Clifton Park Trucker’s Epic Model to Land in New York City Museum

Have You Seen His Work?

If you’ve spent any time scrolling TikTok lately, you might’ve come across a man named Joe Macken.

Macken, a soft-spoken 63-year-old truck driver from Clifton Park, quietly spent more than two decades building one of the most jaw-dropping handmade models of New York City ever created.

And now? His life’s work is heading to the Museum of the City of New York.

The exhibit, titled “He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model,” opens February 12th, marking the first time Macken’s 50-by-30-foot creation will be displayed in the city that inspired it.

What makes Joe’s story so incredible is how ordinary the beginnings were.

How It All Began

More than twenty years ago, in the basement of his Clifton Park home, he began building mini versions of every building in all five boroughs, using only balsa wood, Styrofoam, and Elmer’s glue.

Remarkably, he has had no formal training or engineering background; he has just patience, passion, and a deep love for NYC.

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“When I finished in April, I jumped outta my chair and I cheered,” he told the Gothamist. 
Then he disassembled it into panels and stored it in a unit, where it sat gathering dust.

It wasn’t until his kids convinced him to post videos on TikTok that the world discovered the masterpiece in that storage locker.

A Viral Sensation

The model went viral, and after a successful debut at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds this summer, the Museum took notice and reached out.

Joe told the Gothamist that he plans to drive the model (very carefully) downstate himself in a rented U-Haul.

He’s already perfected the packing strategy: He told the Gothamist that the flat boroughs go first, Manhattan goes on top, and so far, the only casualty was “a broken Throggs Neck Bridge,” which he fixed in minutes.

What's Next?

And while he’s thrilled to have his work finally displayed in NYC, he’s not slowing down.
During his routes, he’s already sketching his next project: New Jersey.

Maybe after that, he can do the Albany skyline — complete with the Corning Tower, The Egg, and yes, even the infamous Central Warehouse.