18 photos show how drastically the New York City skyline has changed in the past decade
This is what the Manhattan skyline looked like from Weehawken, New Jersey, in 2010.
Today, the iconic Empire State Building still stands out, but numerous other skyscrapers have risen above it all along the island, altering the entire skyline.
In 2011, the view from 30 Rockefeller Center's observation deck, The Top of the Rock, showed One World Trade Center under construction in the distance in Lower Manhattan.
Today, One World Trade Center, completed in 2014, is the tallest building in New York City at 1,776 feet. It's easily visible from The Top of the Rock, towering over the other buildings in Lower Manhattan.
Source: Business Insider
Looking in the other direction, the view of Central Park from The Top of the Rock was mostly unobstructed at the beginning of the decade.
Now, several supertall skyscrapers, including the new tallest residential building in the world, have risen along the southern edge of the park in an area now known as "Billionaires' Row."
Source: Business Insider
From Central Park in 2010, you could see stately luxury hotels, condos, and co-ops lining Central Park South.
Now, those buildings are dwarfed by the new towers, which include the world's skinniest skyscraper, One57, and Central Park Tower, which became the tallest residential building in the world in 2019 at 1,550 feet.
Source: Business Insider
At the start of the last decade, Manhattan's West Side between 30th and 34th streets was home to only a few apartment buildings, office buildings, and the West Side Yard, where Long Island Rail Road trains were stored.
Source: Curbed
Today, the area is dominated by Hudson Yards, the city's new $25 megadevelopment of luxury condos, offices, entertainment, and shopping, which opened to the public in March 2019.
Source: Business Insider
In 2011, this was the view of the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn.
Since then, an 80-story luxury condo tower, One Manhattan Square, has risen behind the bridge.
In 2010, this was the view of Lower Manhattan from New Jersey on September 11, when twin columns of light were projected into the sky in remembrance of the September 11 attacks.
Today, the lights are still projected every year on September 11, but the Lower Manhattan skyline looks dramatically different after the completion of One World Trade Center and other skyscrapers in the area.
Brooklyn has not gone unchanged either. Here's what part of its skyline looked like In 2010.
Source: Business Insider, City Realty
Today, parts of Brooklyn have been filled in with skyscrapers, and the borough's skyline is starting to look more and more like Manhattan's.
Source: Business Insider
And in northern Brooklyn, areas like the Williamsburg waterfront have been rapidly changing. Earlier in the decade, the site of the Domino Sugar Factory sat abandoned and decrepit.
Source: Curbed
Today, the 11-acre area is in the midst of a massive redevelopment project. The area has been transformed by a pristine new park and luxury condos.
Source: Curbed
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