They are still very much the mainstay jet airliner at London City Airport. BA, Lufthansa, Swiss, Air France, etc, all operate fleets of them specifically for serving LCY's short runway and steep climb/approach requirements.

These days the A318 can also operate from LCY, but the Avro RJ - aka BAe 146 - remains much more common.

And yes, they are reasonably quiet from the outside. You do get interesting aerodynamic noise on the inside, particularly when the flaps are deployed, but its never bothered me too much.