NEW YORK CITY 2050
                 Brought to you by Dark Elf tourist information
                             Dark Elf, [V--PO--T] at [ccvm.sunysb.edu]


It's a tough town, megacorps engage in illegal activities, crime 
is rampant in many areas, there is violence in the streets, 
metahumans, and monsters.

All in all, it hasn't changed much!

"New York was bad enough before the awakening, now it truly is a 
jungle out there!"
                                Mayor Franklin Dean, Jan 3, 2050


ENTERTAINMENT/MEDIA:

Manhattan Athletic Complex (built after the quake of '05): A full 
sports complex/concert arena.

New York Times, Daily News, Various Tabloids

ABC (Awakened Broadcasting Company): The original ABC gave over to 
a more modern format.

NBC,CBS (more TV/holovid/simsense broadcasts)
Soho theater district <Broadway>

Restaurants/Hotels/Clubs: Many of New York's "classic" nightspots 
and hangouts are still around, but the quake of '05 made room for 
many newer venues, all having that special New York atmosphere.

STATISTICS:
Population:     9,000,000 +
Human:     63% (approx. 5,670,000)
Elven:     13% (approx. 1,170,000)
Dwarven:     4% (approx. 360,000)
Orkish:     15% (approx. 1,350,000)
Trollish:     4% (approx. 360,000)
Other:     1% (approx. 90,000)
(population count is only for sentient species)
Crime Rate: High (the latest data was too disparate to give an 
accurate assessment)

>> Who's going to believe this drek, the corps are afraid that 
showing the real figures will damage their poor little tourist 
industry! <<
--Sandman <09:32:19/10-22-50>

PUBLIC SERVICES/UTILITIES:
Police Service: Metro Police Incorporated
Fire Control: Lerner LTD.
Sanitation: Various Independents (believed backed by organized 
  crime cartels)
Public Works Maintenance: Northeastern Technical Services
Public Database: Atlantic Telecommunications (a division of Trump 
  International)
Grid-Guide System: Magna Tech (a division of Akaru Incorporated)
Power: Bell Atlantic, Long Island Atomics
Military: UCAS 43rd Metroplex Guard
  This is a unit of "weekend warriors" similar to the 20th century 
  national guard reserve. They are the official standing military 
  force for the greater metropolitan area.

>> Yeah, see your local UCAS recruiter today. You too can get paid 
less and only get half the gear of the average corporate security 
force. <<
--BillyJack<11:28:09/12-02-50>

MAJOR POINTS OF INTEREST:
Most of the original sites survived, or were reconstructed after 
the quake. Some of them are:

Empire State Building (restored in 2006)

World Trade Center

Central Park: Can be an unfriendly place in it's deepest parts, 
especially at night. The inner regions have become like the 
Barrens in Seattle. The more peaceful southern section has become 
a well known hangout for elves.

>>I went to the Tavern On The Green a few weeks ago, the place was 
filled with elves and dwarves of all shapes and sizes. There were 
some other humans there too, but I felt out of place anyway, since 
I was the only one in the joint NOT dressed like an extra in a 
Robin Hood Vid. It looked like a scene out of one of those role-
playing games that were popular in the latter half of the 20th 
century<<
--Morgan<08:54:35/11-09-50>

>>Yeah, those posergangs can be a real pain in the ass.<<
--NancyK<11:28:10/11-09-50>

>>And I suppose you can't stand all those "keebs" running 
around?<<
--Dark Elf<11:40:26/11-10-50>

Statue of Liberty: Still welcomes travelers to the city after its 
second renovation since the 1980's.

The Intrepid: Still floating in it's dock after a world war and a 
century of tourists. Was purchased by the Dragon Tirandor in 2038 
for use as a lair/ corporate headquarters.

Rockefeller Center: Bought out by a number of Japanese companies, 
but retains it's original look and name.

NEW SITES:
Manhattan Athletic Complex: located between Henry Hudson Pkwy and 
West End Avenue on the west side. (One of the largest arenas on 
the east coast, it has a removable dome.)

Akaru Inc. World Headquarters: This is the world headquarters for 
Akaru Inc., a large conglomerate originally based in Japan. The 
Akaru complex is just south of the Manhattan Athletic Complex 
(MAC) on the west side of West End Avenue between 59th and 63rd 
streets. It is one huge building ten stories tall. It is similar, 
in many respects, to Seattle's Renraku Arcology. The first three 
levels are basically malls, hotels and casinos (yes, NY has lifted 
it's gambling laws since 2030). The rest of the building contains 
offices and laboratories. There are also several sub-levels which 
house "secure" areas. The roof has a helipad and several antennae 
for communication.

