Manhattan

Depending upon the source, “Manhattan” is a Munsee word for the “place where timber is gathered for bows and arrows” (manahatouh), an “island” (menatay) or a “place of general inebriation” (manahactanienk). Any of these may have been originally true, but in the modern nights, Manhattan is the area most people think of when they imagine New York. It is the most famous borough, a region of cultural importance, the center of East Coast finance, a haven for entertainment and art, and all manner of other epithets. If something’s happening in New York, it’s probably happening in Manhattan.

For this reason, Manhattan is a prestigious place to claim a domain. Most of the young Licks flocking to the city at least attempt to set themselves up here first, though circumstances sometimes cause them to reconsider. It’s expensive to live in Manhattan, and certainly no less expensive for the undead to maintain a haven.

The Greenwich Village Gate

Perry Street in Greenwich Village

The Midtown-Turtle Bay Domain

Turtle Bay, Manhattan - Wikipedia
Park Avenue to Second Avenue and 49th Street to 54th Street

The domain of the Ventrue Victor Ashford includes several blocks of prime Midtown territory, including more than a few cultural and financial keystones of the city. While this is mainly a claim made for appearances’ sake, Ashford protects the physical boundaries of the domain with vigor.

In some cases, preventing Kindred presence is impossible. Citicorp Center lies within the domain, and while few vampires ever go there physically, keeping those Kindred with financial interests in the company out would be an impossible task. Additionally, the domain is in the heart of the city. Telling Kindred to stay off Park Avenue would be an exercise in futility. All Ashford asks is that Kindred observe not only the Traditions but a sense of decorum while visiting his domain as well. In many senses, Ashford’s domain is an expression of his power and influence. It includes not only the Citicorp Center, but also the Seagram Building (designed by famed architect Mies van der Rohe); St. Bartholomew’s Church, anomalous among the skyscrapers with its low, Byzantine design; and the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, where Ashford keeps a block of four luxury suites as one of his havens and can gladly offer hospitality for Kindred in his good favor. Horace Greeley and Edgar Allen Poe also lived in Turtle Bay, lending an air of gravity and Gothic grandeur to the domain. Tonight, Turtle Bay is an affluent residential neighborhood of brownstones and luxury apartments, further adding to its poise with residents such as Katharine Hepburn and Steven Sondheim.

One of Victor Ashford’s favorite haunts lies just beyond the formal borders of his domain, the 21 Club, on 52nd Street, just east of Sixth Avenue. The 21 Club was a speakeasy during the years of Prohibition (and was then known as Jack and Charlie’s, after owners Jack Kreindler and Charles Berns), and in later years attracted its share of socialites and celebrities. Tonight, the 21 Club is a legitimate restaurant of the very expensive, jacket-and-tie, no-reservation-no-table variety. Ashford has been known to meet with Kindred here, over “dinner” and “drinks” to discuss various matters of the city’s concern.

Madison Square and Madison Square Garden

Madison Square and Madison Square Park - Wikipedia
Madison Square Garden - Wikipedia

The area between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street and 26th Street (Madison Square)
Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets (Madison Square Garden).

Madison Square and Madison Square Garden are not domains. They are considered to be Elysium. All of the standard traditions of Elysium are observed in both places, punishable by action from the prince, or, in his absence, the sheriff.

Originally, Prince Drake had declared only the smallest portion of Madison Square Garden as Elysium: a conference box. This was expanded to include the whole of the garden not six months afterward, as a Brujah and a Gangrel took their differences to the floor of the venue and proceeded to get physical. This, technically, broke no rules (other than threatening the Masquerade, though no real breach occurred), but Drake had no desire to risk it again.

Soon after the expansion of Elysium to include the whole of Madison Square Garden, word circulated that the prince had expanded Elysium to include “all of Madison Square as well as the Garden.” Rather than fight the rumor, Drake did indeed make Madison Square Elysium as well as Madison Square Garden, even though the two are two streets over and five streets up from each other.

Both the square and the garden remain Elysium to this night.

Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal - Wikipedia
Park Avenue, between 42nd and 46th Streets

The former domain and haven of Prince Michaela now lies abandoned. As such, Grand Central Terminal is now an open hunting ground.

Wall Street

Wall Street - Wikipedia
At the southern tip of Manhattan, north-northwest of Battery Park

One would expect a financial district, such as Wall Street, to traditionally be the domain of the Ventrue. However, in a bold move [[Alexander Drake|Prince Drake]] Has declared this his personal Domain. Not because he has any interest in the money (not much anyway) but as an act of sheer defiance of the Ventrue and [[Victor Ashford]]. He uses the domains influence and Power to help stabilize the City as a whole, and as leverage to settle other disputes. Largely He wants to make sure no one else has control as he doesn't believe there are many who would put then eeds of the city above their own greed.

The Chantry of the Five Boroughs

Numerous locations; satellites change location and focus every seven years