Midtown Manhattan high-rise under construction evacuated after structural columns buckle
A 37-story former Pfizer headquarters in Midtown East showed buckling columns on the 21st floor, prompting evacuation of nearby buildings and street closures while officials work to stabilize the structure.
Several floors of a 37-story office building under conversion to residential use at 235 East 42nd Street began to cave in on Tuesday, leading city officials to evacuate adjacent properties and close nearby streets. Construction workers first noticed cracks and buckling support beams on the 21st and 22nd floors around 8 a.m., prompting a self-evacuation and a response from the FDNY.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the building remains unstable and that movement has been observed in one of the columns since officials arrived. Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani described the situation as still dangerous, while Fire Department Chief John Esposito warned that a failure would likely result in a localized collapse rather than a total building failure.
Structural engineers are monitoring the building from the exterior and will install emergency trusses once the site is deemed safe. The city is using sensitive equipment to detect minute movements in the compromised column.
Evacuations include a hotel, a school and multiple office addresses along East 42nd and 43rd Streets and Second Avenue. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic is blocked on East 42nd Street between Second and Third Avenues, and on portions of Second Avenue from 38th to 44th Streets.
The developer, Metro Loft, said it is cooperating with the Department of Buildings and emphasized that worker and public safety remain its top priority. The cause of the structural failure will be investigated after emergency shoring is completed.