>>Yeah, gambling's legal now, but the mayor gets a 10% cut. And he 
claims he has no mob ties!<<
--Dark Elf<16:25:05/12-25-50>

Trump Center: While tycoon Donald Trump met with financial 
disaster in the late 20th century, his son, Donald Jr. found great 
success in the world of big business. He managed to form a huge 
conglomeration of smaller companies under the name Trump 
International. In NY, his megacorp is rivaled in power and 
diversity only by Akaru. The new Trump Center occupies six city 
blocks, encompassing the area between park and 5th avenues, and 
from 51st to 54th streets. Madison avenue actually goes through 
the complex, with entrances to the parking facility. It has a main 
building that is 8 stories tall, with a number of sub-levels. Atop 
this superstructure is the tower, which climbs 80 stories above 
the main building. The first few floors are malls/hotels/casinos 
and other public venues. The tower contains corporate offices, 
security garrisons, storage facilities, media/ telecommunications 
facilities etc.... (It is rumored that Donald Trump Sr. is kept 
alive and in retirement here by an enormous amount of cybernetic 
life support systems and is more machine than man).

The tower also has a rooftop heliport.

GENERAL AREAS:
Midtown/Downtown Manhattan: Almost totally overrun by the corps. 
everything here is either corporate controlled, or geared towards 
the corporate pocketbook. This is known on the streets as 
Corptown, and is aptly named.

Greenwich Village: A region in corptown that is not completely 
controlled by the corporate mind. It is the place to go for the 
"Trendy" hangouts and corporate wannabees.

Chinatown: The Downtown area surrounding Canal St. that is still 
mostly residential. It is almost exclusively Chinese, and is the 
place to go to find street vendors and black market fences. The 
streets are controlled by various gangs that constantly compete 
with each other for supremacy in the area.

Brooklyn/Queens: These areas are mostly residential. There are a 
large variety of neighborhoods, many with an almost exclusive 
cultural bias. quality of life varies from block to block (i.e. 
the more affluent homes of Jamaica Estates turn into a war zone of 
poverty and crime when one crosses Hillside Ave.)

Uptown (North of Central Park): These are the areas hit worst by 
the quake in 2005. Many areas have never been repaired, and there 
are streets blocked by fallen buildings. Many areas are dangerous, 
with buildings that may begin to collapse at any time. The corps 
have few interests other than low-cost housing developments. There 
are a few spots that can be considered "healthy" neighborhoods, 
but many are urban nightmares. This region has the highest police 
mortality rates. The northernmost tip of Manhattan is overrun with 
vegetation that has grown beyond the boundaries of old parks, 
producing another region of barrens.

>> Fine, just hype corptown and make people believe that every 
other place in NY is a dirty rotten hole, no wonder most of the 
neighborhoods never get too far. <<
--Velvet Knight <11:31:08/11-10-50>

Bronx: This area is similar to the way it was in the 20th century. 
It contains the highest concentration of Native Americans in the 
city.

>>We give them Manhattan for $24 and only 4 centuries later, they 
give us the Bronx<<
--Running Eagle<18:26:47/12-01-50>

Organized Crime: New York has continued to be a center for 
organized crime cartels of various backgrounds. While the Yakuza 
has pushed the Mafia out of Seattle, the same has not happened in 
NY. In NY, the Yakuza have gained a very strong power base (and 
have influence in almost every Japanese corp in the city, with the 
most notable exception being Akaru, who consider them dishonorable 
slime). There are also various Seoulpa rings scattered throughout 
the city. Even with the growing power of Asian syndicates, the 
Mafia has maintained most of it's power in NY. The Mafia typically 
uses legitimate businesses as fronts for their own illegal 
operations. They practically control the construction and waste 
disposal operations in the city.

Police: Roosevelt Island is the site of the city headquarters for 
Metro Police Inc. They have a small airstrip for security use. 
This strip is also open to high level corporate executives who 
carry a corporate security pass. This site houses Metro's patrol 
helicopters, planes, and patrol boats.

