Buildings Evacuated Near Former Pfizer Headquarters After Structural Columns Buckle

A residential conversion of the former Pfizer headquarters in Midtown Manhattan remained unstable as of Tuesday afternoon after structural columns on the 21st floor buckled. There have been no reported injuries, construction site workers have all been accounted for, and occupants of nine nearby buildings have been evacuated, according to published reports.

“The building remains unstable,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference. “Since arriving on scene, we’ve witnessed additional movement in one of the compromised columns.” He said the Department of Buildings was investigating the building’s structural integrity via drones.

In a statement, Metro Loft Management, which is co-developing the conversion at 235 E. 42nd St. with David Werner, said the building is not at risk of collapsing. However, CNN reported that Fire Department of New York Chief of Department John Esposito said a “localized collapse” remained a possibility.

“The way this building is constructed, it’s a steel frame building, so it would not be a total collapse; it would be more of a localized collapse,” Esposito said at a news conference Tuesday. “But that remains our concern: that it’s moving.”

The developers thanked FDNY, the New York Police Department and DOB for their quick response.“The safety of everyone at and surrounding the building is our number one priority,” according to the statement. “We’re thankful there were no injuries, and as the DOB clarified, no debris fell from the building. We want to confirm that the affected area is a small section of one of the two buildings on this site. As the FDNY spokesperson noted, the entire building itself is not at risk of collapse.”

Connect CRE will update the story as more information becomes available.