Officials ordered evacuations around East 42nd Street after support columns buckled inside a building undergoing conversion into luxury apartments. Here’s what commuters, residents and visitors need to know.
Tuesday morning’s commute in Midtown Manhattan was disrupted after city officials evacuated a high-rise at 235 East 42nd Street, the former global headquarters of Pfizer, following reports of serious structural problems inside the building. According to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), construction workers noticed support columns buckling on the 21st and 22nd floors shortly before 8 a.m., prompting an immediate evacuation. Inspectors later discovered sagging floors extending from the 21st through the 26th floor, raising concerns about the building’s stability. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, and all workers have been accounted for.
Midtown Manhattan high-rise evacuated after alarming structural damage sparks collapse fears
The 38-story tower is currently undergoing one of New York City’s largest office-to-residential conversion projects. The redevelopment, led by MetroLoft and its partners, aims to transform the former office building into approximately 1,600 rental apartments, including affordable housing, along with retail space and residential amenities. Officials have not identified the exact cause of the structural failure, and engineers from the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) remain on site investigating what led to the buckling columns and sagging floors.
What areas are affected?
As a safety precaution, authorities evacuated the construction site along with several neighboring buildings, including a nearby school with roughly 400 students. Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed that emergency crews accounted for every construction worker before expanding the evacuation zone while engineers assessed the risk of further structural movement.
The closure is centered on East 42nd Street between Second and Third Avenues, where both pedestrian and vehicle traffic remain restricted. Police have urged people to avoid the area until engineers determine the building is stable. Drivers should expect delays throughout the surrounding Midtown East neighborhood as emergency vehicles continue operating around the scene.
What about Grand Central and public transportation?
Despite the incident occurring only a short distance from Grand Central Terminal, officials have not announced any closures or service suspensions affecting subway or Metro-North Railroad operations. Trains continue to operate normally, although commuters may experience delays or longer walking routes because of street closures near the building. Travelers are encouraged to use alternate entrances to the neighborhood and follow directions from NYPD officers on site.
What happens next?
The FDNY described its response as a major technical rescue operation, while structural engineers continue evaluating whether the building can be stabilized before construction resumes. Officials stressed that there is currently no confirmed timeline for reopening East 42nd Street or allowing workers back inside the property.
Investigators are also reviewing the project’s construction history. Public records show the site received multiple construction-related safety violations in previous years, though city records indicate those violations had been resolved before Tuesday’s emergency. Authorities have not linked those earlier violations to the current incident, and the investigation remains ongoing.
For now, city officials are asking residents, commuters and visitors to avoid the immediate area, monitor official traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency personnel as engineers work to determine whether the structure can be safely secured.