"I was shocked at how vividly the contrast of the city's low and high density came to life when I visited the new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. What the model most powerfully shows is that most of the city is actually a suburb of one and two-story buildings. The New York of our minds, towering structures and vast numbers of people, is really quite limited."
"Approximately 50 percent of the city's area is zoned only for one and two-family houses. The downtown financial district and Midtown east and west are massive in Manhattan, but the rest of that island is much less imposing. Brooklyn at the end of the bridge, Long Island City, recent towers along the East River and, interestingly, public housing developments stand out."
"Strikingly, the model is a three-dimensional rendering of the 1961 zoning map. Today's zoning code is for a city that no longer exists. Mr. Macken spent 21 years making the model out of everyday balsa wood and cardboard, showing all the buildings of the city, from The World Trade Center to the houses at Breezy Point in the Rockaways."
A 27-by-50 foot scale model of New York City at the Museum of the City of New York, created by Joe Macken over 21 years, reveals the stark contrast between the city's dense urban core and its predominantly low-density residential areas. Approximately 50 percent of the city is zoned exclusively for one and two-family houses, making most of New York resemble suburbs rather than a dense metropolis. The model demonstrates that iconic high-rise districts like the financial district and Midtown occupy limited space, while vast stretches of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx consist of single and two-story buildings. The model represents the 1961 zoning code, illustrating how outdated regulations contribute to the current housing crisis by restricting development potential across most of the city.
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