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The City and Environs
Districts of the City
((NOTE: the colors of the titles for each District corresponds to the color of those Districts' properties as seen on the City Map))
Uptown:
Uptown is the most exclusive part of the city. It is the location of expensive restaurants, hotels, and homes. It is also the location of most of the “old money”. A mixture of older, elegant high-rises and newer high-rises contain the traditional financial power of the city.
This part of the city is well-maintained and well-patrolled by the police. Violations of law and order are responded to quickly and efficiently. Cleanliness is expected here. The Police will look askance, and perhaps stop and question, those who are out of place such as the homeless, obvious hookers, and so on.
The power structure is the source of most political contributions of note and so, have a great deal of influence. Indeed, some of the political minions of the city belong to these powerful families.
Businesses that do not fit find it difficult to get needed permits.
The Heights:
Somewhere between the high-class modern sleekness of Uptown and the crumbling decay of the Red Light District, the Heights has been home to immigrants and working class families for years. Throughout the city there are old brownstone townhouses that are now being renovated into businesses with comfortable, affordable lofts and apartments above. Most of the businesses are completely legitimate, but others are fronts for shadier enterprises. Only those that know the right people and ask the right questions will ever know the difference.
The Heights fosters a unique sense of pace: images of kids riding bicycles on tree-lined streets, homespun parades and neighbors who know each other by name. Citizens take pride in their neighborhoods, and democracy-in-action is often lively because it is a close-knit community. In The Heights, individuals can make a difference by taking part in the system.
But make no mistake about it; the peaceable, hard-working smile of the day can be cracked by lawless elements from more crime-ridden areas who occasionally wander over, drawn by full cash boxes of the businesses in The Heights.
And as the sun sets, the slower beat of the day is replaced by the faster, darker tempo of the night. How dark does the night get? It gets as dark as the shadows of your heart and mind can make it.
The Heights can be misleading – the smile that offers you change across a counter during the day may hide more sinister wants and needs that bloom at night. And while you dine on the ground floor, talking with friends and looking out of window at the street, do you really know what happens in the basement or in a room upstairs?
And the alleys off Ninth can hide terror after the shadows of night fall.
Diversity is easy to find in The Heights. It is the most diverse area in the city. That diversity gives a wonderful richness to the tapestry of the Heights, but can also bring to it, darker threads brought to the Heights from other places.
The police patrol her with solid regularity, particularly on Ninth, Mayberry east of Ninth, Layden Lane, Remembrance Boulevard and, to a lesser extent, Shady Lane. And when darkness reaches its hands too blatantly into the Heights, the police respond with even more intensity.
The Red-Light District:
The Red-Light District area in The City is NOT a ritzy glitzy area. It is old, it is hard-pressed and it is dark. Violence is a normal occurrence in this area. During the day there’s less but at night, it’s rough, it’s harsh, and it’s hateful in many ways. This is the abode of whores, pimps, dealers, bookies, loan sharks, junkies, muggers, gamblers, and other habitués of the demimonde. Open sexual acts can be seen happening in the alleys, doorways, and shadows of Barton Street. Violence spills over from the railroad yards frequently.
People can disappear here, particularly women who are unescorted and often perceived by the Barton Street predators as prey. However, crime is mostly disorganized here, although fingers of the gangs on the waterfront can reach up with taloned claws on infrequent occasions.
The buildings here are old and shabby. However, attempts in the past to upgrade them have failed. And the city seems to silently support the Red-Light District by discouraging new construction.
The police come when they have to, but unless they are specifically on one of their infrequent crusades against vice, most police officers avoid this area. Crime is seen as normal here.
Twilight Avenue is a border line between the Red-Light District and The Height’s. It is a battleground between the children of the night and the hard-working folk of The Height’s, but perhaps is best seen as the place that shows that even The Height’s has is pulsing hypocrisy nestled away, generally out of sight….but not so much in the twilight.
