Writing a story, requesting information on NYC

[Scorpion]

Hi there! I wanted to write a Punisher fanfic, but, being from across the pond, I know next to nothing about New York except what I saw in cheesy 80's movies, so I would like to ask New Yorkers in these boards for some assistance!

In my story, I would like to recreate that same environment I saw in those old 1980's cop flick: run down buildings, filthy streets, hookers and thugs in every corner, vapour coming from the sewers, you know. So I would like to know:
- if there are still these kind of degraded neighbourhoods;
- where they are and what's their name;
- what kind of buildings they have;
- a heavy prostitution/brothels/drugs area;

You know, things that makes someone who reads it feel like the writer has actually been there.

Thanks in advance!
Scorpion

[Mayabird]

First, are you trying to set the Punisher in the "real" world? If it's supposed to be set in his own world, you could just do a Google map satellite look and then run with the style, and wave away any discrepancies with "it sucks more in his world." Movies and comics exaggerate and stylize things anyway.

[Scorpion]

Well, my intent is to write a story in the vein of the MAX-published Punisher comics. It's basicaly our world, with the Punisher (and Nick Fury, IIRC) in it.

The thing is, I know nothing or next to nothing about Manhattan and New York, and I don't want to make obvious mistakes, like putting a drug market in a posh part of town. The story mostly takes place in a small time crook's apartment, after he comes home from a brothel, that why I need to know what are the bad parts of town and what kind of building you have there...

Scorpion

[Mayabird]

Alright then. I altered the thread title so people who actually know something about NYC might have their eye caught and jump in with information. "Assistance needed" isn't quite as helpful.

[Slacker]

Well, are you looking at Manhattan specifically or just NYC in general? Manhattan has largely been gentrified in a lot of places that were absolute shitholes in the '80s. There are still sketchy parts of town-Spanish Harlem, for example-but they're pretty small in comparison to what they used to be. Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx certainly have their larger shitty regions, so to speak.

And steam still rises from the manhole covers. Steam vents are steam vents, that's one of the reasons why the city is generally a bit warmer than it would be otherwise.

[Scorpion]

Well, are you looking at Manhattan specifically or just NYC in general?

See? This is what I made this thread for. Manhattan is the big island with the skyscrapers, right? I though Manhattan WAS New York City!
Well, the Punisher mostly operates in and around NYC, so yeah, I'd like to know about the most run-down and crime-ridden parts of the area, "projects" and stuff... Places where the criminals roam without fear and where you don't go out at night...

Manhattan has largely been gentrified in a lot of places that were absolute shitholes in the '80s.

Umm, what does that mean, 'gentrified'?

[Todeswind]

Rich and white.

[tortieconspiracy]

See? This is what I made this thread for. Manhattan is the big island with the skyscrapers, right? I though Manhattan WAS New York City!
Well, the Punisher mostly operates in and around NYC, so yeah, I'd like to know about the most run-down and crime-ridden parts of the area, "projects" and stuff... Places where the criminals roam without fear and where you don't go out at night...

Well, if my Aunt is at all typical, Manhattan residents think of Manhattan as synonymous with NYC and the rest is "the Boroughs." NYC is actually composed of five sections called "boroughs" of which Manhattan is the largest, at least in terms of population. The other four are Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

I've never lived there, but I have visited a few times. The last time was in 2005 or '06, to go to a jewelry expo at the Javits Center.

[Slacker]

There is a distinct difference between Manhattan and the other four boroughs. When people in NYC refer to 'The City', they're referring specifically to Manhattan. Everywhere else on Earth, NYC refers to all five boroughs-this even includes us here on Long Island who realize there's a distinction. The vast majority of the landmarks one associates with NYC are on Manhattan Island.

As for crime-ridden parts of the entire city? You could deal with Russian organized crime in Brighton Beach in southern Brooklyn. Large swaths of northern Queens, up near Astoria and LaGuardia Airport are pretty shitacular. Most of the Bronx.

Staten Island has pockets, but it's almost got a suburby feel compared to the rest of the city, so it may not have the vibe you want.

And while 'rich and white' would normally work as a definition of gentrified, in New York it really just means 'rich'. The culturally significant parts of Harlem, for example, are still predominantly black, just, wealthy. Like where Clinton's office is, that area. Spanish Harlem is still pretty sketchy, and the area of Manhattan right around the Staten Island ferry is pretty sketchy. Few other places uptown, but in general Manhattan itself is absolutely tame compared to the bad old days.