Once an overlooked area near the Financial District and along the East River, New York City’s historic South Street Seaport has long had charming bones—cobblestoned streets, low-rise brick buildings and an old-fashioned allure—but it was mostly populated by Wall Street types and tourists, and hardly a cultural destination for local New Yorkers. That is, until now. In the past few years, real estate developers and restaurateurs have staked claims in the blossoming district, and the first wave of ...