New York skyline, a bit of context for readers of New York 2140 [#NY2140]

For fans of New York 2140, here’s a bit of context for the Met Life Tower. I'm standing on the Palisades in Jersey City, looking out over Hoboken at Manhattan. The Empire State Building is at the center of the shot. And the Met Life Tower is the 3rd tall building in from the right edge. It's at 23rd St. The Empire State Building is at 34th. Off to the left you can see 432 Park Ave; it's the tall slender white building in from the left. It's between 56th and 57th street. So it's just above 50th, which is KSR's cutoff point for Venice-like Manhattan. That is, below that point, the streets are all under water (with the remaining buildings retrofitted to keep water out of their lower floors).

In 2140 most of Hoboken would be under water, but the Palisades would be above water. It would be water from just below those trees in the foreground over to Manhattan, though perhaps there’d be a building or two poking above the water. I believe KSR talked of skyscrapers in Hoboken, well, yeah, some skyscrapers. But nothing else. Unless...there is a plan to wall the city in, more or less. But I don't know what that would do against a 50 foot rise.

Here’s another shot, taken from more or less the same vantage point:

The Met Life Tower is in from the left edge; you can spot it by noting the two slender buildings to its right. Again, that’s Hoboken down below, and it would be filled with water.

Note: If you click on the photos you'll be whisked over to Flickr, where they reside. You can view larger versions of them over there.