New York City Exclusion Zone

The New York City Exclusion Zone is an area surrounding the City of New York (out to about sixty miles) where the provisions of the Bowman Acts are not generally enforced by the United States Government. The reason for this has never been fully disclosed; however, one reason for this is that it would interfere with the longstanding rule of diplomatic immunity (moreover, even though a number of the nations within the United Nations are signatories to the Bowman Acts, the United Nations as a legislative body does not recognize them.

The effect of the Zone has been the development of an underground metahuman culture, as well as the viewing of New York City as a 'safe haven' for people with those abilities. Brooklyn, in particular, has become an area where many metahumans congregate and have begun lives.