New York high-rise columns buckle, forcing evacuations

A major office-to-residential conversion underway at Pfizer's former New York headquarters triggered an emergency response Tuesday after reports of structural problems involving support columns.

The New York City Fire Department received a call shortly before 8 a.m. at 235 E. 42nd St. Officials determined that two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors, while floors between the 21st and 26th levels were sagging, according to an email from FDNY to CoStar News.

The incident prompted evacuations at the building and nine neighboring properties, including 225 E. 43rd St. and 681-701 Third Ave. No injuries were reported.

Later in the day, engineers completed their initial assessment of 235 E. 42nd and found no additional movement in the damaged columns, according to David Maggiotto, a spokesman for the Department of Buildings. With monitoring of the affected area ongoing, the team determined contractors can proceed with installing temporary shoring to stabilize the building.

The high-profile building is undergoing what some have called New York's largest office-to-residential conversion. The incident comes as more office buildings across the United States are converted to other uses, a process that can involve significant changes on affected floors of those buildings.

New York’s office-to-residential-conversion starts last year totaled 5 million square feet, the highest annual total in at least 20 years, according to a report from the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. Nationwide, conversions — led by New York — are set to break records again this year, according to a RentCafe study.

Plans for 235 E. 42nd's 100,000 square feet of amenities include a high-end fitness center and a resort-style rooftop swimming pool offering sweeping views of the city.

The project is taking shape in Midtown East, one of Manhattan's strongest apartment markets and home to major financial services employers from JPMorgan Chase to Blackstone. Demand for space in the neighborhood is high, with average asking rents reaching a record $5,123 per unit, compared with a citywide average of $3,646, CoStar data shows.

Department of Buildings engineers were dispatched to the site and were using FDNY drone footage as part of their investigation, according to FDNY.

The emergency disrupted a large section of Midtown East. Authorities cordoned off streets between 40th and 44th streets and between Second and Third avenues, bringing traffic near Grand Central Terminal to a standstill.

A video purportedly taken inside the building showing buckled columns was circulating on social media on Tuesday.

When CoStar News visited the scene, dozens of FDNY trucks, emergency medical units and New York police vehicles lined surrounding streets. Construction workers in hard hats, building staff and evacuated office workers gathered in nearby public plazas as emergency crews assessed the situation.

The affected property is part of the redevelopment of Pfizer's former headquarters at 219 and 235 E. 42nd St. The project, led by a joint venture between Metro Loft and David Werner Real Estate Investments, is expected to complete 1,602 rental units.

The luxury development is slated for completion in 2027 and last year secured what was billed as the largest financing package ever arranged for a New York office-to-residential conversion.

“As the [Department of Buildings] clarified, no debris fell from the building,” a spokesperson for Metro Loft said in an email, adding that the developer is working closely with city officials. “We want to confirm that the affected area is a small section of one of the two buildings on this site. As the FDNY spokesperson noted, the entire building itself is not at risk of collapse.”

Still, FDNY Chief John Esposito expressed caution.

"The building has continued to move since we've been on the scene," he said at a news conference near the building around midday.

He added that "we have specialized tools that we can watch the building from and see movement even in centimeters or fractions of an inch. And since we arrived on the scene and put that in place, we have seen continual movement. It does mean that it is not yet stable. It is still a very serious and dangerous situation."

Because the building has a steel frame, he said the issue isn't likely to cause "a total collapse," if any. "It would be more of a localized collapse. But that remains our concern, that it's moving," Esposito said.

Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the Department of Buildings, said his agency, in concert with the contractors, ownership and FDNY, intend to shore up the sagging floors and search for any other weak points.

He said the conversion project, which involves certain code changes and structural requirements, has all gone through plan review. The property consists of 37 floors with an addition of 11 floors above a 22-floor element, he said.

The 2.2 million-square-foot project is expected to include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. About 400 units will be designated as affordable housing, with the remainder leased at market rates.

CoStar News reporter Andy Peters contributed.