Residents of an apartment block in New York have been reacting to news that former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is under house arrest in their complex while awaiting trial on charges that he tried to rape a hotel maid.

Strauss-Kahn was released from the city''s Rikers Island jail on one (m) million US dollar (704,000 euros) cash bail Friday and will now be held in an apartment building near ground zero.

"I didn''t think it was such an elaborate building to have someone so prominent to come," said one resident.

While some spoke of their shock, another resident said Strauss-Kahn should still be in prison.

"I''m not concerned for personal safety, but the fact that he''s out of jail is appalling," resident Rick Mills said.

The original plan was for Strauss-Kahn to move into a luxury residential hotel under armed guard on Manhattan''s well-to-do Upper East Side.

This fell through after neighbours objected to the inevitable media frenzy outside.

He is now to be temporarily housed in a building on a small street in Lower Manhattan, within the Police Department''s "ring of steel" - a network of private and police cameras near where the World Trade Centre stood.

The search continues for a more permanent place to stay while he awaits trial.

Strauss-Kahn is accused of attacking a 32-year-old housekeeper in a 3,000 US dollar-a-night hotel suite a week ago.

The West African immigrant told police he emerged naked from the bathroom, chased her down and forced her to perform oral sex. Strauss-Kahn has denied the allegations.

No trial date has been set.

In the meantime, at least one armed guard will be watching him at all times, and he will have to wear an ankle bracelet although he is not permitted to leave his temporary housing at all.

His apartment''s exterior doors will be outfitted with alarms and video cameras, on orders from the judge who granted bail.

Once he has settled somewhere permanent, Strauss-Kahn will be allowed to leave only for court dates, meetings with his lawyers, doctor''s appointments and weekly religious services, and he will have to give prosecutors at last six hours'' notice.