Falling bricks and buckling columns at a Manhattan high rise force evacuations
NEW YORK (AP) — Reports of falling bricks and buckling columns have forced evacuations in the area around a Midtown Manhattan high-rise office building that was being converted to luxury apartments, fire officials said Tuesday.
Among the evacuated buildings was a school with about 400 children, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. There were no reported injuries and all workers inside the building were accounted for, he said. Nearby streets were closed to people and vehicles.
The 1970s-era building is the former global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. It's located in a busy corridor about a block from the landmark Chrysler Building and between Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations headquarters.
The New York Fire Department said it received reports of bricks falling at around 8 a.m. from the 38-story tower. Officials found two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors and that floors were sagging between the 21st and 26th floors.
The office-to-residential conversion has been billed as the largest in the city’s history, according to Gensler, the architectural firm leading the project. The planned complex with more than 1,600 units includes adding more than a dozen stories atop the building’s original tower while also redesigning an adjoining tower. A spokesperson for Gensler did not immediately return a voicemail and email seeking comment.
Asked whether the building was actually at risk of collapse, Mamdani said first responders found “structural issues with the building” and “beyond that, just for those in the immediate area to follow the instructions of those on the ground.”
The city's building department said its inspectors and engineers were on the scene at 235 East 42nd Street.
“Our top priority right now,” the mayor added, “is the safety of those who live in this area and the safety of those who work in this area.”
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Izaguirre reported from Lindenhurst, New York.
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