FiDi gains residential clout

The Financial District has seen a residential boom over the last decade, according to the Wall Street Journal, due in part to a perceived abundance of bargains, real estate insiders say. The number of permanent residents below Chambers Street has ballooned to 55,000, according to the community organization Alliance for Downtown New York, more than double the 24,400 residents in 2000. Even so, Charles Rutenberg Realty agent Danielle Lewis McLaurin said that the neighborhood has a long way to go before it can be considered a residential hot spot. “It’s still quiet, but it’s not as quiet as it used to be,” McLaurin said. “Before, it was just desolate.” [WSJ]