If you’ve ever wondered what NYC would look like, if stripped of all the buildings, here’s the map:

Note how Harlem is mostly in the 5′ – 45′ above sea level range, except for Morningside Heights and St. Nicholas Park and the City College campus area:

And that little dot in the middle of the Harlem Plane? Marcus Garvey Park.

Also, note the gap between Morningside Heights and St. Nicholas Park that goes out to the Hudson River along West 125th Street – ending near the now-defunct Fairway Market.

But what if you added the buildings? What’s taller, the top of the hill in the midst of Staten Island, or Midtown?

Well, it turns out that the Financial District and Midtown, are taller than the highest point on Staten Island.

Even Harlem with high rises like Taino Towers, 5th On The Park, various projects, Lenox Terrace, etc, complicate the landscape resulting in this (admittedly messy) map: