Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
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Last Edit: Mar 7, 2016 4:01:29 GMT -5 by Avalikia
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Post by Avalikia on Jun 28, 2015 4:14:26 GMT -5
(Note: This is IC information - the news media, especially the talkshows - would be covering it.) - An anonymous tipster convinced the media to look into recent land purchases by the city government. - After much arm-twisting and references to the Freedom of Information Act, the applicable documents were released. - The documents show that there have been large purchases of land in the southeast part of Gotham, including such locations as Park Row, a portion of the dockyards and warehouse districts, and Amusement mile. Generally speaking this area of Gotham is considered to be the most run-down part of the city when it comes to the buildings not being maintained properly and such. - This area is not necessarily considered to be the worst part of it when it comes to crime, however - it's simply the part that's falling apart the most. - The pattern of purchases suggests that the government are not merely buying individual buildings (which would suggest a project to restore those buildings, replace them with others, or something along those lines) but an actually sizable portion of the city - which would suggest that they have plans for a major project involving the entire area and not merely a few buildings here and there. - That this is their plan is easily confirmed by asking any of those who own property in that sector that hasn't been purchased yet - all of them are currently in negotiations with the city about their property. Those who have already sold are largely those who were actually interested in selling. Those who haven't are less interested - some are quick to complain that the city is not offering enough money for their property, while others just plain don't want to sell period. All of them, but especially the latter, are concerned that the government will force the issue. - This land grab has been quietly going on for the past several months. - This portion of the city includes some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, and the residents of the areas already purchased report that they've been served with eviction notices. While those who can move have done so, many of them can't afford it, so a large portion of them haven't done so - which means that they're basically squatting in the apartments they used to rent. The city seems to have made no effort to force anyone to move, however. - The mayor's office is refusing to respond to any questions about the matter. - The city council has been slightly more forthcoming, but only to the point of confirming that they do have plans for that area, but state that they aren't at liberty to disclose exactly what those plans are at this time.
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Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 826
~ Relationship Status: Love Triangle
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Post by Avalikia on Jul 18, 2015 20:40:18 GMT -5
- Careful scrutiny of the situation by the city's media outlets have revealed the following picture of the city's land grab. The scope of the project seems to have increased since it was originally brought to the public's attention.
Already owned by the City: - Solomon Wayne Courthouse - GCPD Building (not the main headquarters, but a large local office)
Sold to the City: - Gotham Cathedral - Ace Chemical Processing Inc. - Krank Co. Toys - Sionis Industries - a portion of the Gotham Dockyards - Tricorner Naval - the section of the Gotham Subway servicing the area - Cyrus Pinkney's Institute for Natural History - Wonder Tower
Currently in Negotiations: - The Stacked Deck - The Iceberg Lounge - Dini Towers - Monarch Theatre - Gotham City Olympus Nightclub - The First National Bank of Gotham - Gotham Towers Apartments
Refusing to Sell: - Finnigan's Bar (popular with the GCPD) - Gotham Casino - Hotel Aventine - Sal Maroni's Italian Restaurant - Shreck's Department Store
Numerous smaller businesses, warehouses, apartment buildings, etc. fall into each category as well.
- The city has come under fire for the fact that it's failing to maintain or secure the properties that it has acquired, aside from Wonder Tower. While the buildings have been emptied of most things of value (especially small, portable things that would be instantly looted) this puts all the pressure for keeping criminals, squatters, etc. from using these areas on the GCPD. (Note: This means that any criminals amongst us that are interested in a big, empty building would find the above city-owned properties ripe for the taking with only the GCPD to stop them.) - The city has also come under fire for keeping the public in the dark about what exactly it intends to do with all of these properties. This point in particular has caused a lot of public discontent, especially in the social media arena. - Under the increasing public pressure, the Mayor's office has announced that there will be a press conference within the next few days, when the city's plans for the area will be revealed to the public. It has also stressed that there was never the intention of keeping secrets from the public - the mayor and the city council merely didn't want to go public with the information while the details were still being hashed out and were likely to be revised.
