[Rockhounds] NYC is sinking under the weight of its buildings, geologists warn

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

The city that never sinks?

New geological research warns that the weight of New York City’s
skyscrapers is actually causing the Big Apple — whose more than 1 million
buildings weigh nearly 1.7 trillion pounds — to sink lower into its
surrounding bodies of water.

The city is plopping closer to the water at a rate of 1 to 2 millimeters a
year, “with some areas subsiding much faster.”

While that may not seem significant to untrained eyes, the gradual descent
makes NYC extremely vulnerable to natural disasters
<https://nypost.com/2022/08/19/nycs-sinkhole-surge-due-to-climate-crisis-dep-commissioner/>,
according to lead researcher and geologist Tom Parsons of the United States
Geological Survey.

Lower Manhattan is particularly at risk, and there is concern for both
Brooklyn and Queens as well, according to the study.

https://nypost.com/2023/05/17/nyc-is-sinking-under-the-weight-of-its-buildings-geologists/