In an interview with Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Koolhaas cites their book Learning from Las Vegas as being an influence on the writing of Delirious New York during this period at Cornell.

During this period, Koolhaas further collaborated with Elia Zenghelis on several hypothetical projects in Manhattan, such as redeveloping Roosevelt Island (1975)[5] or the design for the Sphinx Hotel at Times Square (1975).

[6] In a 1993 interview with architecture critic Cynthia Davidson, Koolhaas stated that the aim of publishing Delirious New York was to lay the written foundation to work from as an architect, before actually starting out as one.

Furthermore, the nightlight near the Empire State Building is the torch of the Statue of Liberty and a used condom in the shape of a Goodyear Blimp can be seen lying on the bed, referencing the zeppelin docking station built on top of the tower.

[10] The 1994 republication of the book by The Monacelli Press changed the cover image to a black and white photo of the 1221 and 1251 Avenue of the Americas buildings as seen from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.