Charlie's absolutely right (hi Charlie!).

Having been in NYC for both 9/11 and the blackout, I would expect there would have to be something really off the charts for you to get the whole movie scenario of 8.whatever million people in the city to all panic and riot at the same time. In both those instances, with a lot of uncertainty and fear, New Yorkers really stepped up and responded to other peoples' (and their own) needs and offered help.

I would think if there's a situation where you need to get home, long commute or not, unless the drama/danger is RIGHT on top of you, you're not going to get wandering gangs and Road Warrior behavior for...a few days at least.

Dave