The Disaster Zone came into existence after violence erupted around a U.N meeting held on December 12th, 2014. The area extends from Brighton Beach through Brooklyn and down from Harlem through the Upper East Side, converging on the U.N. Embassy.
The area was basically destroyed, buildings and streets left in rubble and uninhabitable. The New York Government prohibited access to the area however, that hasn't stopped people still inhabiting the area or using it for nefarious purposes.
Within the Disaster Zone, you will find the outcast, the criminal and sometimes, just the strange.
The area nearest to Mutant Town is mostly populated with mutants who have nowhere else to go. It's important to remember that many of these people lost everything when the devastation occurred, including their identification documents. Even now, thanks to government bureaucracy, the unidentifiable and outcast still live in the Disaster Zone. Some live there because they have nowhere else to go, while others stubbornly resist any move - this is their home and this is where their memories are.
Throughout the Zone, gangs are rife and several illegal operations of the medical and scientific kind have been uncovered. What else is still there, or has started, is unknown.
Over the last year, a group of prominent New York business people have been working to provide food and supplies to the residents of the Zone, whilst investing in the redevelopment of some areas. The redevelopment work is slow and is often hampered by the bureaucracy that is government and there's only so much that can be done without direct government intervention.