Midtown Manhattan high-rise stabilized after structural buckling triggers evacuations

Crews stabilized 235 E. 42nd St., the former Pfizer headquarters now being converted into luxury apartments, and Midtown Manhattan evacuations began easing. The 37-story high-rise had buckled structural columns and sagging floors on the 21st through 26th floors, but no injuries were reported.

Construction workers first spotted cracks around 8 a.m. Tuesday and self-evacuated, setting off a response that quickly spread beyond the tower itself. Officials established a frozen zone and warned of a possible partial, likely internal, collapse near East 42nd Street and Second Avenue, close to Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building and United Nations headquarters. The precaution also affected nearby buildings, including a school, diplomatic offices and hotels.

By late Tuesday, crews had reached the 21st floor and had seen no additional movement for many hours. Temporary shoring, jacks and new steel were used to stabilize the structure. After that work and the long stretch without movement, officials began allowing residents back into several of the seven buildings evacuated as a precaution.

The concern was a localized collapse rather than a total street collapse. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the situation “extremely serious” earlier in the day. The response drew in FDNY, NYPD, New York City Department of Buildings and NYC Emergency Management teams.

MetroLoft, the developer, said the building at 235 E. 42nd St. is at the center of New York’s largest office-to-apartment conversion in city history. MetroLoft said the building itself was not at risk of collapse and thanked the responders for their quick action.