Financial District

What it's like to live here

The Financial District sits on the very ground where New York began, the 17th-century settlement of New Amsterdam, and that history is still underfoot, from the cobblestones of Stone Street (the city's first paved street) to Bowling Green and the South Street Seaport. Today it is one of Downtown's most dynamic places to live: fast and energetic on weekdays, and noticeably calmer on evenings and weekends, when the office crowd clears out and the waterfront belongs to residents.

For buyers, FiDi's appeal is its housing mix. A wave of office-to-residential conversions has produced loft-style homes with soaring ceilings and modern amenities, alongside newer luxury condominiums, often at better value per square foot than neighboring Downtown areas. And the transit is simply unmatched: nearly every subway line runs through here, anchored by the Fulton Street Transit Center, plus PATH and the ferries.