Pfizer’s former headquarters in Midtown at risk of collapse
219-235 East 42nd Street. Photo © Ondel Hylton
Pfizer’s former Midtown East headquarters, currently being converted into a new residential development, is structurally compromised, officials said Tuesday, leading to the evacuation of several buildings in the area and closure of surrounding streets. Fire Department officials said steel beams on the 21st floor of the 37-story building on 42nd Street started to “bend and deflect,” and multiple cracks and sagging floors were discovered. The police have closed 40th to 45th Streets between 1st and 3rd Avenues to pedestrian and vehicular traffic as first responders and engineers work to shore up the building.
Just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, fire officials received a 911 call about falling bricks near East 42nd Street. Department of Buildings officials found that wasn’t the case, but did confirm that two structural columns on the 21st floor of 235 East 42nd Street had buckled. Officials deemed the structure unstable and evacuated the building and surrounding areas, and established a collapse zone.
During a press conference at the scene, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said there have been no injuries, and all construction workers at the site have been accounted for.
“This is an extremely serious situation, and I am thankful to our first responders for quickly arriving at the site and to New Yorkers for reacting calmly and with urgency,” Mamdani said. He urged New Yorkers to avoid the area.
According to FDNY Chief John Esposito, the building has continued to move since the first responders arrived on the scene. Since it’s a steel-frame building, it “would not be a total collapse,” Esposito said. “It would be more of a localized collapse,” he added.
Once determined that it is safe to enter, the city will bring in emergency beams and columns to stabilize the building.
Metro Loft Developers and David Werner Real Estate are currently converting the former Pfizer headquarters building, which sits between Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations, into more than 1,600 apartments, set to be the largest office-to-residential conversion in the country.
Designed by Gensler, the project added 19 stories atop the original 10-story building at 219 East 42nd Street and recladded and renovated the adjoining 37-story tower. About 100,000 square feet of amenities are planned. Leasing was scheduled to start this summer.
Editor’s note: This story will continue to be updated as the situation develops.
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