Midtown Manhattan building found to be unstable, prompting evacuations and affecting thousands

A 37-floor building in midtown Manhattan that had been under renovation has been deemed unsafe after it was found to be unstable, prompting evacuation of the building and at least seven others surrounding it and the establishment of a frozen zone around the area.

"The building remains unstable,' said Mayor Zohran Mamdani, in a news conference. It's an "extremely serious situation" with buckling and movement seen in the building at 235 E. 42nd St. on the corner of First Avenue, he said.

Officials said they are monitoring it for potential collapse.

There are 150 firefighters and EMS on the scene. There have been no reports of injuries. 

FDNY Chief of Department John M. Esposito said all workers in the building have been accounted for. He said "the steel beams are starting to deflect," adding that "the building has continued to move"

Building Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the building, which was being converted to residences, is being monitored from nearby "on a continuous basis."

Mamdani told New Yorkers to avoid the area until it is deemed safe. He said it had been an active construction site and declined to estimate when the wide swath of midtown would reopen.

He called it a "minute by minute" situation.

"First responders and structural engineers are working closely with the project engineer, to develop plans to shore up ... [the affected area].
If the floor is deemed to be secure, engineers will enter and begin shoring up the building," said Mamdani.

"We are only going to allow New Yorkers to return back into these buildings when we are fully confident that it is safe for them to do so," the mayor said.

The frozen zone includes East 40th to East 45th streets between First and Third avenues as of 1 p.m. No pedestrian or vehicular traffic is allowed until the area is found to be secure.

The restricted area has widened throughout the day. 

The FDNY first got word of the emergency through a 911 call at 7:57 a.m. with a report of "bricks falling." Responders did not find falling bricks but did discover structural problems upstairs.

The NYPD said workers at the building noticed "a beam beginning to sag," and said all construction workers on-site were immediately evacuated. Police said the area was then immediately closed to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

The FDNY said it had reports of floors sagging between the 21st and 26th floors and determined two columns of the 21st and 22nd floors had buckled.

Buildings at 221 and 225 E. 43rd St. also were evacuated as a precaution, the FDNY said. 

Later, the FDNY said buildings at 815 Second Ave. and 210, 211 and 212 East 43rd St. all also had been evacuated in response to the situation. Office buildings on East 41st Street were also ordered evacuated.

Officials said inspectors from the Department of Buildings were assessing the damage to determine the soundness of the structure.

For decades, the building was known as the Pfizer Building, home to Pfizer pharmaceutical world headquarters, as well as to Electrolux, the Alexander Hamilton Institute, the Taiwanese mission to the United Nations and a bank branch operated by Chase Manhattan Bank.

The main building was built in 1960, designed by Emery Roth & Sons in the International Style and merged with an original 10-story structure at 219 E. 42nd St. built in 1905, according to accounts of the building history.

It currently is under a redevelopment that began in 2024 to convert space to about 1,500 apartments and add four floors to the original 33-story building. 

Check back for updates on this developing story.