Union Sanctuary

Almost dead center of the Plunge's dry land, south of Grand Central Market, an old open plaza of stone steps and overgrown tree beds forms the heart of one of Old York's most unlikely communities. Union Sanctuary is a place where faiths, political idealists, scientists, and social radicals coexist in uneasy but functional proximity. Shrines to rising apocalyptic faiths stack atop one another in the surrounding buildings, and working print shops, libraries, and religious centers fill the converted structures on every side.
 

The Red Star Commune

A Red Star commune occupies a pre-fall hospital overlooking the square, its wide vantage providing commanding views of every approach. By day, Red Star snipers protect the plaza from the rooftops, creating a bubble of relative safety in a city defined by violence. The commune also serves as a resource center for the surrounding community, distributing supplies and maintaining the infrastructure that keeps the Sanctuary functioning.
 

Writers, Scientists, and Radicals

The Blue Line patrols the Sanctuary and intervenes when disputes between rival faiths and ideologies escalate to violence, which happens often enough to keep them busy. Despite the friction, Union Sanctuary remains one of Old York's most vibrant communities. Writers, scientists, and social radicals have claimed it as home, drawn by the promise of a space where ideas can be spoken aloud without immediate reprisal.
  The Sanctuary sits at the buffer zone between the Heights and the lower city, a crossroads where anyone heading to the Heights markets must pass through. It is the one place in Old York where dreaming out loud will not necessarily get you killed, though keeping one eye on the rooftops is still advised.