Overview
- Workers discovered steel columns buckling and sagging floors at the former Pfizer building at 235 East 42nd Street, which led to immediate evacuations and a large safety response on Tuesday.
- Crews first installed emergency shoring and have replaced it with thicker temporary steel columns while engineers monitor the structure and the DOB reports there has been no new movement.
- The New York City Department of Buildings is conducting an on-site probe, reviewing plans and documents, and has required an independent third-party forensic engineer with enforcement actions pending.
- MetroLoft says the damage is localized to fewer than 30 units and will be rebuilt, while the developer and some engineers say added weight from widening roughly 15 upper floors likely caused the failure and unions have accused the project of using underqualified non-union crews.
- The incident raises financial and regulatory stakes for office-to-residential conversions by prompting lenders and insurers to reassess risk and by underscoring the technical challenges of adding floors and punching new openings in older steel-frame buildings as cities pursue large conversion pipelines.