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Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 826
~ Relationship Status: Love Triangle
~ Partner: HTML and CSS
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Post by Avalikia on Jul 26, 2015 3:25:53 GMT -5
- The full text of Mayor Sharp's speech at the press conference: My fellow Gothamites, let me first express my appreciation for your patience with us, your elected leaders, as we attempt to follow our mandate - to lead our fair city in accordance to the best interests and desires of you, the people. I understand that many of you have become concerned about some of our recent decisions - rest assured, while your concerns are completely understandable given the premature release of information with no context to make our intentions clear, there is no reason to be alarmed. And none of us expect you to simply take our word for it - that's why we're here today.
It would probably be a bit redundant at this point for me to stand at this very podium and once again speak at length about my love for this city, so I'll refrain. But in spite of Gotham's many virtues, there is one fault within her that stands well above all other faults: Crime. And why is it that crime is such a problem? Is it because we don't have one of the nation's best-funded police forces? No. The worst of the worst criminals that afflict our fair city are captured all the time. In fact, the same ones are often caught more than once in a year - that, my fellow Gothamites, is the problem. The fact that we can't seem to hang on to them long enough to either punish them or rehabilitate them has been a problem for years.
And why can't we hang on to them? Is it because our facilities aren't state of the art? Is it because they're poorly managed? No. The problem is that we're not attempting to hang on to ordinary criminals, who could be contained in ordinary facilities - we are attempting to hang on to Gotham's criminals and they require a Gotham solution. Which is why I and your city council have been aggressively seeking solutions to this problem. We're not the only city dealing with a problem of this kind, and we've looked into their solutions, but what we've ultimately decided upon was the one that we believe best suits the needs of Gotham. And our top priority is a facility that can do what our present ones cannot: keep those who have lost their right to freedom safely locked away where they can no longer harm our innocent, law-abiding citizens.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that the solution that we've chosen isn't perfect, it isn't pretty, and it isn't finished. But there's nothing perfect or pretty about crime, and we're finished enough to begin - we can only do so much based on guesses and projections, so as we move forward on this project we'll still need to fine-tune our plans and adapt to any flaws that are discovered. Which is why this solution requires strong leadership if we're to have any hope that we'll succeed. And who better to put in charge of this project than the one man in Gotham who knows more about Gotham's breed of criminal than any other? Which is why I'm going to turn the time over to Doctor Jeremiah Arkham, who will explain a bit further. - The full text of Doctor Arkham's speech at the press conference: My citizens of Gotham. My dear and stubborn citizens of Gotham. Today is a day our ancestors would look in pride on. Ever since these shores were settled by those with a dream of new beginnings and change, Gotham has been the home of the stalwart and the brave, but it has also attracted peoples with less moral leanings, but did that stop us from growing? Did that stop us from building homes and businesses? Did it stop us from living until that mere settlement spread before us to become the sterling city it is today? No, it didn’t because Gotham Citizens are a breed of tough, never bowing people! And now, we take another step because we never give up.
For years our criminals have been locked in places either too easy to escape from, or subject to the poorest conditions. Arkham Asylum, Blackgate Penitentiary especially come to mind when thinking of where the crust of our society is housed. I took pride in Arkham, I tried to keep it running, but it the decision must be made. Arkham Asylum will be torn down, it will be rebuilt. Blackgate will be closed down. For months upon months the city council under the advice of myself and others have acquired the land that was once known to be our most infamous slums. Once because now it will used for a far better purpose, to house and contain our criminals; to contain those who have been labeled rogue. Our most dangerous, our most deranged will now be kept and separated from the city.
Gotham, you’ve failed. But that time will end now. Today we take the first step in trying to fix a system so broken and I promise you, somehow and someway, good will be found. We all want to see Gotham thriving.
