I've walked all over New York, from the South Bronx, to Bed Stuy, to Harlem, to Washington Heights, and everywhere in between. In fact, after escaping from the WTC on 9/11, I walked to my family's home in Morningside Heights. I have survived all of these adventures, and even relied upon the volunteered kindness of strangers to help me on my way (particularly on 9/11 and during the blackout of 2003).

In all my travels around the world I have learned one important thing. Most people, most places, most of the time, are good.

I am always ready to meet a bad apple when it happens (and it has), but it is all the more surprising when it happens because of how rare it is.

That said, know your area. NYC in 2001 or 2011 is a different place than NYC in the 1970s. But even in the blackouts of that decade, most people in most places behaved themselves.

In a mega disaster, I expect to need to rely on my neighbors.