Midtown high-rise stabilized after buckling columns spark collapse scare
Most residents who were forced to evacuate Tuesday have since been cleared to return to their homes.
MIDTOWN EAST, Manhattan (WABC) -- Construction crews are continuing to install temporary supports to shore up a 37-story high-rise on Manhattan's East Side that sparked fears of a possible collapse when crews discovered buckling columns inside.
Crews worked overnight to install struts to bear the weight that caused columns to buckle, and officials say the building has not shifted since Tuesday morning.
By Wednesday, the frozen zone had shrunk, and many tenants and residents were allowed back inside the evacuated buildings. Officials said 42nd Street has reopened in both directions, while East 43rd Street remains closed from Second to Third avenues. A vacate order remains in effect for five buildings.
By noon on Wednesday, temporary shoring and beams had been installed from floors 18 through 23, and by the evening, work was proceeding on the 13th floor. Officials say crews are working their way down, floor by floor, installing shoring all the way to the ninth floor.
The incident unfolded Tuesday morning when workers inside the former Pfizer headquarters, which is being converted into residential housing, discovered buckled columns and bending steel box beams on the building's 21st floor. Emergency crews rushed to the scene amid concerns the structure could collapse.
The Department of Buildings said Wednesday that the building is stable as crews continue to reinforce the damaged supports and investigate the cause of the structural issues.
"Right now, we have been in a consistent and stable and safe situation, we have been able to bring in a plan and materials to stabilize the impact," said NYC Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani.
Nine nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution on Tuesday, and surrounding streets were shut down while engineers assessed the risk and worked to secure the site.
According to MetroLoft, the developer overseeing the conversion project, the columns likely buckled under the added weight of newly expanded upper floors. The company said part of the floor sagged by about four inches but maintained that the building was never in danger of collapsing.
Managing principal and founder of MetroLoft Nathan Berman told the New York Times that he believes the weight of the additional floors caused the columns to buckle and that the building was never in danger of collapse.
"This incident is nothing more than a typical construction mishap," he told the Times.
It comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that converting office space into residential space remains a part of solving New York City's housing affordability crisis.
"I do continue to consider the conversion of office space into residential space as part of our answer to the housing crisis, I also consider that we have to do so safely and in a way that is fully accountable," Mamdani said.
Officials said the investigation remains ongoing as engineers determine the root cause of the failure and develop a long-term repair plan.
"We are going to be conducting a full investigation into how we got to this point because this is not a necessary consequence of an office to a residential conversion," Mamdani said. "This is clearly however a breakdown in that process."
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