Thank you. - After Doctor Arkham's speech, a few crude renderings of some of the elements of the proposed prison (along with a healthy dose of the Arkham City branding) were available, and everyone was directed to a new section on the city's website for more renderings and other information. - The website includes renderings of some of the more impressive features of Arkham City, like the sheer size and scale of the containing wall (both on land and the sea fence), the armed guards patrolling it, and the helicopters patrolling the sky, but other than such images there is little explanation of the specifics of the security that will be in place and even the images are labeled as being subject to revision. There is also a disclaimer that the city is not at liberty to disclose many of the details of the security system for fear that the very ones the facility is meant to house will use the information to their advantage. - The website also includes renderings of a few of the main areas of the administrative facility, already under construction in the old Wonder Tower, as well as the prominent slogan: Zero Escapes! - One thing that's noticeably from the website is any sort of a map of exactly where the boundaries of Arkham City lie, and the renderings mainly reveal that it will be very large. However, those involved in maintaining the list of which businesses were being affected by the land grab have been circulating a map that's approximately correct - the main flaw with this map is that the exact boundaries can't be precisely determined, though it can be assumed that anything in the middle of the area is guaranteed to be a part of it.
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Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 826
~ Relationship Status: Love Triangle
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Last Edit: Oct 25, 2015 1:29:14 GMT -5 by Avalikia
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Post by Avalikia on Oct 25, 2015 1:29:00 GMT -5
- Ground has been broken on the main component of Arkham City: the outer wall. It's a major undertaking, several stories high, dwarfing a mere skyscraper in scale as far the amount of material required to fill out its length, but while its exact specifications are being kept secret out of security concerns it's far less complex and is therefore expected to go up very quickly - within a matter of months. It's being constructed by a reputable company based out of the mid-west. - The decision to begin now has immediately come under fire, as not all the properties to be located within Arkham City have been sold to the city - usually because the owner of the property has refused to sell. When repeatedly pressured for a comment, the city council and mayor finally released a short statement, in which they basically stated that they will not be forcing anyone to sell. However, they do own the rights to the land where the wall is being built so they have the right to build it, and the property owners are very well aware of the city's plans for the area, so it's up to the individual property owners to decide what they will do in light of that - stressing that they will have no obligation to protect any properties or people who choose to remain behind the walls. - Meanwhile, with none of several attempts by various individuals and organizations opposed to the project appearing able to gain any ground, those currently within the region to be enclosed have begun to move elsewhere, and it's emptying quickly. But though those who can find another place to live and work are doing so, the markets for unskilled labor and low income housing in the region are becoming rapidly over-saturated. - As a result thousands of people are having difficulty in leaving - most of them are squatting in buildings now officially owned by the city, who is making no effort to remove them. While the number of them is slowly going down, the situation for those left is becoming more desperate and dangerous by the week as it's largely the more stable and trustworthy people who are managing to find opportunities elsewhere, leaving behind the dregs of society behind. Small and medium crimes of all kinds are beginning to skyrocket, to the point that it's becoming more dangerous for the police to patrol many neighborhoods.
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Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 826
~ Relationship Status: Love Triangle
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Last Edit: Mar 7, 2016 9:05:43 GMT -5 by Avalikia
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Post by Avalikia on Mar 7, 2016 3:54:19 GMT -5
- The walls around Arkham City are nearing completion, and the city has announced that the official opening ceremony will take place this upcoming weekend. (As in the upcoming RL weekend - the 12th-13th).
- This is occurring in spite of the fact that there are still people living in that region of the city. When asked about them, the official responses from city officials tend to be a comment about how most of them are basically squatting illegally on city owned property, they have been given ample warning to leave, and that they're still able to leave until the gates are shut on opening day. After that, if they're still there, they've obviously made their choice. Exactly how many people there are left isn't actually known - estimates from different sources range from slightly less than one thousand to several thousand.
- The subway system though this part of the city has been closed and sealed off, and pretty much all (legitimate) business has ceased. Most of the area has turned into a sort of a ghost town - except that it's extremely dangerous at night because many of the people who have lingered around aren't the most law-abiding.
- Speaking of the law - the police no longer patrol the area. Instead large signs posted at every gate into the area indicate that it's very dangerous inside and you're proceeding inside at your own risk.
- There are some legal proceedings coming from some of the property owners who have still refused to sell and aren't happy with the fact that their properly is being walled in and will become inaccessible to them, etc. However, none of the judges involved in these cases are willing to issue a stop order on the Arkham City project, so it doesn't appear to be likely that there will be any last minute hang-ups.
