Jimmy rested for the night and got up in the morning to wash up, then changed into casual clothes to take a stroll outside. He had already reviewed the FBI files; the major mob territories in Manhattan were marked. It was very dangerous to wander around at night, but much safer during the day.
After years of struggle between the underworld and law enforcent, by the early 21st century, New York's underground scene had beco more regulated. For ordinary people, as long as they avoided certain specific areas during the day, their safety was generally assured. The underworld elents mostly stayed indoors during the day and beca active at night.
In New York, severe cris like shootings, burglaries, robberies, rapes, and murders mostly happened at night, while dayti incidents were usually related to public order and disputes, such as speeding, car accidents, fights, thefts, noise disturbances, etc., with gang activities mostly occurring at night.
Jimmy drove to Bao Li Street, an area teeming with mixed crowds, which also conveniently suited him. He entered a mobile phone store and bought a burner phone with cash before leaving.
The burner phone he used in Little Rock was already discarded. He hadn't planned on taking up private gigs after arriving in New York, so he hadn't prepped one until now. It seed necessary to get one for ergency use so he wouldn't have to look for such shops around anymore.
Following the route through Little Italy, Chinatown, Midtown, Upper City, he reached his destination, Harlem. This was the third most chaotic district in Manhattan.
The first was Clinton, also known as Hell's Kitchen, but it was already under major revamping. The governnt and police had conducted a significant crackdown on the gangs in the Clinton District, and afterward, major real estate companies moved in, planning to develop luxury apartnts and office buildings.
The Clinton District was also an area of intense focus by the FBI, but previously they only addressed the gang mbers based on cris, treating the symptoms rather than the cause. Now, the governnt-led urban renewal project involved too many major powers and substantial funds, which after strong interventions ant that Hell's Kitchen was no longer aptly nad. In fact, in the first decade of the 21st century, the pace of the rise in real estate prices and rents in the Clinton District was the fastest in New York.
The second area was Chinatown and adjacent Little Italy. The history of the Mafia is well-known, and Chinatown's ability to stand firm for decades and even take over Flushing in Queens and 8th Street in Brooklyn was significantly because the Chinese gangs were willing to fight fiercely, literally carving out a considerable share in the tangled underworld of New York. This place has many historical stories, involving West Coast Chinese gangs, more on that when opportunities arise.
The third was Harlem, in the northern part of Manhattan, bordering the Bronx District. Here, predominantly inhabited by Black and Latino communities, locations where these people gather usually signify chaos and disorder. Of course, it is also one of the most affordable housing areas in Manhattan.
Since Jimmy was on vacation and had ti to spare, he had previously understood the situation through docunts, but now that he had ti, casually driving around to see the actual conditions seed to be a good way to gain so experience for when he resud work, as he likely won't have as much ti to explore.
Regarding purchasing and housing, well, Peter had already taken the initiative to help him find contacts, so he would wait for news on that front. He wasn't in a rush with the purchases either; first, he needed to see how much the housing would cost. It would be quite a joke if funds fell short at that ti.
The property prices in Manhattan were rising too quickly, and the cost disparities between different areas were vast. Jimmy was taking advantage of his break to explore around, aiming to familiarize himself with the areas beforehand.
This trip to Harlem was partly to inspect the areas surrounding the work-related gang strongholds and also planned to start from Harlem and move south, traversing various districts to familiarize himself with the routes. The previous tis he had always followed Peter and Ruiz, never really understanding each district in detail.
Jimmy drove slowly following the flow of traffic, his gaze frequently falling on the buildings and pedestrians on both sides of the road. This area clearly had many people with various tattoos, both Black and Latino, who seed to live together in a mixed community, unlike Chinatown, which had a majority of Chinese, or Little Italy, which was mostly populated by people of Italian descent.
However, Jimmy hadn't studied enough data, and yet, he couldn't determine their gang affiliations based on tattoos like Ruiz could. It seed that once he resud work, he would have to take a deep dive into the docunts. He had always found docunt review tedious before, but now it seed that the FBI's six-month probation period for new agents was indeed based on experience. To master and morize entire dossiers in just a month was definitely not enough.
Jimmy felt a bit regretful; he had previously been too superficial, thinking a little docunt review was sufficient. Now, it seed that while it wasn't necessary to morize all the information, he should have at least familiarized himself thoroughly with most of it to use it effectively in practice.
Having circled around Harlem thoroughly and traversed several main streets, Jimmy left Harlem for the Upper East Side, which was a significantly better neighborhood, with an unusually high police presence. The number of patrol cars Jimmy saw on the streets was distinctly higher than in Harlem.
The Upper East Side, also known as the Wealthy District, naturally aggregated the wealthy who gathered around after the establishnt of Central Park. Early New York's developnt eastward along Fifth Avenue post-Central Park led to the formation of the Wealthy District by the late 19th century. In the massive growth phase of the 20th century, the siphoning effect around Central Park beca even stronger, pulling in more wealthy and affluent individuals, while other races gathered on the periphery, leading to the later chaotic districts like Harlem and Little Italy.
Jimmy looked enviously at the surrounding high-end apartnts; unfortunately, he definitely couldn't afford a house here. The starting price was several million US dollars, and many apartnts had their own committees to review the purchaser's data, ensuring those who joined these neighborhoods were sufficiently powerful and influential, artificially creating barriers.
Jimmy took a break in Central Park and grabbed so lunch. The lengthy Central Park was New Yorkers' favorite park and the most visited in the United States. Sitting under a tree on a bench, eating his take-out lunch, Jimmy breathed in so fresh air. Mainly because the air elsewhere was a mix of different scents which really affected the mood. Within the greenery of Central Park, it was relatively better.
Moreover, Central Park was a place where one could always see various beautiful won, so exercising, others walking and chatting in groups. It was indeed a great place for relaxation and leisure.
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