NEW YORK CITY – An emergency stabilization effort is underway on Manhattan’s East Side after a 37-story high-rise under construction began showing signs of a potential collapse, triggering mass evacuations and locking down a major Midtown traffic corridor.
The backstory:
The panic began when structural engineers and city officials discovered severe structural failures on the upper levels of the building. According to the New York City Department of Buildings, support columns on the 21st floor had severely buckled under immense weight, with officials noting they visually resembled “bending arms.”
The building, located at 235 East 42nd Street, is the former global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The structure is currently undergoing a massive renovation to convert the commercial office spaces into luxury apartments.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, the project’s developer admitted that structural alterations likely triggered the failure. The developer explained that the additional weight generated by widening the top 15 floors probably caused the severe buckling, noting that two critical columns had not been properly reinforced to handle the new load.
For hours, the danger was considered so serious that emergency personnel and construction crews were barred from entering the interior of the building out of fear that a collapse was imminent.
Emergency repairs
What we know:
By late Tuesday night, city officials reported a major breakthrough. Structural monitoring systems showed zero movement in the skyscraper over several hours, allowing emergency crews to safely enter to begin emergency shoring operations.
“We’ve been monitoring the building for many hours and have not seen any movement,” said the Commissioner of the Department of Buildings during a late-night press briefing. “I can say right now that the building is stable, and we feel confident in the emergency plan that we have now.”
A round-the-clock stabilization effort is now active. Crews are working to bypass the compromised structural elements.
“We have columns that could not hold the weight that they held before,” an official explained regarding the mechanics of the repair. “So we come in with different metal beams and poles. In this case, we’re also bringing in galvanized steel in order to replace those columns and hold up the weight that the previous columns were holding.”
Evacuations
Local perspective:
While the immediate danger of collapse has been mitigated, a strict “frozen zone” remains active around the perimeter of the building. Multiple nearby structures remain under full, mandatory evacuation orders as a precaution.
According to city officials, the following addresses remain completely evacuated:
815 Second Avenue235 East 43rd Street231 East 43rd Street225 East 43rd StreetGround floor at 217 East 43rd Street 
However, the perimeter of the “frozen zone” has shrunk significantly. Traffic delays are still expected for commuters coming off the FDR Drive.
42nd Street is closed in both directions between Second and Third Avenue.Westbound 42nd Street is closed between First and Second Avenue.43rd Street remains closed between Second and Third Avenue.
Commuters heading west across Midtown are strongly advised to seek alternate routes. NJ Transit, however, reports that rail services are currently running on or close to schedule.
What they’re saying:
The sudden evacuation orders forced neighboring office workers and hotel guests to scramble.
“I was ironing my shirt for a meeting and somebody on a bullhorn started saying, ‘Evacuate the building!'” said one displaced hotel guest. Another guest recounted receiving an urgent message from management: “They were like, ‘Hey, you can’t come in.’ Then we got an email from the manager saying staying here is not optional. You need to go ahead and come get your stuff.”
What’s next:
It remains unclear how long the emergency reinforcement work will take or what the long-term future of the luxury residential conversion project holds.
DOB officials emphasized that the immediate, singular focus remains on completing the emergency repairs to ensure public safety before a permanent structural fix can be engineered.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by the FDNY, Department of Buildings and reporting by FOX 5 NY.