system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How is it that Manhattan doesn't collapse under all the weight of its buildings?

As a non-engineer, I wonder how it is possible that Manhattan, with hundreds of massive skyscrapers and high-rises, does not simply collapse. There are a series of tunnels underneath that go quite deep, and even if they are in a grid and don't run directly underneath the buildings, I still can't wrap my head around it. 

EDIT: Removed the word "island" so the question would not be misconstrued. Sorry for the confusion.
gpt
If you replaced the Empire State Building with a similar mass of granite, it would only be about 50 feet high.

Bedrock is thousands of feet thick.  It has no problem supporting buildings because it has not problems supporting itself.