A slice of Manhattan, with Greenwich Village, Hudson Yards and Midtown skyscrapers. Macken started the project with the RCA Building (30 Rockefeller Plaza) “and it just ballooned.”
A slice of Manhattan, with Greenwich Village, Hudson Yards and Midtown skyscrapers. Macken started the project with the RCA Building (30 Rockefeller Plaza) “and it just ballooned.” ( Photo: Val Castronovo)

Queens-born truck driver Joe Macken spent 21 years building a mini replica of New York City in his basement–virtually every skyscraper, landmark, bridge, neighborhood and body of water. Now it’s in a museum.

He Built This City, Literally; Massive Model of Gotham on Display at City of NY Museum
21 Feb 2026 | 03:06
City Arts

Call it a side hustle or, more precisely, a “side hustle on steroids” to quote Queens-born Joe Macken, who spent 21 years hand-crafting a miniature model of New York City while working as a truck driver on weekdays and a bus driver on weekends.

The 50 ft. x 28 ft. scale model he built of virtually every...

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This year’s strike was far more bitter than a strike three years earlier that lasted only three days. The inflatable rat was on display at Mount Sinai West on Jan. 20. Mount Sinai and Montefiore nurses voted to end their strike on Feb. 11 but New York-Presbyterian nurses did not ratify a new contract until Feb. 21.
This year’s strike was far more bitter than a strike three years earlier that lasted only three days. The inflatable rat was on display at Mount Sinai West on Jan. 20. Mount Sinai and Montefiore nurses voted to end their strike on Feb. 11 but New York-Presbyterian nurses did not ratify a new contract until Feb. 21. ( Photo: Keith J. Kelly)

NY-Presbyterian Nurses Ratify Contract Ending Bitter Strike
22 Feb 2026 | 05:09

The longest and most bitter strike by nurses in New York City history is over.

Forty one days after they...

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