- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Hey guys,
Not too many people know this about me, but in addition to being an English teacher, I also fancy myself as a bit of a writer. After several months of work, I've managed to put together a detailed treatment for what I think will be a killer story, and I'm looking to start writing it in the near future. However, I'm a little bit stuck with something, and I'm hoping members of the forums might be able to help me out.
The story is set in New York, and follows a disgraced homicide detective as he gets drawn into an investigation. My problem is that I've never actually been to New York (as much as I would love to go some day), so I don't know too much about the geography of the place and there's only so much that you can learn from Wikipedia and Google Maps. It's an odd request, but I'm hoping there's some people out there who might be able to give me a hand with it.
My character, Nathan Strand, was born into a fairly weathly family. They're not the sort who own half of Mahattan, but their name is well-known enough that it has prompted him to assume his mother's maiden name so as not to attract attention. I deliberately created him this way, because this kind of family is frequently depicted as corrupt in popular culture. Strand's family, on the other hand, are good people. He's a cop because he chooses to be; he's not railing against authority and nor is he running from skeletons in his closet.
What I'm looking for is a place for Strand to live. A lot of the early scenes I have in my head take place in and around his apartment. He's a part of the (fictional) 16th Precinct, so where he lives will dictate where he works; where he works will dictate where the murder victim is found because it has to be within the 16th's jurisdiction (a major subplot about Strand's backstory revolves around an investigation that took place on the eastern end of Long Island); the victim is a law professor at NYU or Columbia. So what I'm looking for is an area of Manhattan where a homicide detective could reasonably live, even if his family's money means that he physically owns the place rather than rents it. Right now, I'm looking at the area between Gramercy Park and Union Square in the space between East 17th Street and East 21st. But because I want to go for an authentic feel and I cannot reasonably fly to New York to check it out for myself, I'm hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction here.
interludes
Not too many people know this about me, but in addition to being an English teacher, I also fancy myself as a bit of a writer. After several months of work, I've managed to put together a detailed treatment for what I think will be a killer story, and I'm looking to start writing it in the near future. However, I'm a little bit stuck with something, and I'm hoping members of the forums might be able to help me out.
The story is set in New York, and follows a disgraced homicide detective as he gets drawn into an investigation. My problem is that I've never actually been to New York (as much as I would love to go some day), so I don't know too much about the geography of the place and there's only so much that you can learn from Wikipedia and Google Maps. It's an odd request, but I'm hoping there's some people out there who might be able to give me a hand with it.
My character, Nathan Strand, was born into a fairly weathly family. They're not the sort who own half of Mahattan, but their name is well-known enough that it has prompted him to assume his mother's maiden name so as not to attract attention. I deliberately created him this way, because this kind of family is frequently depicted as corrupt in popular culture. Strand's family, on the other hand, are good people. He's a cop because he chooses to be; he's not railing against authority and nor is he running from skeletons in his closet.
What I'm looking for is a place for Strand to live. A lot of the early scenes I have in my head take place in and around his apartment. He's a part of the (fictional) 16th Precinct, so where he lives will dictate where he works; where he works will dictate where the murder victim is found because it has to be within the 16th's jurisdiction (a major subplot about Strand's backstory revolves around an investigation that took place on the eastern end of Long Island); the victim is a law professor at NYU or Columbia. So what I'm looking for is an area of Manhattan where a homicide detective could reasonably live, even if his family's money means that he physically owns the place rather than rents it. Right now, I'm looking at the area between Gramercy Park and Union Square in the space between East 17th Street and East 21st. But because I want to go for an authentic feel and I cannot reasonably fly to New York to check it out for myself, I'm hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction here.
interludes
