The Midtown Manhattan high-rise where two structural columns buckled on Tuesday was deemed stable on Wednesday, and the New York City Department of Buildings said crews had shored up several floors as some neighboring evacuations were lifted, according to updates from the agency and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office.

The building at 235 East 42nd Street, the former global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., is in the middle of one of the largest office-to-apartment conversion projects in New York City’s history, a plan to turn the 37-story tower into roughly 1,600 residential units. The trouble began just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, when the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) received a call about bricks falling from the structure. Construction workers on the 21st floor reported that support columns were beginning to give way, and inspectors later found two bent steel columns, multiple cracks and sagging floors. No injuries were reported, and officials said all workers were accounted for.

The incident triggered a large emergency response, mass evacuations of nearby buildings and street closures on East 42nd and East 43rd Streets between Second and Third Avenues, in a stretch of Midtown near Grand Central Terminal that draws commuters, residents and tourists. The tower sits just blocks from the Chrysler Building and United Nations headquarters.

By Tuesday evening, Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said temporary shoring had begun, with jacks installed and new steel put in place to stabilize the structure. He said inspectors reached the 21st floor and were confident the emergency work was securing the building, adding that an independent third-party engineer had been brought in to review the situation. Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg said a six-person team inspected the building floor by floor and found no additional movement, calling it an encouraging sign as crews continued working toward the 37th floor.

On Wednesday, Mayor Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference that the building had shown no further movement and that eight floors, from the 18th through the 23rd, had already been shored up by late morning. He said crews would continue working through the day to reach the roof and then reinforce floors down to the ninth. Some evacuation orders affecting neighboring buildings were lifted Wednesday morning, although four nearby buildings remained under vacate orders.

The developer, MetroLoft, said Wednesday that it had identified the problem and was working with the Department of Buildings to complete repairs, maintaining that the building was never at risk of collapse and that no debris fell to the street. Developer Nathan Berman previously described the damage as a routine construction issue and told reporters the buckling was likely caused by additional weight placed on the columns.

City inspection records point to a more serious preliminary assessment. Department of Buildings comments attached to the incident indicate an investigator believed insufficient steel reinforcement, contrary to approved construction plans, may have contributed to the columns buckling. The department ordered all construction work halted except for emergency stabilization performed under full-time supervision by licensed engineers and construction superintendents. Once emergency repairs are completed, officials said a comprehensive structural assessment will be conducted before any additional construction is permitted.

The tower had already attracted regulatory attention before Tuesday’s incident. Public records show the site accumulated roughly two dozen complaints over the past year involving falling material and alleged unsafe working conditions. The developer and property owner are also defendants in an active lawsuit filed by a construction worker who alleges he suffered serious and permanent injuries after a fall at the building in September 2025.

For New York’s commercial real estate market, the incident comes at a pivotal time. Office-to-residential conversions have become a central strategy for addressing the city’s housing shortage while repurposing aging office towers with elevated vacancy rates. The redevelopment of 235 East 42nd Street has been one of the highest-profile examples of that effort. A structural failure during construction is likely to increase scrutiny of engineering oversight, construction practices and regulatory inspections as additional conversion projects move forward.

For now, city officials remain focused on fully stabilizing the building and completing a floor-by-floor structural review. The cause remains under investigation, and the New York City Department of Buildings has indicated a full inquiry will follow once emergency stabilization work is complete. Portions of Midtown surrounding the site are expected to remain partially closed while repairs continue.

JBizNews Desk | New York

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