Manhattan Exclusion Zone
Owner US Federal Government Established November 8th, 2011
Purpose Abandoned Ruin
Status Illegally Inhabited

On November 8th, 2011 an SLC-Expressive event unleashed an atomic explosion half a mile above the ruins of Midtown Manhattan. This catastrophic event demolished already fragile buildings, set fire to hundreds more, and sent out an EMP shockwave that threw Manhattan and portions of the Bronx into darkness. This was the beginning of the Second American Civil War, and the riots that started in its aftermath raged onward, turning to outright war. In 2012, in response to violence across the country, then-President Andrew Mitchell ordered the construction of a concrete wall around the entirety of Manhattan with the intention of turning it into a prison and containment camp for SLC-Expressive humans. Construction of the wall was never fully completed, and portions on the Bronx side of the island remain unfinished to this day.

In the aftermath of the war, the entire region was declared the Manhattan Exclusion Zone and entry to the island prohibited. The twenty-foot-thick wall of concrete and steel surrounding Manhattan rises two hundred and fifty feet into the air. Brown streaks of rust from upper walkways left unfinished mar the wall. Blue tarps torn to shreds by high winds flutter and flap from the walkways' twisted remains. At four points along the wall's length, where it would have met the Queensboro, George Washington, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges, are fifty-foot-high and equally wide gates of rust-streaked steel, denoting what were once intended to be entrances to the largest internment camp ever created on Earth.

But it never came to be. Inside this wall, Manhattan is an untamed and crumbling ruin. To date, no efforts to reclaim Manhattan or the dead within its walls have been made, even though estimates indicate that the fallout from the 2011 nuclear event was likely no longer hazardous as of 2016. Those found trespassing in the Manhattan Exclusion Zone are likely to face steep fines and jail time, if they do not die from a structural collapse within the ruin. Government officials and contractors can seek special dispensation to enter the ruins for official business; few choose to.

Manhattan Exclusion Zone

Locations

Additional Info

Restricted Scene Access

If you would like to explore the Manhattan Exclusion Zone, please speak to Manhattan.

Notable Events

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