New York City authorities on Tuesday warned that a 37-story building under construction in the heart of the city could at least partially collapse, after first responders answered reports of falling bricks at the site.
The New York City Fire Department evacuated the high-rise building at 235 East 42nd Street and surrounding buildings Tuesday morning due to fears about floors 21 through 26 of the high-rise building caving in while it is being redeveloped into residential property, according to the FDNY. Officials said they are conducting “a major technical rescue response” at the building. In an update on the situation hours later, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the building “remains unstable,” but explained assessments of the building are changing by the minute as the structure continues to shift.
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“Every few minutes we are looking at a new assessment of the structure and of the possibilities and the options that we have in front of us,” Mamdani said during a press conference. “The concern is that since we have been on site since the early morning, we have seen continued shift of the structure.”
Pfizer’s headquarters were formerly at the site before developers bought the building to convert it into multifamily housing. The project is considered to be the largest office-to-residential conversion in New York City history. Once completed, the structure will house 1,600 apartments, including over 400 affordable housing units.
In comments to the press, Building Commissioner Ahmed Tigani confirmed initial reports of bricks falling from the building but said investigators found it did not appear they had actually dropped. Officials confirmed that several beams that have buckled are among issues investigators are probing.
The Department of Buildings filed a complaint on Tuesday against the project developers, according to the New York Times, accusing them of conducting excavations that were beyond or contrary to construction plans that had been approved. The building has a total of 22 violations dating as far back as 2020, mostly for failing to file elevator inspection and testing reports, according to the outlet. Thirteen of the complaints remain active, and the owners owe the city $39,000 in penalties.
No injuries have been reported after bricks fell from the Midtown East building on Tuesday morning, when firefighters found two columns had buckled on the 21st floor during construction, the FDNY told the Washington Examiner. Companies operating inside the building are checking for further stability problems, officials said.
Over 100 fire and EMS personnel responded to the call after construction workers noticed cracks inside the under-construction building.
Officials evacuated the building along with neighboring buildings at 225 E. 43rd St., 221 E. 43rd St., 815 Second Ave., 212 E. 43rd St., 211 E. 43rd St., and 210 E. 43rd St. One of the buildings evacuated is a school with around 400 students present, and no one was unaccounted for, Mamdani’s office told Bronx News 12.
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East 42nd Street is also closed between Second and Third avenues as the city’s Department of Buildings is investigating the incident. DOB told the Washington Examiner that inspectors are on site at 235 East 42nd Street in Manhattan.
