Setting

From Dark City

SettingBestiary

New York City Overview

 NYC is known by many names: Gotham, Capital of the World, Center of the Universe, the Empire City, Metropolis, the Melting Pot, the Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps, and the Concrete Jungle.

 With over eight-and-a-half million people, it is the most populous city in the United States, and one of the most significant focal points of global culture and commerce.

 New York is fast-paced, gritty, and forceful. The crowds of bodies on the street will push against you, and you have to push back, and muddle through, to make your way. Status, wealth and clout will get you far, but don't underestimate the importance of street smarts.

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History

 The written history of New York City began with the first European explorer, the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. European settlement began with the Dutch in 1608.

 The "Sons of Liberty" campaigned against British authority in New York City, and the Stamp Act Congress of representatives from throughout the Thirteen Colonies met in the city in 1765 to organize resistance to Crown policies. The city's strategic location and status as a major seaport made it the prime target for British seizure in 1776 until late 1783, attracting Loyalist refugees.

 The city served as the national capital under the Articles of Confederation from 1785 to 1789, and briefly served as the new nation's capital in 1789–90 under the United States Constitution. Under the new government the city hosted the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, the drafting of the United States Bill of Rights, and the first Supreme Court of the United States. The opening of the Erie Canal gave excellent steamboat connections with upstate New York and the Great Lakes, along with coastal traffic to lower New England, making the city the preeminent port on the Atlantic Ocean. The arrival of rail connections to the north and west in the 1840s and 1850s strengthened its central role.

 Beginning in the mid-18th century, waves of new immigrants arrived from Europe dramatically changing the composition of the city and serving as workers in the expanding industries. Modern New York traces its development to the consolidation of the five boroughs in 1898 and an economic and building boom following the Great Depression and World War II. Throughout its history, New York has served as a main port of entry for many immigrants, and its cultural and economic influence has made it one of the most important urban areas in the United States and the world.

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Geography

 New York City is located on the coast of the Northeastern United States at the mouth of the Hudson River in southeastern New York state. It is located in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary, the centerpiece of which is the New York Harbor, whose deep waters and sheltered bays helped the city grow in significance as a trading city. Much of New York is built on the three islands of Manhattan, Staten Island, and western Long Island, making land scarce and encouraging a high population density.

 The Hudson River flows from the Hudson Valley into New York Bay, becoming a tidal estuary that separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Northern New Jersey. The Harlem River, another tidal strait between the East and Hudson Rivers, separates Manhattan from the Bronx.

 The boroughs of New York City straddle the border between two geologic provinces of eastern North America. Brooklyn and Queens, located on Long Island, are part of the eastern coastal plain. Long Island is a massive moraine which formed at the southern fringe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last Ice Age. The Bronx and Manhattan lie on the eastern edge of the Newark Basin, a block of the Earth's crust which sank downward during the disintegration of the supercontinent Pangaea during the Triassic period. The Palisades Sill on the New Jersey shore of the Hudson River exposes ancient, once-molten rock that filled the basin. Tough metamorphic rocks underlie much of Manhattan, providing solid support for its many skyscrapers.

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Civil Society

 New York City's social, legal, and political institutions comprise what we affectionately call the Civil Society sphere. Each section of Civil Society has its own status track, and contains more detailed information about these facets of NYC's culture and society as portrayed on Dark City.

Locations

Culture

Inspirational Media

  • Taxi Driver (Movie, 1976)
    • Scorcese's claustrophobic look at the hellish underbelly of New York City through the eyes of a taxi driver who feels invisible.
  • After Hours (Movie, 1985)
  • I Am Legend (Movie, 2007)
    • A take on what NYC might look like if it was emptied of its population, with only the architecture remaining; great fodder for Twilight and Shadow inspiration. What would it look like if nature took the city back? There are also some great shots of the city.
  • Wolf of Wall Street (Movie, 2013)
    • This film would only make sense, only be possible, in the fast-paced excess that is New York. A great tone-setter for the Business sphere.
  • Pose (TV, 2018)
    • Drama series that examines the black and Latino, LGBTQ and gender non-conforming drag ball culture of the 80s and 90s, which is still ever-present in New York City to this very day. Great shots of the city, awesome lens on cultural bedrocks.
  • Fear City: New York vs the Mafia (TV, 2020)

Helpful Links

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