it has since ballooned to nearly 70,000 due to luxury developments and office conversions. This transformation has led to a narrative that living in Fidi is actually great.

Discover the Hidden Gems of the Financial District

Parents' Perspective

Alex Gordon, a finance lawyer who moved to Fidi in 2003 in search of cheap rent, now properly loves it. Since having a child, his affection has only grown. The addition of Complete Playground, a 40,000-square-foot indoor play space on Broad Street, has been a significant benefit. "That's been really good for the neighborhood," Gordon says. "You definitely see more kids with more strollers now." Paige Murphy, an administrator at Léman Manhattan Preparatory, a private school on Morris Street, also notes that enrollment has grown from 50 to 700 students since 2005.The transportation options in Fidi are plentiful, including the nearby ferry. The schools are good, and there are parks if one is willing to walk a bit. It's also more affordable compared to many other places in Manhattan. "When I told people we were moving there, they were confused why I wasn't moving to Park Slope or whatever," Fisher says. "I think it's a very poorly understood neighborhood."

Queer Hairstylist's View

Shaun Surething, a queer hairstylist who co-owns Seagull Hair Salon in the West Village, finds relief in the "cultural void" of the Financial District. After spending all day discussing gender and politics with his clients, the calmness of the area is a welcome change. "I wanted a place to live where it was kind of flattened so I could have a place to decompress," he says. This view is somewhat confirmed by a server on the cobblestoned block of Stone Street, which feels like a perennial Oktoberfest. While residents do stop in, the customer base is still mostly tourists and office workers.In both cases, the frictionlessness offered by neighborhoods with Whole Foods and dense transit options is what people seem to like. Fidi, like Downtown Brooklyn and Kips Bay, is safe, convenient, and one can get on a train to essentially anywhere if they want to do something more than order in and exercise.

Charm of the Neighborhood

Surething adds that the neighborhood isn't lacking in charm. "One could make a case that it's arguably the most beautiful and decadent part of the city." He moved to the neighborhood in 2021 with his husband and loves the wide-open plazas and public art. The restaurant waits are shorter compared to uptown places, and things are just bigger in general, like Conwell Coffee Hall in an old Art Deco building.Before there was Blue Bottle, there was Esther Regelson, who arrived in 1983 after taking over her sister's rent-stabilized lease. She lives in one of the few low-rise tenements left on Washington Street among the block's glass skyscrapers. "When I had just moved, I walked to Broadway and there was not a soul in sight," she says. She liked the eccentricities of the area with cobblestoned streets and a little flavor. However, she has seen many small businesses close down over the years, such as florists, hardware shops, small pharmacies, and chocolate shops. "I don't think people realize what they could have had," Regelson says. She also hates the term Fidi, calling it pretentious.