Two structural columns buckled inside 235 East 42nd Street on Tuesday morning, triggering the evacuation of seven nearby buildings, a school with 400 children, and a frozen zone spanning five blocks of Midtown Manhattan around the former Pfizer global headquarters. The 37-story tower, currently the largest active office-to-residential conversion project in the United States, had accumulated seven construction safety violations and more than $32,000 in penalties in 2025 before the structural emergency forced more than 150 firefighters and EMS personnel to the scene.
Key Takeaways
- Two structural support columns buckled on the 21st floor of 235 East 42nd Street at approximately 8:10 a.m. on July 7, causing floors 21 through 26 to sag, according to city officials and witness accounts.
- The NYPD established a frozen zone from 40th to 45th streets between First and Third avenues. Seven buildings were evacuated, including a school with 400 children. No injuries were reported.
- Developer Nathan Berman of Metro Loft Management told the Wall Street Journal that additional weight placed on the upper floors during construction likely caused the column failure.
- The project had seven Department of Buildings violations in 2025 totaling $32,530 in penalties, including a $10,000 citation for failing to report a construction injury, the Real Deal reported.
- By late Tuesday, the Department of Buildings said emergency jacks and new steel were stabilizing the structure, and evacuation orders were lifted for most surrounding buildings. Four buildings remained under evacuation as of 10 p.m.
What Happened at 235 East 42nd Street on Tuesday Morning?
The FDNY received reports of bricks falling from the construction site at 235 East 42nd Street shortly before 8 a.m. on July 7. When firefighters arrived, they found two structural steel columns on the 21st floor had buckled and multiple upper floors were sagging, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a midday briefing. The building had continued to move after first responders arrived on scene, FDNY Chief John Esposito confirmed.
Construction workers were evacuated without injuries, and all personnel were accounted for. Police established a collapse zone around the site and a frozen zone covering 40th to 45th streets between First and Third avenues, temporarily closing the corridor to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The FDNY deployed more than 150 fire and EMS personnel and over 50 units, CBS New York reported. A school with approximately 400 children was among the evacuated buildings.
Cliff Johnsen, a representative for Steamfitters Local 638, which was performing fire protection work at the site, described the interior damage to reporters outside: the I-beams were bending severely, which he called extremely dangerous. Raw video from inside the building, recorded by a construction worker and obtained by PIX11, showed crumbling steel columns on the 21st floor. A construction worker at the adjacent 219 East 42nd Street, José Osvaldo Becerra, told the City Reporter that more than 200 workers were ordered to evacuate at around 8:30 a.m. and left personal belongings behind.
What Caused the Column Failure?
Nathan Berman, managing principal and founder of Metro Loft Management, told the Wall Street Journal that additional weight placed on the upper floors during construction likely caused the two columns to buckle. “This additional load that we put on those floors caused those two particular columns to collapse,” Berman told the Journal. “Why those particular two columns and nothing else? We don’t know…we’re investigating that.”
The project involves converting the 37-story former Pfizer headquarters and the adjacent 10-story building at 219 East 42nd Street into more than 1,500 residential units, with 19 additional floors being added to the smaller structure. Gensler is the architect and GACE Consulting Engineers is the structural engineer of record, according to Commercial Observer. GACE did not immediately respond to requests for comment from multiple outlets.
What Is the Project’s Safety Record?
The construction site had generated a pattern of safety concerns before Tuesday’s emergency. The Real Deal and the City Reporter reported that the general contractor, Robert Travis of 235 GC LLC, received seven Department of Buildings violations in 2025 totaling $32,530 in penalties. Six of the seven were classified as immediately hazardous. The violations included a $10,000 citation in December 2025 for failing to notify the Department of Buildings of a construction incident resulting in injury.
| Date | Issue |
|---|---|
| September 2025 | Worker Wilmer Cabrera Rojas fell after wood “gave way,” suffering serious injuries (active lawsuit filed November 2025) |
| October 2025 | Anonymous complaint: “a large item fell and broke through 5 floors and almost hit someone” |
| December 2025 | $10,000 violation for failing to report construction injury; separate $10,000 violation for worker falling from improperly placed ladder |
| April 2026 | Anonymous complaint: “debris is falling from high heights” |
In both the October and April complaint cases, Department of Buildings inspectors who visited the site reported they did not observe the described conditions and found no violation was warranted, according to department records reviewed by CNN.
How Was the Building Stabilized?
A team of six engineers and contractors entered the building at approximately 3 p.m. after structural monitoring from outside and via FDNY drones confirmed no further movement. The Department of Buildings authorized contractors to begin installing emergency shoring, including hydraulic jacks at the weakest points and new steel supports.
By late Tuesday, Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the agency was confident the emergency interventions were stabilizing the structure. “We are not only at the place where emergency struts or jacks are in place to hold up and stabilize where the weak points are, but they are also installing new steel as another emergency intervention,” Tigani said. Most surrounding evacuation orders were lifted by 10 p.m., though four buildings remained under emergency evacuation and vehicular traffic on 42nd and 43rd streets between Second and Third avenues stayed restricted.
How Large Is the Conversion Project?
The development is among the most heavily financed residential conversion projects in New York City history. David Werner purchased the leasehold for 235 East 42nd Street for $407 million and acquired 219 East 42nd Street for $142 million, initially in partnership with Alexandria Real Estate Equities. In May 2025, the developers secured a $720 million construction loan from Madison Realty Capital — a record for a residential conversion in New York — with Northwind Group providing an additional $210 million across two loans, the Real Deal reported. Construction had been expected to conclude in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The structural emergency at 235 East 42nd Street places the country’s largest active office-to-residential conversion under scrutiny at a project where seven safety violations, multiple anonymous complaints about falling debris, and at least one serious worker injury preceded the buckling of two columns that forced the evacuation of five blocks of Midtown Manhattan.
FAQs
What happened at 235 East 42nd Street? Two structural support columns buckled on the 21st floor of the former Pfizer headquarters on the morning of July 7, 2026, causing upper floors to sag and triggering mass evacuations across several blocks of Midtown Manhattan.
Were there any injuries? No injuries were reported. All construction workers were evacuated and accounted for.
What caused the columns to buckle? Developer Nathan Berman told the Wall Street Journal that additional weight placed on the upper floors during construction likely caused the failure. The exact cause is under investigation.
What is the building being converted into? The 37-story tower and an adjacent 10-story building are being converted into more than 1,500 residential units by Metro Loft Management and David Werner, with architect Gensler. It is the largest active office-to-residential conversion in the United States.
Did the building have prior safety issues? Yes. The project received seven Department of Buildings violations in 2025 totaling $32,530 in penalties, and multiple anonymous complaints cited falling debris and unsafe conditions.
Has the building been stabilized? By late Tuesday, the Department of Buildings said emergency jacks and new steel supports were in place and the building had not shown further movement for several hours. Four nearby buildings remained under evacuation orders as of 10 p.m.
