The network’s reality stars—especially on Next Gen NYC—have given the neighborhood an outsize share of screen time.
Last October, 31-year-old crypto investor and reality-television star Charlie Zakkour strolled down Beaver Street in the Financial District, trailed closely by a full camera crew. He was shooting the second season of Bravo’s high-profile reality series Next Gen NYC, a show that premiered in 2025 and follows a tight-knit coterie of models, influencers, and nepo babies, including five children of various Real Housewives. Zakkour, the son of a former banking executive, plays the designated bad boy of the ensemble—flirting openly with unavailable women, rolling joints on-camera, and landing on the pages of Page Six for his high-profile cameo in the sprawling saga of the Manhattan crypto torture house. As the cameras tracked him weaving through the narrow, historic blocks of the Financial District, he seemed eager to lean into his outlaw persona, keeping his hands deep in his pockets and his sunglasses firmly on despite the fading evening light.
Yet, watching the footage back or walking those exact streets reveals a distinct visual incongruity. The stretch of asphalt Zakkour swaggered down is part of a regular morning commute for downtown office workers heading from the Wall Street 2 and 3 subway stop toward the East River. Along the way, pedestrians pass local fixtures like bodegas, recently reopened dining spots, and fast-casual juice chains. While the neighborhood has steadily cultivated a loyal local following for its unprettified straightforwardness, historic charm, and sheer convenience to everyday business services like notaries and shoe repair shops, it has rarely been classified as the apex of New York cool. Seeing a reality star play up an edgy, rebellious swagger against the backdrop of standard lower Manhattan office towers feels as out of place as spotting royalty wandering around a suburban amusement park.
Zakkour’s television stroll would be easy to write off as a singular production outlier, but a disproportionate chunk of the broader Bravo reality-television ecosystem has quietly concentrated itself within the narrow, winding streets of the Financial District, with a particular heavy gravitational pull toward the South Street Seaport. Other prominent network hits, including Summer House and its urban spinoff In the City, continually circle the exact same collection of blocks. Throughout the recently concluded season of Next Gen NYC, viewers watched model Ava Dash grab a slice of pizza on Fulton Street, stroll leisurely through the Seaport, and place a dramatic phone call to her father, hip-hop mogul Damon Dash, from a wooden bench at Pier 17.
Nearby, the neighborhood hosted a heart-to-heart conversation between Dash and co-star Riley Burruss. A group date that eventually sparked an on-screen romance between former child actor Liam Obergfoll and Bravo daughter Ariana Biermann unfolded under the harsh, bright lights of the Astroturf at the Seaport’s Lawn Club, just a block away from where Biermann would later share an illicit kiss with Zakkour. Meanwhile, Summer House worked its own date night into the exact same Lawn Club venue. When the time came for Next Gen NYC to stage its dramatic season-finale party, production chose Club Bohemia, the upper-level venue at Pier 17 operated by Gitano NYC, followed by an after-party at Cowgirl Seahorse, a long-standing local watering hole near Peck Slip.
In another scene, Zakkour grabs drinks near the Hotel Indigo on Water Street alongside a business partner, and later sips beers with fashion-designer castmate Shai Fruchter at the outdoor wooden tables that transform Stone Street into a popular gathering hub for finance professionals after the closing bell. Despite being a New York City native, Zakkour appeared entirely unfamiliar with the location on-camera, gazing around the cobblestone corridor and remarking, "This is a cool-ass street. Great choice, Shai." The moment raised lingering questions: Was it actually Fruchter’s choice? Why was Zakkour constantly wandering through a lower Manhattan neighborhood where he seemed to possess no foundational baseline knowledge? More broadly, what were all of these television personalities and production crews actually doing down there?
Filming activity across the neighborhood has undeniably surged. According to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the number of official permits issued in Community Board District One—which encompasses the Financial District, the Seaport, and surrounding lower Manhattan blocks—rose by eight percent over the previous year. However, municipal data does not cleanly separate reality television productions from traditional scripted projects like The Gilded Age, which famously filmed a massive parade sequence in the Financial District. Furthermore, official figures represent a significant undercount. The nimble, lightweight crews utilized by reality television productions frequently do not require formal permits to film on public sidewalks because they avoid shutting down vehicular traffic. Rafael Espinal, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, noted that for smaller shoots, reality productions, and microdramas, permits are often unnecessary since streets remain completely open.
Representatives from both the Seaport Entertainment Group—the landlord controlling the neighborhood’s prime Belgian-block stretches—and the Downtown Alliance confirm a noticeable spike in reality television shoots beginning roughly two years ago, coinciding directly with the launch of Next Gen NYC. Industry insiders point to a combination of practical and aesthetic factors. The old, narrow street grid comprises minor arteries that are easily managed or closed off when necessary, while destinations like Stone Street and sections of Fulton Street are already permanently pedestrian-only.
