The Financial District (FiDi) sits at the very southern tip of Manhattan, encompassing everything south of Chambers Street. The area is dominated by the financial industry, and home to the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York Mercantile Exchange, NASDAQ, the New York Board of Trade the American Stock Exchange and, of course, Wall Street. Many of the world’s largest banks maintain offices in the area.
The Financial District has long been a neighborhood ghost town after dark, and was one of the few areas of Manhattan without large numbers of full-time residents. In the 1970s, the neighborhood had barely 700 residents. Today, that number is skyrocketing, and around 43,000 people call FiDi home. Following this trend, a surge of new bars, services and trendy restaurants are moving to the area.
Tech firms are also moving to the neighborhood in big numbers, drawn by cheap(er) rent than they can find in Midtown or the traditional hubs of Manhattan tech, The Flatiron District, Soho and Chelsea. The neighborhood offers tech firms some of the most robust mass transit options in the world, as well as plenty of office space to grow into.
Recently Funded Companies:
- Namely: $30 million, February 23rd, 2016
- LifeBEAM: $16 million, March 23rd, 2016
- Sisense: $50 million, January 20th, 2016
- Olo: $40 million, January 21st, 2016
- x.ai: $23 million, January 23rd, 2016
Companies to know: Stack Overflow, Hive, Human Condition Safety, Namely, LifeBEAM, Sisense, Grapeshot, Boundless, Provista Diagnostics, Olo, x.ai
Word on the Street: "The Financial District is the birthplace of our city and home to a vibrant mix of both history and innovation that inspires me every day. With sweeping harbor views, wifi-connected parks, and space to breathe and think freely, there's no neighborhood I'd rather call home away from home." — Jackie Berg, Director of Marketing, Olo
Transportation: 1 at Chambers, Rector and South Ferry; 2,3 at Chambers, Fulton and Wall Street; R at City Hall, Cortlandt, Rector and South Ferry; 4,5 at Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall, Fulton Street, Wall Street and Bowling Green; A,C,E at Chambers, Park Place, World Trade Center, and Fulton; J,Z at Chambers, Fulton, and Broad Street; Path Trains at World Trade Center; Staten Island Ferry at South Ferry.
Coworking spaces: WeWork City Hall, Joynture, WeWork FiDi, WeWork Charging Bull, Coworkrs 55 Broadway, LMHQ, Primary
Best happy hours: The Dead Rabbit, Iron Horse NYC, The Growler Bites & Brews, White Horse Tavern, The Malt House FiDi, Murphy’s Tavern, The Porterhouse Brewing Company
Best place to grab a slice: Adrienne's Pizzabar, Underground Pizza, Stage Door Pizza, Neapolitan Express
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