Updated
July 7, 2026, 12:16 p.m. ET
A high-profile housing project under construction near Grand Central Terminal was at risk of collapse on Tuesday, prompting an emergency response during the morning rush in Midtown Manhattan, the authorities said.
Fire officials said they received a call just before 8 a.m. about falling bricks near 235 East 42nd Street, where the former headquarters of Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, is being converted to a residential complex with more than 1,600 apartments. The project, which architects said would be the largest of its kind in New York City history, was scheduled to be completed in 2027.
On Tuesday, a safety manager reported that a steel beam was compromised on the 21st floor, according to Buildings Department records. The Fire Department said that two support columns inside the building were buckling, and several upper floors were sagging.
Cliff Jensen, a business agent for the Steamfitters Local 638 Union, said fitters were evacuated after the beams started to bend.
“The north side of that building is crumbling,” he said. “I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there.” The developers and authorities did not say what had caused the damage, and Mr. Jensen’s claim could not be immediately confirmed.
Here’s what else to know:
Surrounding buildings evacuated: Construction workers were evacuated from the building, and officials cleared two adjoining buildings at 225 and 221 East 43rd Street as a precaution, fire officials said. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference earlier on Tuesday that a school with roughly 400 children had also been evacuated. There were no injuries, according to the Fire Department.
Statement from developer: Metro Loft, the developer on the conversion project, said in a statement that it was aware of problems with the building and was working with the Buildings Department to “understand the full scope of the situation.”
Groundbreaking project: The office complex consists of two buildings that were originally built in the 1970s, according to Gensler, the architectural firm behind the project. The developers were adding 19 stories to the original 10-story tower at 219 East 42nd Street, while redesigning the second at 235 East 42nd Street.
Midtown under construction: The building conversion is part of a broader effort to repurpose Midtown’s empty office buildings to help fix the city’s housing shortage, and turn the area from a work district to a vibrant neighborhood.
Reporting was contributed by Chelsia Rose Marcius, Mihir Zaveri, Caitlyn Freeman and Davaughnia Wilson.
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