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Balancing 27 stories above midtown Manhattan on a recent afternoon, iron worker Kaniehtakeron ‘Geggs’ Martin straddled an I-beam on top of a rising skyscraper on 55th Street and grabbed a steal beam out of the air with a steady gloved hands.

Professor of Urban Development at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), a principal with Happold Consulting, and author of The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper, Kate Ascher discusses her new book about tall buildings and density.

Will plans for a skyscraper near Penn Station that would be almost as tall as the Empire State Building "ruin" New York's skyline? Matthew Schuerman, WNYC Radio reporter, discusses the development.