Overview
- Two interior steel columns on the 21st floor bent under added loads, producing visible cracks and sagging floors and prompting evacuations and a multi-block safety zone after workers discovered the damage on Tuesday.
- Crews installed emergency shoring from the ninth floor to the roof and then replaced light supports with thicker steel columns on multiple levels, and city officials say the compromised section is now stabilized.
- The New York City Department of Buildings has opened a forensic review of plans and site work and ordered the owner to hire an independent engineer, while the Department of Investigation and the Manhattan district attorney have launched parallel inquiries.
- Reporting and city records show a string of prior site complaints, repeated violations and numerous worker injuries at the project with several incidents apparently unreported to the DOB, and inspectors have issued multiple penalties against the site’s general contractors.
- The project’s large $700–720 million loan, the scale of the conversion and expert warnings about tougher reviews mean lenders, insurers and other conversions nationwide may face higher costs, longer approvals and greater scrutiny as investigators determine cause and liability.