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A 37-story building in the process of being converted into more than 1,600 apartments in Manhattan, New York, remains partially evacuated after two structural columns bent and triggered alarms over a possible collapse.
The Department of Buildings of the city of New York confirmed that the structure was stabilized, although four buildings in the area remain under a full evacuation order while reinforcement work continues.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani reported that no new movements were recorded in the structure since the first alert and that engineering teams installed temporary beams and shoring on several floors. The building, the former Pfizer pharmaceutical headquarters on East 42nd Street, is part of the city’s largest office-to-housing conversion project in history.
What happened to the New York building and why was it close to collapsing?
The problem began on Tuesday, when workers detected that two columns on the 21st floor had bent during the tower expansion work. The city’s fire department explained that, because of the building’s steel structure, any eventual collapse would have been localized and not total.
According to the Department of Buildings, the damage included visible cracks and sinkings on several floors, in addition to the deformation of the columns. The project had already received previous municipal penalties for other safety failures, including:
- Falling glass and metal pieces from the facade
- A worker injured after falling from a ladder
Are evacuations continuing in New York after the skyscraper incident?
Yes. Although the authorities reduced the safety perimeter known as the “frozen zone”, four buildings in the area remain under a full evacuation order, Mamdani confirmed. A restaurant located on the ground floor of one of the affected buildings also remains closed.
Engineering teams continue reinforcing the structure with new beams and shoring, while they assess whether the damaged columns will need to be replaced entirely. So far, the authorities have not announced an estimated date for lifting the remaining restrictions.