NYC high-rise ‘unstable’ after columns buckle, bricks fall, officials say

NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) – A large New York City Fire Department response was underway in Manhattan after two columns buckled and five floors caved in at a building under construction Tuesday morning.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference Tuesday that “the building remains unstable.”

FDNY said the call came in at 7:57 a.m. for reports of bricks falling from a 37-story high-rise at 235 East 42nd Street.

Floors 21 through 26 of the building caved in, according to FDNY. The building is the site of the former global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. It is now being converted into a residential development.

The site is an active, permitted construction project to convert the existing commercial office building into residential units, the city’s Department of Buildings press secretary told Nexstar’s WPIX.

Multiple cracks and sagging floors were reported throughout the building, according to FDNY.

“Since arriving on scene, we have witnessed additional movement in one of the compromised columns,” Mamdani said. “First responders and structural engineers are working closely with the project engineer to develop plans to shore up the impacted........

© The Hill