Ziggurat Co-Op
The Ziggurat Co-Op is a massive red-brick and heavy stone complex in the center of the Heights, flanked by overgrown greenery. Its old slate and tile roofs have been opened in places, and collapsed walls serve as foundations for growing beds and retrofitted greenhouses. Managed by the Sainthood of Ashes' Earth Reborn initiative, the Co-Op is the primary food production site in Old York.
The cooperative provides foodstuffs to affluent Heights families in exchange for protection, trade routes, and monetary support. Its strongest external ally is the Second Ark, with heavily protected caravans and barges sharing agricultural research between the two sites. The Business, powerful gangs, and investors from outside the Heights all hold financial interests in the Co-Op's output.
The Ziggurat is the only point where Heights capitalists and Plunge collectivists agree: no one dares bring violence to the Co-Op. It is treated as inviolable neutral ground by every faction in Old York. This status gives the Sainthood leverage far beyond their military capacity, allowing them to feed the city's masses without needing to provide armed security.
Matriarch Rowan Marcos was raised at the Ziggurat and later initiated trade connections between the Second Ark and the Union Square commune. The Earth Reborn project was launched from within these walls, expanding agricultural reclamation beyond Old York into other ruined cities under the leadership of designer Cynthia Barnum. The Co-Op's food production has bolstered the Grand Central Market and strengthened the Walled Street elite.
The cooperative provides foodstuffs to affluent Heights families in exchange for protection, trade routes, and monetary support. Its strongest external ally is the Second Ark, with heavily protected caravans and barges sharing agricultural research between the two sites. The Business, powerful gangs, and investors from outside the Heights all hold financial interests in the Co-Op's output.
Neutral Ground
The Ziggurat is the only point where Heights capitalists and Plunge collectivists agree: no one dares bring violence to the Co-Op. It is treated as inviolable neutral ground by every faction in Old York. This status gives the Sainthood leverage far beyond their military capacity, allowing them to feed the city's masses without needing to provide armed security.
Significance
Matriarch Rowan Marcos was raised at the Ziggurat and later initiated trade connections between the Second Ark and the Union Square commune. The Earth Reborn project was launched from within these walls, expanding agricultural reclamation beyond Old York into other ruined cities under the leadership of designer Cynthia Barnum. The Co-Op's food production has bolstered the Grand Central Market and strengthened the Walled Street elite.
