>2. The population of NYC has increased quite a bit since 1930.

I don't think the population of NYC has increased that much from 1930. By 1930 NYC was a massive city and many boroughs have shrank since then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographic_history_of_New_Yor...

Shows were population shrinkage and growth have occurred.

Manhattan used to be far more dense than it is today

http://www.vox.com/2014/9/23/6832975/manhattan-population-de...

True, but Manhattan, where people think it the most packed, hasn't. The population has gone down.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that, for most visitors, Manhattan is basically midtown--and they've certainly seen pictures of the financial district even if they've never gone down there. Even for a lot of residents, Manhattan effectively ends at around 100th Street or so. (I've been going to Manhattan all my life and even lived there for a summer and I've never been north of Central Park except to drive into the city and to visit The Cloisters once.)