New York City Skyline

When I was living in New York City, I got to know David Blaine a bit. David has good connections at ABC. In 2005, when a tsunami hit Indonesia, killing hundreds of thousand of people, it was David that came up with the idea I should build the New York City skyline using one card to honor each tsunami victim. He felt that it was a great way to put a visual behind the number of people who lost their lives in the tragedy, and a way to make a statement that humanity is rather fragile in the face of mother nature. So, it took him but a few phone calls to set this all up.

For 14 days, I constructed the city. I know I used at least 100,000 cards, possibly more. What made this project all the more unique was that I actually lived in the Times Square Good Morning America Studio during my 14 day run on the show. I had a little cot set up right behind the cards. David even lent me the sleeping mat he used for his stunt in the glass box hanging over the Thames. The evolution of the project was seen each morning on the show, and was also visible through the huge windows onto Times Square. The Empire State Building, Chrysler, Flatiron, Yankee Stadium, and others rose. Even the up-close, explosive volume and vibrating bass of Kenny Chesney and his band performing just a few feet away in the studio did not bring down the towers.