Evacuations were ordered in Midtown on Tuesday morning after several floors of an under-construction skyscraper began buckling.
Police said the crisis began at about 8:10 a.m. on July 7, when construction crews working on 235 East 42nd St. noticed that structural support beams on the 21st floor of the 37-story structure had begun to buckle.
Sources said several floors inside the structure, which was formerly the Pfizer building, have completely caved in — and there are concerns that part of the structure could collapse.
Police said the crisis began at about 8:10 a.m. on July 7, when construction crews working on 235 East 42nd St. noticed that structural support beams on the 21st floor of the 37-story structure had begun to buckle. Photo by Dean Moses 
A buckled steel beam inside 235 East 42nd St. in Midtown on July 7, 2026.Obtained by amNewYork
The Real Deal reported that 235 East 42nd St. is currently undergoing an office-to-residential conversion spearheaded by Metro Loft Management, a firm owned by David Werner and Nathan Berman. It is considered to be one of the largest conversions currently underway in the Big Apple.
Cliff Johnson of Steamfitters Local 638, whose workers are responsible for installing fire protection within the building, charged that the developers, while seeking to add another 16 stories to the structure, had not installed enough steel supports to accommodate the extra load.
“They obviously didn’t add the right amount of steel. So, the north side of that building is crumbling, the I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous,” Johnson said.
A photo obtained by amNewYork seemed to confirm Johnson’s statement; it shows a support beam inside the structure bent out of its rigid shape at its center, a clear indication of buckling under stress.
“You have studs, and you have sheet rock; they’re bent in half right now. That’s how much you’ve dropped on that side of the building,” said Johnson. “This just started happening today, and it happened fast, because they keep adding as you add, you put more weight, when you put more weight, that’s what’s going to happen when it’s not, when it’s not engineered correctly or installed correctly.”
Johnson alleged that the building’s developers chose cheaper, non-union labor to cut costs on steel installation and other facets of the project.
In a statement to The Real Deal, a spokesperson for Metro Loft Management said the firm is “working closely with the Department of Buildings to understand the full scope of the situation.”
Firefighters and the 17th Precinct rushed to the scene. All construction workers inside the former Pfizer building and people in nearby buildings were evacuated.
One of the impacted buildings is the Hampton Inn. Kevin Oglesvee, who was staying at the Hampton Inn and due to leave New York on Tuesday, described the scene as evacuations inside the hotel were ordered.
“We got a call over PA, somebody came over the PA and just said, ‘Hey, this is not a drill, need evacuation right away. Yeah, it was real loud,” Oglesvee said. “They said evacuate onto Second Avenue. We’re in from Chicago, we’re supposed to be at the airport in a couple of hours. My laptop bag and all my stuff are upstairs.”
Firefighters and the 17th Precinct rushed to the scene. All construction workers inside the former Pfizer building and people in nearby buildings were evacuated.Photo by Dean Moses
The NYPD closed East 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic as the investigation and emergency response continues.
According to the city’s Department of Buildings database, the building has 13 active violations totaling $39,000 in fines for elevator-related issues. It also has a reported complaint filed on July 7 about a compromised steel beam on the 21st floor, reported by the site safety manager.
With reporting by Cate Corcoran.
This is a developing story; check with amNY.com later for updates.