>>Security pass, HA. They only let Metro shareholders use it. 
Anyone who tries to get a pass gets laughed at. These cops only 
take care of their own.<<
--anonymous<21:17:04/10-05-50>


CORPORATE POLITICS

The major competitors in NY are Akaru and Trump. Both of these 
corps are made up of hundreds of smaller corps that were bought 
and either sold off in pieces or renovated and made profitable. 
Akaru and Trump consider each other to be honorable opponents. 
Yoguchi Akaru, a descendant of a long line of samurai, has no 
desire to put Trump out of business, that would take far too many 
resources, and would probably destroy his company. Akaru realizes 
that competition with Trump has given his company momentum. He 
sees that there is an almost symbiotic relationship between the 
two companies, and to destroy one destroys the other. There are, 
however, factions within Akaru Inc. that do not believe this. 
Akaru has to constantly play these people against each other to 
keep them from doing something rash. Even if Akaru's goal was to 
eliminate Trump International, he would frown on the dishonorable 
methods used by most businessmen these days. For Akaru, honor is 
of the utmost importance.

Trump shares many of the same views as Akaru, and many of the same 
problems. In a corp as large as Trump International or Akaru, one 
person cannot possibly have absolute control over all the 
businesses that make up these huge conglomerates, and factions 
within Trump also have their own agendas regarding their major 
competitors. Trump has an active social conscience, and is 
constantly concerned with making NY a better place (no small 
task). The great amount of respect (friendship?) between Trump and 
Akaru is widely known in the business community. The unusual 
relationship between the two has been described as showing the 
difference between enemies and opponents. They are far from 
enemies, but they are still opponents in many ways. There are many 
in the business world who shudder when they think of this, and 
their worst fear is to see Trump and Akaru merge, a move that 
would probably allow the joint firm to be the largest, and most 
powerful single corporate entity in the world. The internal 
dissensions within these two megacorps and the mutual respect 
between their owners keeps the entire corporate scene in a kind of 
uneasy equilibrium.

New York is not an attractive city to see from the air. There is a 
constant haze of smog hovering over the city, making it seem dirty 
during the day and positively gloomy during the night. The most 
breathtaking things about the city is the sheer size of most of 
the buildings, and the sight of the Great Dragon Tirandor in 
flight (a rare sight since he usually restricts his excursions to 
the late night). The main attractions of NY are its historical 
significance, and the fact that is the place to go to do business, 
any kind of business on either side of the law. NY is a sprawling 
mass of urban gloom, with shadows everywhere, an ideal place for 
those who make a living off the hidden agendas in the corporate 
world. The environment of NY is tense at best. Cultural/Racial 
tensions flare, poverty breeds crime, corps use any means to get 
what they want. It is the city of big business and big corruption. 
Don't walk the streets unarmed, and don't let Metro see the big 
guns. The cops can be as hair triggered as anyone else, if they 
see the iron, they will call in the cavalry, unless you happen to 
know someone inside. The corps have their own police, and the UCAS 
military is in town. It is hard to tell if all this firepower is 
their because of all the crime, or if all the crime is there 
because of the firepower. Everyone who lives in NY is there 
because they want something, and NY is the place to get it, one 
way or another.

>>Yeah, good old NY is not for those with a weak stomach<<
--Heckler<17:50:32/11-24-50>


THE UNDERGROUND

NY's sewer and subway system were damaged heavily in the quake of 
'05. While repairs were made, and a new magnetically guided subway 
system was introduced, many of the old tunnels still exist. The 
quake left a labyrinth of broken down subway and sewer tunnels, 
along with the ancient pneumatic transit system, and a few 
subterranean caverns all existing under the city. There are rumors 
of whole underground communities, many of which have probably 
never seen the outside world. These tunnels form a modern day 
dungeon complex of epic proportions, all hidden away from the 
everyday eye. Reports of "monsters" give evidence that the tunnels 
are home to awakened critters, and are a very dangerous place to 
be.

>>C'mooooon Down!!!<<
--Phil the Troll <14:19:07/12-21-50>


TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETS

NY city has two LTG's. One is the public LTG for the area, and the 
other is the Manhattan Corporate LTG. The Corporate LTG carries an 
orange security level, and is made available to clients willing to 
pay a fee. To get into most corporate mainframes, one must either 
go through the LTG's security, or tap the correct data lines in 
corptown. Several corps even have private LTG's accessible only 
from the corporate LTG. Network addresses in NY change almost 
constantly.

>>A friend of mine got flatlined when he found out that the old 
address of the "decker's haven" database was changed and was given 
to East Coast Security Systems, a major software firm that 
specializes in IC systems<<
--Red Sonja<23:45:46/12-03-50>


Welcome to New York Chummers, try not to get yourselves killed.
A public service file brought to you by              The Dark Elf 
                                         <[v--po--t] at [sbccvm.bitnet]>