Overview
- Workers discovered buckled steel columns and sagging floors inside the former Pfizer headquarters during construction this week, prompting immediate evacuations and a multi‑block frozen zone around 235 E. 42nd St.
- Crews installed emergency shoring from roughly the ninth floor to the roof and have replaced light supports with thicker steel columns on multiple floors to halt movement and stabilize the structure.
- The New York City Department of Buildings has launched a formal investigation that includes document reviews, witness interviews and a required independent third‑party forensic engineer to determine why the columns failed.
- MetroLoft says the damage is localized and will be fully rebuilt, while unions and some engineers allege contractor and inspection failures and point to non‑union crews and past site complaints.
- The incident threatens the project’s finances and could raise costs for other conversions because the development carries a reported $720 million construction loan and industry sources say lenders and insurers are reassessing risk.