NYC Workers Continue Stabilizing 29 Floors of Former Pfizer HQ in Midtown. Here's the Latest on the Investigation.
Inspectors found buckling support columns and sagging floors, and crews began emergency shoring after the city evacuated nine nearby buildings.
- On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, two structural columns buckled on the 21st floor of the former Pfizer world headquarters at 235 East 42nd Street, triggering evacuations of seven nearby buildings in midtown Manhattan.
- MetroLoft and David Werner Real Estate Investments are converting the tower into roughly 1,600 apartments; founder Nathan Berman attributed the buckling to added weight from new floors, calling it a "freak accident."
- Forensic engineer Joseph Di Pompeo stated the failure points toward a loading error rather than steel-quality issues, while the site racked up seven DOB violations over the past year for falling debris.
- Workers successfully installed emergency shoring on 17 floors by Wednesday, stabilizing the structure, though New York City officials still restricted access to four buildings in the area on Thursday.
- Developers are on track to start 9.5 million square feet of new office-to-residential conversions in 2026 alone, with New York leading every U.S. metro at more than 16,000 units currently in conversion.
12 Articles
12 Articles
NYC workers continue stabilizing 29 floors of former Pfizer HQ in Midtown. Here's the latest on the investigation.
Efforts to shore up the former Pfizer headquarters on the East Side of Manhattan continued Thursday after concerns of a potential collapse earlier this week sparked wide evacuations.
'Calling me a hero': Quick-thinking union worker saves lives in Midtown Manhattan
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11) – A New York man is being praised as a hero after noticing the old Pfizer building was buckling and alerting all workers to evacuate. Sean Dow, a union member of Steamfitters Local 638, was on the 22nd floor Tuesday when chaos erupted in Midtown Manhattan. “I went up to do my [...]
Structural columns fail at Manhattan high-rise, prompting overnight emergency repairs
Repairs at the former Pfizer headquarters — under conversion to more than 1,600 apartments — continue through the night, with evacuation orders still covering 4 neighboring buildings
Evacuated hotel guests want better protocols after NYC scare
Toni Higgins and her friend were evacuated from the Hampton Inn Manhattan Grand Central due to buckling columns in the nearby old Pfizer building and were unable to re-enter to retrieve their items until the next day, with no compensation offered by the hotel.
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