{"id":748803,"date":"2026-07-07T16:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/748803\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T16:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T16:33:16","slug":"nyc-buildings-evacuated-after-construction-workers-find-buckling-beams-in-midtown-east-officials-warn-of-possible-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/748803\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC buildings evacuated after construction workers find buckling beams in Midtown East; officials warn of possible collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">MIDTOWN EAST, Manhattan (WABC) &#8212; Several floors of a Midtown Manhattan office building that&#8217;s under construction are caving in on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of several adjacent buildings and street closures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The high-rise, at 235 E. 42nd St., is on the corner of East 42nd Street and Second Avenue and is the former headquarters of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company and is under conversion to residential use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Around 8 a.m., construction workers noticed cracks inside the  building. The FDNY say the workers spotted structural support beams beginning to buckle on the 21st and 22nd floors and self-evacuated.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"An image from inside the building shows a buckling beam.\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR zFTjo hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/19464299_070726-wabc-beam-bent-img.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>An image from inside the building shows a buckling beam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Officials say that caused the 21st to 26st floors of the 38-story building to start caving under the stress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Multiple buildings have been evacuated, including a hotel and a school.<\/p>\n<p>Video shows the interior of an unstable building that sparked evacuations in Midtown on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Mayor Zohran Mamdani advised anyone in the area to follow the instructions of first responders on the ground.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Now luckily there have been no injuries to report at this time, all workers are accounted for, the building has been evacuated, a number of tall buildings in the area are also being evacuated at this time, a school with about 400 children has also been evacuated,&#8221; Mamdani said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The FDNY said the following buildings have been evacuated:<\/p>\n<p><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><br class=\" \"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR zFTjo hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/19464277_070726-wabc-buildings-evacuated-img.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Of the evacuated buildings, 231 East 43rd Street is the Hampton Inn Manhattan Grand Central and guests have been evacuated out of their rooms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Pedestrian and vehicular traffic is closed on East 42nd Street between Second and Third avenues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Second Avenue is closed from 38th to 44th streets and 43rd and 44th streets are closed between Second and Third avenues.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR zFTjo hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/19464282_070726-wabc-roads-closed-img.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Metro Loft, the developer of the conversion project, released a statement saying, &#8220;We are working closely with the Department of Buildings to understand the full scope of the situation. The safety of our workers and the public has always been, and remains, our top priority.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">*<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/newsletters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Get Eyewitness News Delivered<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">*  <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/manhattan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">More Manhattan news<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">* <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/7ny.tv\/submitnewstip\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Send us a news tip<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">* <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts on the go<\/a> <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">*<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/apps\/?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Download our connected TV app<\/a> <\/p>\n<p><br class=\" \"\/>Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below.    If attaching a video or photo, <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/image-video-solicitation-and-rights-terms-of-use\/5101040\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">terms of use apply.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><br class=\" \"\/><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIDTOWN EAST, Manhattan (WABC) &#8212; Several floors of a Midtown Manhattan office building that&#8217;s under construction are caving&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[321229,23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-748803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-321229","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}