Notes for when Arkham City opens
Arkham City Access
- The walls surrounding Arkham City have been effectively built up into a very formidable barrier. They are multiple stories tall all the way around (the exact height varies based on the surrounding terrain) and topped with angled razor wire. When topped by brainwashedextremely vigilant TYGER soldiers who shoot to kill, even those who are accustomed to simply climbing over anything in their path would find the prospect of getting in or out of Arkham City to be daunting at best. Even Batman would take one look at it and decide that there must be a better way than climbing over the wall.
- And there is a better way - through the air. And even that is problematic because whole buildings have been removed in an effort to ruin any decent angle to try to glide or do any similar thing to get into or out of the city - at least not without running a gauntlet of bullets from both the guards on the walls and in the helicopters. And the airspace above the city is extremely restricted and the TYGER helicopters will shoot pretty much anything they see trying to enter or leave unless they have official clearance to be theres - even GCPD helicopters must get clearance to enter Arkham City airspace. How effective are they? Well, Batman could use the BatWing to airlift himself in and out of the city, but it's tricky even for him with his skills and equipment - he would certainly question whether or not his visit to Arkham City was really worth the trouble. And if it's that much of a problem for Batman, guess how hard it is for others?
- Except for those few characters who are inherently able to fly. Because that helps. Especially if the character is also bulletproof.
- Or you can attempt to get clearance to enter and leave the city. Clearance is granted by the Arkham City administrators, and usually only on a visit to visit basis.
- In summary of all the above: Do not assume that your character can just enter and leave the Arkham City freely. At the present time, these are the characters who I believe would be able to come and go freely (though not always without difficulty):
Has Permission as Staff: Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask Joan Leland
Has Special Permission: Lex Luthor (limited - to and from Dini Tower only)
Has Equipment and Skills: Bruce Wayne - Batman
Can Fly: Clark Kent - Superman Kory Anders - Starfire Kara Zor-El - Supergirl
- Most of these characters are able to transport others with them in and out of the city, but otherwise some sort of IC permission/scheme/etc. would need to be involved in order to enter or leave. There will be ways to escape, smuggle things, paths through the underground, etc. but you'll have to wait until Arkham City opens to get the details about that. For now note that if your character ends up in Arkham City that sort of thing will not be available to them initially - those things take time to set up.
Other Important Things
- If your character will be in Arkham City when it opens because they entered it before it opened and didn't leave, I need you to tell me this week. (Preferably via PM.) If you're not sure if this is what you want to do, now is the time to make up your mind.
- If you believe that your character would have free access to and from Arkham City and they're not on the above list, let me know this week. (Preferably via PM.) Note that I do not need to know, for example, that Nightwing would be able to easily get a ride from either Starfire or Batman - I only need to know who the 'ride providers' are.
- If your character will be thrown into Arkham City shortly after it opens because they were in either the Arkham Asylum or Blackgate and they are currently running free, please at least start the thread where they get caught this week.
- While we're always flexible about when in the flow of time threads start, I would advise starting any additional pre-Arkham City threads now, and if they're within the area of Arkham City it would be preferable to me if they reflect the current condition of that area of the city as explained above. I would also advise against starting any threads set after Arkham City opens just yet - soon, but not yet!
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Registered On: Mar 28, 2024 20:56:25 GMT -5 ~
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2016 1:20:31 GMT -5
Out of curiosity, did the city redirect the sewers as well, and close off all of those access tunnels?
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Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 826
~ Relationship Status: Love Triangle
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Post by Avalikia on Mar 10, 2016 9:12:24 GMT -5
All known sewers large enough for a person have been sealed of if possible, have been grated off if they were actually still needed, and are being monitored. Still, Gotham is a very old city and the underground has plenty of tunnels that nobody really remembers about. Then again, if nobody knows about them, that means that they're well hidden.
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Avalikia
Beware the Admin!
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Registered On: Oct 25, 2010 17:23:29 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 826
~ Relationship Status: Love Triangle
~ Partner: HTML and CSS
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Post by Avalikia on Apr 3, 2016 4:30:33 GMT -5
- The minimum security prisoners from Blackgate have finished being moved into Arkham City, without any apparent problems. - The medium security prisoners from Blackgate are now being added, along with the minimum security inmates in Arkham City - this represents the bulk of the prisoners that will be moved. - The Arkham City administration office reports that everything has been running smoothly thus far.
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