Furthermore, the physical environment avoids looking generic. Andrew Breslau, a spokesperson for the Downtown Alliance, highlighted that the area offers a unique combination of waterfront access, historic architecture, and modern construction that provides quintessential New York texture. Directors have utilized the backdrop for decades, ranging from classic musical sequences in 1949 to gritty noir films and high-stakes chase scenes.
Lauren Eskelin, an executive producer at production company Truly Original, echoes that sentiment, describing the lower Manhattan landscape as inherently cinematic. For a finale sequence featuring the Next Gen NYC cast, finding a backdrop superior to the sweeping span of the Brooklyn Bridge is difficult. Productions often prefer dynamic outdoor movement over static apartment or restaurant interiors, favoring spontaneous walking-and-talking scenes. When everyday citizens do appear in the background, they naturally blend in as authentic New Yorkers, unlike the intense tourist congestion found north of Canal Street or around Times Square. On a typical Friday afternoon on Water Street, production crews can stage complex shoots—such as male models posing in heavy winter parkas—without drawing massive, disruptive crowds of onlookers, a logistical feat that would prove nearly impossible in Soho or Midtown.
That convenience speaks to a broader reality about the neighborhood: despite its impressive density and soaring residential towers, lower Manhattan remains somewhat underpopulated during certain hours. Jon Wanamaker, marketing director for the Seaport Entertainment Group, clarifies that while the area is certainly active, it avoids the overwhelming foot traffic of major commercial hubs. Market data compiled by the Downtown Alliance shows an overall retail vacancy rate of roughly 20 percent across lower Manhattan, with several prime storefronts remaining empty throughout the Seaport. Commercial real estate brokers estimate that retail, bar, and restaurant rents in the area hover at roughly half the cost of comparable spaces in Soho and a quarter of prime Fifth Avenue rates.
The shift toward remote work heavily influenced this commercial evolution. Sydney Acevedo, a manager at the historic Paris Cafe—a Seaport bistro featured across multiple Bravo series—explains that as traditional businesses catering to daily office commuters shuttered their doors, they inadvertently left a physical and cultural vacuum, creating an open canvas for a brand-new neighborhood scene to emerge.
That void was quickly claimed by digital content creators and social media personalities. Meg Radice, who commands a combined following of approximately 700,000 users through her digital brand the VIP List alongside friend Audrey Jongens, notes that a tight-knit network of influencers has settled heavily into the Financial District. Surrounded by peer creators living in the same buildings or nearby developments, the neighborhood has transformed into an unofficial hub for digital media talent.
The breakout stars of Next Gen NYC are active participants in this ecosystem. Eskelin notes that production teams simply followed cast members into their authentic residential environments. Beauty influencer Emira D’Spain previously discussed living in a converted commercial office building on Fulton Street prior to joining the show, while Dash recently signed a lease in the very same building, commemorating the move with social media content. Public records similarly place Zakkour nearby in a sleek, amenity-laden residential conversion on Water Street, where cameras frequently intercept him heading out to meetings or social gatherings.
Living in modern, amenity-rich residential conversions offers distinct professional advantages for digital creators. Access to clean, contemporary interior aesthetics provides an ideal backdrop for filming brand partnerships and sponsored content without the distinct visual quirks or cramped layouts typical of older walk-up apartments in neighborhoods like the East Village. Furthermore, neutral, modern architectural finishes make background environments harder to geolocate, offering a layer of privacy for creators filming inside their homes. Outside, influencers can utilize the neighborhood’s unique rhythm to their advantage, moving freely through quieter streets during daytime hours when local office workers are occupied indoors.
The architectural layout also delivers practical lifestyle benefits. Real estate agents note that residential conversions frequently provide greater square footage for lower comparative costs, often including windowless interior spaces that serve as ideal storage areas or dedicated desk setups for handling the continuous influx of public relations packages.
Additionally, production logistics benefit from geographical proximity. Truly Original and its predecessor companies have maintained headquarters at 180 Maiden Lane since 2016, placing production offices directly at the intersection of the Financial District and the Seaport. Eskelin acknowledges that shooting convenience plays a major role in location choices, allowing crews to step straight out of the office on the morning of a shoot. This operational proximity explains why observant viewers frequently spot Summer House cast members departing from the exact same Financial District street corner before heading to their shared summer rentals in Montauk, or why secondary cast members are routinely shown working on laptops from the lobby benches of 180 Maiden Lane.
Yet television productions and residential tenancies are rarely permanent. Some cast members have already transitioned to other parts of the city. D’Spain confirmed in recent interviews that she relocated to a more central location spanning the West Village, Soho, and Greenwich Village, citing a desire for a busier neighborhood atmosphere where she can easily walk outside to grab a glass of wine with friends. Former Real Housewives cast member Leah McSweeney similarly shared that she eventually moved from the Financial District to Gramercy to be closer to local schools, while still fondly recalling the quiet charm of lower Manhattan after traditional business hours. For the cast members, producers, and influencers who spent their seasons navigating the cobblestones and piers, the appeal ultimately lay in the spaciousness and accessibility of a neighborhood that, for a brief window, felt entirely their own.
