politics
Former Pfizer Headquarters in Manhattan Evacuated After Support Beams Buckle
A 37-story building on East 42nd Street and seven surrounding structures were cleared Tuesday morning. Officials reported continued shifting in two buckled columns on the 21st floor and established a frozen zone barring traffic.
Jul 7, 1:34 PM·1m read1 source
New York PostAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
A 37-story former Pfizer headquarters building on East 42nd Street in Manhattan was evacuated Tuesday morning after support beams were found buckling, New York Post reported. Seven surrounding buildings were also evacuated. Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated Tuesday afternoon that the structure has shown continued shifting since early morning.
Two structural columns on the 21st floor have buckled and one additional column shows movement. FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito said the steel-frame building would likely experience a localized collapse rather than a total failure. He added that it is possible the building could collapse into itself like a pancake.
A frozen zone was established from East 40th to 45th streets between First and Third avenues, barring all pedestrian and vehicle traffic. FDNY and other emergency responders are monitoring the building with sensitive equipment. Contractors had been adding 11 new floors on top of a 22-story section.
The compromised sections appear to be on the 17th and 21st floors, below the new additions. Crews are unable to enter the building to stabilize it due to safety concerns. Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the cause of the buckling will be investigated after the building is made safe.
The structure is one of the largest commercial-to-residential conversion projects in the United States. Mamdani described the situation as a minute-by-minute assessment and warned New Yorkers to stay away.
