[OT] Chinese & Indian names. Need help for writing

[dogscoff]

Hey,

I've got a very exciting little writing project starting at the minute, and some of it is set in a future New York. I've never been there, so I'd like some help with the geography. Assume that pretty much all of the major buildings (except the Empire State) in the city now have been torn down/ destroyed and replaced with much lower-level buildings.

1: Would it be possible to stand on the shore at some point and see both the island of Manhatten (Manhatten _is_ an island, right?) and the island where the statue of liberty stands? Where would this point be? How far apart are the two islands?

2: Is New York completely flat, or does it have any hills? I'm kind of hoping for a hill somewhere within a few km of the Empire State. If there is such a hill, what would the views be like from the top?

3: What kind of buildings are around the Empire State? It doesn't really matter because I can knock them down and build whatever I like in their place, but I'm interested to know if it's in the middle of a built up area or surrounded by a plaza of some kind or what.

Sorry for the mystery, but although it only features in the first chapter or two, the geography of NY is actually crucial to the entire book. You'll have to wait for me to get published to find out exactly what this is all about. No sneak previews, not even to my favouritest readers, unless maybe you happen to find me drunk on IRC one day and ask nicely=-)

Thanks everyone. I'll be keeping a list of informers who will get mentioned in the book. I may come up with more questions of random nature as time goes on.