New York City

New York City, abbreviated as NYC, is a major city on Earth. By about 2542, it is the most populous city in all of the United Republic of North America.

United States of America
New York City was originally founded in 1624 as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and was renamed New York by the King of England. It was the United States' largest city since 1790. In 1952, the United Nations building was constructed in New York to house the organization.

On July 15, 2007, members of the Society of the Ancients attempted to spread their ideas regarding past alien visitors to pedestrians in Times Square.

The city, as with the rest of the United States, transitioned into the United Republic of North America prior to 2542.

Gangs (and Spartans) of New York
By 2552 New York City was home to the Morelli family: Jason, his wife, Bonita, and their son, Jersey. The three of them lived together in a four-level building that housed UNSC Armed Forces families. One other such family who lived in the tenement was the James family, comprised up of Jim, and his daughter, Janissary, or Jan. That year, Jersey's personal computer was invaded by a confused fragment of Melissa, an artificial intelligence construct from the, an Office of Naval Intelligence prowler. Jersey named the fragment Durga. The only thing Durga could remember was that she liked to investigate things, so Jersey asked her to get information on his neighbor, Jan. The AI compiled an extensive amount of audio files from the chatters of people around Jan in order to build a picture of her life, and eventually began spying on others as well via the wider ChatterNet, including individuals as far as Boston.

After learning that she possessed unique physical abilities that superseded those of baseline humans, Janissary visited a moons parlor, Sharfie's to try her hand at the game. There she ended up saving a man about to be murdered by a gang by beating its leader, Thin Kinkle, in moons. Later, she was approached by a man who had a friend, Gene Lindsey, interested in joining Kinkle's gang. The man told her that his friend was supposed to prove himself by doing something they could hold over him forever, namely a rape. The man asked if Jan could offer any help to his friend, and Jan agreed to intervene in the situation.She rescued the would-be rape victim and gravely injured everyone involved. After this, Thin Kinkle somehow managed to kidknap her in retaliation and bring her to his base of operations. The gangster proceeded to torture his captive with a device called a Cupid's Knife. Her father attempted to rescue her, but was captured as well. Kinkle shot and killed him in front of Janissary. As soon as Jan's situation came to the attention of Durga and Jersey, Durga remotely shut down all the security apparatus at the location. This allowed Gilly, Jan's mother, and a former Spartan-I, to infiltrate the building and rescue her daughter, killing everyone else inside in the process. Only Thin Kinkle himself managed to escape. At the funeral for Jim, Jersey approached Jan and told her everything Durga had unearthed about Kinkle and who he worked for: the mob boss, Monster Ann. With this knowledge, Gladys Wilson, Gilly, and her daughter went to the Crystal Security building and Gilly personally killed both individuals.

When the Covenant's Fleet of Sacred Consecration arrived at Earth on October 20, New York City was filled with the sounds of sirens alerting the populace to the threat.

New York City proper
New York City is composed of a multitude of islands and neighborhoods. The most prominent of these islands is Manhattan, where the original UN Headquarters and Times Square were located. Coney Island was another island in the city.

Metropolitan area
By 2552, there are at least two United Nations Space Command military bases located within the New York area. One of these bases is designated Paris 23 and is found in Bergen County, formerly of the state of New Jersey. Kavetti's is local business also located in Bergen County that sells ice cream.

The Waterfront Hotel has a restaurant which serves many foods, notably tuna. Hot 'n' Cold is a café with a beverage dispenser and coffee machine. Sharfie's is a parlor dedicated to playing the game moons, in the bad part of New York City that is known as a place police officers don't patrol. There is at least one casino in the city.

Economy and Society
New York City has the reputation of being a "big media-advertising town". Only Beijing in China rivals it in this respect. Most people on Earth working in media and advertising, especially journalists and photographers, live in one of these two cities.

One of the companies that could be found in NYC in 2552 was Crystal Security. Crystal Security, however, was actually a front for a crime syndicate led by an individual that went by the name of Monster Ann. New York City is known for being the birth place of the New York strip, a short loin steak that originated in 1837 in Lower Manhattan. New York strips continue to be enjoyed well into the 26th Century. The URF leader, Colonel Robert Watts, routinely had New York steaks shipped to his private residence at Eridanus Secundus from the Eridanus II space docks.

Speculation

 * It can be assumed that the 26th Century New York City comprises a great deal more area than it did in the 21st. The Greater Chicago Industrial Zone and New Phoenix serve as examples of 26th-Century metroplexes that grew from what used to be smaller cities in the past. NYC had around 8.5 million residents in the early 21st century. If New York City grew at the same proportion that Phoenix and Flagstaff did over the centuries, then it could have around 39.5 million residents.
 * The UNSC Supreme Headquarters is located somewhere within the URNA. It is likely that it is in NYC, seeing as the United Nations is already headquartered there.

Known residents

 * Aiden Maki
 * Bergen County officer
 * Bonita Morelli
 * Commuter
 * Dwayne
 * Frank
 * Gene Lindsey
 * Gilly
 * Gladys Wilson
 * Herbert
 * Hiroyuki
 * Jason Morelli
 * Jersey Morelli


 * Kamal Zaman
 * Janissary James
 * Jim James
 * Marine officer
 * Marta
 * Marty
 * Monster Ann
 * Pete
 * Simon Brown
 * Sophia Bossedon
 * Steve
 * Thin Kinkle

Trivia

 * The November 11, 1918 issue of the city's The New York Times was used as litter in Halo 3: ODST as an easter egg.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * i love bees
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Escalation