The Docks:
The Docks curve from the farthest end of The City at Primrose to the most south end tip where it passes Remembrance Boulevard. The Boardwalk can be accessed from many points along the route. Bustling, well worn planks run the length of the waterfront from the City Beach on the north end to the properties on the south end.
Daytime fills the air with a cacophony of sounds and scents. The roar of machinery, scent of diesel and the rough voices of burly dock workers blend together in an orderly chaos. It’s a labyrinth of rutted service roads that slash through the waterfront, pitted and in ill-repair, providing trucks with access to the rat-infested ships that unload their goods here. But at night? Ah, at night, silence and lapping water reigns, broken by the wailing sounds of music drifting from the clubs.
The waterfront is an area in a state of flux. Traditionally, it's been as dark and dangerous by day as it is by night. Most of it still is. Crime on the waterfront runs from the solitary footpad to the powerful organized gangs that run the drug trade, weapons smuggling, and battle over control of prostitution. During the day, the police answer calls with a moderate alacrity. But at night, few police wish to go into the darkness without back up. It is a given that interference in the gangland business of the docks, including attempts of business to spread into their turf, would bring about rapid and deadly vengeance. Bribes of a substantial nature also help protect the criminal gangs of the waterfront and keep it what it is.
Islands of development have made some inroads. Some buildings are protected by expensive security details that defy the criminal element. The Southern Empress and the City Beach form another island of civilization. And during the day, the boardwalk can be reasonably safe, most of the time.
But by night, even the most affluent residents of the area tend to stay locked indoors...because at night, the Docks belong to darkness.
Areas on the Outskirts of City
The Hills
On the eastern edge of the City, from Primrose Drive to the Atlantic Ocean, lies a semi-rural area of fine estates, suburban developments, and boutique and working farms. The terrain is hilly, heavily wooded except where landowners have cleared it to build their small kingdoms, intersected by winding roads and rushing streams. A network of hiking and riding trails runs between many of the properties and along the stream beds. Along the Atlantic, the properties have miles of beachfront, enough that a landowner there could dock a fine yacht, or sailing boats. The Hills: a place where many secrets may be kept behind high locked gates.
The Southside
Eight blocks south of Remembrance Boulevard is what was once The Slums. Not too long ago, this was little more than a crime-ridden cluster of crumbling buildings housing the hopeless, people whose problems were settled with the knife and the gun or with whatever street drugs could be found.
Re-development has changed The Slums. Now re-named the Southside, new businesses have brought employment opportunities. Crime is no longer the main occupation. Affordable housing has replaced many of the run-down, abandoned buildings. Blue-collar workers are replacing the whores, the bookies, the pimps, and the other refuse of society that once controlled the streets of The Slums. And one prominent area business owner has created an elegant estate just across from MLK Park, nature’s jewel located at the east end of The Southside.
Nature walks, a winter ice skating rink and an outdoor concert venue are features of MLK Park, and it is a popular spot for visitors and residents alike.
As in virtually all areas of The City, crime and violence still can be found in The Southside. There are still seedy streets and shady characters. Michigan Ave. is often the scene of gang violence. But The Southside is an area in transition, and people of all kinds are welcome here.
The Hood
Across the bridge from Waterway are River Drive and The Hood. This is the Black ghetto on the edge of the City and is composed of shambling buildings and hard, unyielding sidewalks upon which whores ply their trade under the wary eyes of their pimps.
This is the realm of The Bros. At one time, they were simply one gang among many, but with a combination of savagery, intelligence, and stubbornness, they eliminated the other gangs. The last gang that fell was the Shadows who were absorbed into The Bros after their leaders disappeared in a violent night of bloodshed.
No one crosses the Bros. Not anymore. They control everything in The Hood: prostitution, white slavery, gambling, drug dealing, the numbers racket, loan sharking, car theft, money laundering, and other occupations of that sort. And for those who try and move in, they reply with the shotgun and the automatic rifle.
The police avoid the Hood for the most part. They respond when called, but with the knowledge that no one is ever a witness in The Hood.
There have been no attempts at redevelopment in The Hood. The omnipresent power of The Bros prevents anyone operating here without their consent.
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