One man single-handedly recreated New York City’s five boroughs and all that goes with them using a little paint, glue and a whole lot of balsa wood.
Joe Macken, a 63-year-old upstate truck driver originally from Queens, made his own love letter to the city he once called home.
“I’m crazy. It was just a passion,” Macken said. “I started back in 2004, just carving little pieces of wood and I loved it so much.”
Macken said he spent a decade building Manhattan in the basement of his home and more than 11 years on the other four boroughs.
With more than 8 million followers on TikTok, Macken’s work gained international attention over the summer. The Museum of the City of New York thought it would be a perfect fit for them.
“Joe had made it in 320 different sections, each square stacked one on top of each other in a storage unit. We had to bring it down to the city very carefully and we had to put it on a platform,” museum CEO Jerry Gallagher said.
The exhibit opened this weekend with crowds double their usual size, according to Gallagher.
“I just want people to see what you can accomplish if you just be consistent and have a passion for something,” Macken said.
He told PIX11 News that his next project may be all of New York State.