[Narz]

Just a little scenerio (not one that I plan to act out, not having a Manhattan Penthouse) I played with in my head as I walked thru Manhattan this "holiday season" (visiting my folks here).

Say you had a Penthouse apartment in Manhattan (or an outer bourough or any big city really) with exclusive roof access. And you know what was coming. Given the longer summers and shorter cold season, assuming you are in a very strong, old building could you survive?

Thinking about the fact that once PO gets really bad many may flee the city. Would be ideal if your neighbors all abandoned the building (except for you and your crew).

Would be good if you could get tons of seeds and excellent soil for growing beforehand and a few rabbits, maybe some small goats. (I'm getting a bit unrealistic you might say but I'm sure it's possible to sneak up a goat or two).

You could probably grow enough to survive on an acre of roof and thruout the building (on balconies and indoors) to survive without every leaving home. Obviously pluming would be an issue but you could start an outdoor compost heap and catch and filter rainwater. If your whole block had been abandoned you might be able to take over neighboring roofs for plantation.

What do you think of my scenerio here?

[perdition79]

Another aspiring Block Lord out there? Urban survivalism; I've thought of it myself, and you've come to the same conclusion I have: most people will wind up fleeing the cities for the country, leaving quite a lot for a survivalist to work with. When TSHTF, I'm making a go of it at my apartment complex.

[Narz]

Nah, I had my share of urban life in my younger years. Even without all the traffic and pollution I'll take the country. I just figure it could be done, maybe even more easily and more defenseably. Of course, like in any good strategy game, it depends on what your neighbors decide to do.

[eastbay]

Someone quite hungry will see the roof top garden and take it away from you or destroy it trying. Defending a rooftop garden will be next to impossible when things deteriorate and guard duty will be an around the clock operation. Pointless IMO. Don't even bother.

*edited due to silly typo...

[TommyJefferson]

You could survive like those apartment dwellers did in the movie 28 Days Later.

Shotguns are legal in NYC. You should have one in your closet.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dclm/licdiv_faq.html

[PrairieMule]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TommyJefferson', 'Y')ou could survive like those apartment dwellers did in the movie 28 Days Later.

Shotguns are legal in NYC. You should have one in your closet.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/dclm/licdiv_faq.html

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', '
')Charlton Heston in
Omega man

and Vincent Price
I am Legend

[marko]

I have a very different opinion. I actually think it matters a lot whether your penthouse is in Manhattan or in an outer borough. I also think it matters which part of Manhattan. I think that the elite parts of a few major cities will be fortified refuges for the elite, kind of like the Green Zone in Baghdad.

In fact, I think that Iraq is probably a good analogy for the US post-peak. If you were in Iraq and you were rich, or even moderately well off, where would you rather be? In the middle of the countryside surrounded by roaming gangs? In a small city like Fallujah? Or in the Green Zone in Baghdad?

Because Manhattan is an island, it will be easy for the private police of the elite enclave to secure and defend. There will be checkpoints at either end of any bridges, tunnels, or ferry terminals that remain around the island. Possibly the Upper East Side would be cordoned off for extra security, with fortifications built down the middle of, say 59th Street, 5th Ave., and 94th Street. The people living in this enclave will earn an income, albeit reduced, from their investments elsewhere and will be able to defend their enclave and import necessities and even a few luxuries. The remaining resources of the government will be devoted to defending the property and the safety of these people.

[dogf]

I would think by the time the neighbors started getting aggressive, they would have gone through a few months with massive unemployment, government failure, no transportation etc. So on that time line, I can't see thousands walking a couple hundred miles looking to squat on some farmer's field without the knowledge of what to do when they got there. And that's assuming the farmer just let them squat.
I am a believer that while we will get to huge die off, it will be a slow process and everyone will become urban horticulturists to some degree. BTW, a few weeks of managing your plot in the sky will not be enough to realize your efforts. By the time harvest was ready, you may have given up unless you were already stocked up. And a couple goats worth of meat would be gone before your radishes were ready.
I believe most will learn from you when they have the time after they have gotten laid off at the car factory.
GM employees will actually benefit from being laid off years ahead of the Toyota plant so they will have more time to assimilate to the new way of life.

[DesertBear2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('marko', 'I')f you were in Iraq and you were rich, or even moderately well off, where would you rather be? In the middle of the countryside surrounded by roaming gangs? In a small city like Fallujah? Or in the Green Zone in Baghdad?

[smallpoxgirl]

Are you nuts. It is HARD to grow enough food to meet your calorie needs. I know lots of people that work at subsistence farming and every one of them ends up buying food because they can't grow enough calories. OTOH, there are billions (maybe trillions) of calories ambling dociley around New York. If you want to survive in NYC, vegetarianism is not going to be your friend. Grow the garden for seasonings and garnishes, but your best source of calories is clearly going to be from hunting long pig.

[spear]

And depending on how high up you are,you might want to throw a parachute in your closet for just in case you have to leave in a hurry.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', '.').., but your best source of calories is clearly going to be from hunting long pig.

[TommyJefferson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('smallpoxgirl', 'O')TOH, there are billions (maybe trillions) of calories ambling dociley around New York.

[jupiters_release]

If you can afford and live in a Manhattan penthouse, you probably know nothing about autonomous post-SHTF living. This is one imaginitive step above hypothetical cornucopian thought.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TommyJefferson', 'I')n that case, a scoped .223 with a sound suppressor might be more apropo.