Thanks for the links! I haven't reviewed them in detail yet so I can only share some generalizations that help me.

first Think scenarios and solutions rather than gear and skills.

It is relatively easy and straight forward to say "you will need fire so carry matches." It is another thing to face the scenario of mass evacuation from the overpopulated island when bridges are clogged, dangerous, down. There was a very interesting thread here a while back that considered building escape scenarios .

I would think that in NYC you might reasonably want to answer the river crossing problem. This might be solved by stashing an inflatable underside of a dock somewhere known only to you, joining a boating club with a evacuation policy etc

For comms there is no better solution than getting and practicing with a HAM lisence and gear. Again, joing a club is the way to go so that you become a known on-air person with others to call who know something about your situations. A CB is a reasonable second alternative if the lisencing requirements stop you from going the HAM route.

Start by envisioning the situations you wish to prepare for, write plans that see you to safety, buy the supplies to execute the plans. Cover the big three scenarios - 1) Shelter in place without infrastructure, 2) Evac without help, 3) Lost away from home. For each scenario each of us will have different circumstances and different plans which will affect selection of solutions. We all share the same basic needs - Warmth, Protection from the elements (including threatening other humans), Food & Water and finally security.

If in your circumstance you have a river crossing in your plans for evac then there will be a limiting factor to the amount of gear you can put into your evac bag - you wil have to walk accross a bridge, float it in a boat, drag it whilst swimming. If you live in a remote area you may have to deal with a greater problem with food and Water.

Make sure you have plans that get you completely into the reconstruction phase of whatever scenario you prepare for. Make sure you cover the scenarios that are either severe in consequence or high probability of occurance. Make sure that your gear completely supports you plans. Make sure that your plans cover the basic four - warm, dry, fed, protected - for the duration of the planned response + some extra for comfort.