New York City

New York City is the most populated city in the United States of America. Once a cosmopolitan metropolis, after a nuclear terrorist attack and unsuccessful rebuilding efforts, it has collapsed into crime-filled streets with sections of the city, known as "lawless zones," being entirely cut off.

1990s
In 1993, Colombian druglords detonated a nuclear device in New York City at noon on a Thursday, killing 15,000 (unofficially reported to be much higher) in retaliation for US attacks on Bogota, destroying the World Trade Center and Rockefeller Center. As a result, the Manhattan borough became akin to a large combat zone. Immediately after the nuclear detonation, plans were made to rebuild Manhattan. However, The Collapse brought these plans to an end with the collapse of the federal government. Despite the damage done to Manhattan, other boroughs of New York such as Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, managed to survive, growing to compensate for the loss of Manhattan. As such, Manhattan has become reputed as a treasure trove of riches, from jewelry and bank vaults, for cyberpunks and treasure hunters willing to search the borough. Arasaka was eventually brought in to protect the city from utter destruction.

2020
In November of 2020, Night City Today printed a story about how the city suffered the worst winter in over 100 years, recording 180 deaths directly by the weather by November 10th, with many more homeless expected to be found frozen to death. Massive snowfalls, negative 20° degrees temperatures nightly, and 3 and a half feet of snow caused major infrastructure stoppages and delays to streets and airports, allowing only vectored thrust crafts. The National Guard was sent in to assist emergency services and maintain order.

However, many companies still found opportunities in the city, with offices of many major and local corporations located in the city, with the Perkins/Worldwide Contractors company having several major projects underway in 2020. Another major reconstruction project is the Gargoyles nomad tribe planning to extend the TransCon Maglev to the city, with preliminary work determined to begin by 2023, although it is not known how the Fourth Corporate War and succeeding Time of the Red have affected this, if at all.

2045
During the Time of the Red, New York was part of the Boston-Washington Corridor (BosWash), located within the remnants of the US Federal Government. New York might not have been the worst city in the USA by then, but it continued to be far from the best place to live.

2077
As of 2077, the people of Night City continued to mention New York City. The luxury fashion brand New Empire features a stylized logo of the Empire State Building, and the coffee chain Brooklyn Barista can also be found around Night City. Song So Mi, a netrunner working for the Federal Intelligence Agency, lived her early years in a brownstone apartment in Brooklyn.

Notable people

 * Michael Hart (Fixer, currently based in Tokyo, Japan)
 * Shelly Simpson (Netrunner)
 * Bosh (Solo and Bounty Hunter, currently based in Night City)
 * Adam Smasher (Solo, member of Arasaka security and former gang member, currently based in Night City)
 * Song So Mi (Netrunner, FIA Agent)