Overview
- Construction workers on the 21st floor spotted two interior columns beginning to buckle, which on Tuesday triggered a major FDNY and Department of Buildings response and the evacuation of the tower and nearby buildings.
- After hours of minute-by-minute monitoring, crews installed temporary shoring late Tuesday and officials reported no further movement by early Wednesday, allowing limited re-entry and the lifting of some evacuation orders.
- The Department of Buildings, FDNY and independent engineers have opened a formal investigation that will examine engineering decisions, MetroLoft’s assertion that added weight from expanded upper floors contributed, and the site’s record of prior complaints and violations.
- A reduced frozen zone remains in place around East 42nd–43rd Streets with several addresses including a hotel and a private school still evacuated and street closures affecting Midtown traffic.
- The incident underscores how office-to-residential conversions change load paths and require reinforced columns and new structural work, and regulators say no non-emergency construction will resume until stabilization and a full code review are complete.