Multiple floors of the former Pfizer headquarters, which is under construction to be converted into 1,600 residential apartments, started caving in on Tuesday, prompting street closures and evacuations of nearby buildings.
The building is reported as being unstable and at risk of collapse.
“Around 8 a.m., construction workers noticed cracks inside the building. The FDNY say the workers spotted structural support beams beginning to buckle on the 21st and 22nd floors and self-evacuated,” ABC7 New York reports.
“Officials say that caused the 21st to 26st floors of the 37-story building to start caving under the stress,” it added.
“Fire officials said they received a call just before 8 a.m. about falling bricks near 235 East 42nd Street,” The New York Times noted.
A high-rise Manhattan building at risk of collapse is the former headquarters of Pfizer that is being converted into apartments.
Two columns buckled on the building’s 21st and 22nd floors, and several floors near the columns were sagging, officials said.…
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 7, 2026
Watch below:
🚨 FDNY Are Evacuating the Former Pfizer Headquarters Building in New York City Amid Reports of Structural Damage
“Building inspectors are there at the scene investigating reports that a structural support beam was beginning to buckle.” pic.twitter.com/yq6MMvivoY
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 7, 2026
ABC7 New York shared further:
Multiple buildings have been evacuated, including a hotel and Kennedy International School.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani advised anyone in the area to follow the instructions of first responders on the ground.
“Now luckily there have been no injuries to report at this time, all workers are accounted for, the building has been evacuated, a number of tall buildings in the area are also being evacuated at this time, a school with about 400 children has also been evacuated,” Mamdani said.
The FDNY said the following buildings have been evacuated:
- 815 Second Avenue
- 235 East 42nd Street
- 210 East 43rd Street
- 212 East 43rd Street
- 211 East 43rd Street
- 220 East 42nd Street
- 231 East 43rd Street
- 225 East 43rd Street
- 235 East 43rd Street
Of the evacuated buildings, 231 East 43rd Street is the Hampton Inn Manhattan Grand Central and guests have been evacuated out of their rooms.
Pedestrian and vehicular traffic is closed on East 42nd Street between Second and Third avenues.
Second Avenue is closed from 38th to 44th streets and 43rd and 44th streets are closed between Second and Third avenues.
FDNY told Newsweek that Department of Buildings (DOB) engineers were utilizing FDNY drone footage to examine the structure.
Footage inside the building below:
Video shows two columns buckled inside a Midtown building under construction. Dozens were evacuated and multiple streets were closed at the height of rush hour. See the full story : https://t.co/lgH632z6TN pic.twitter.com/7eYIZtJNPI
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) July 7, 2026
Newsweek has more:
The DOB said the project has active construction permits and that inspections are ongoing. It was expected to provide additional updates at an 11 a.m. briefing on Tuesday.
The tower at 235 East 42nd Street, once the global headquarters of Pfizer, is in the midst of what developers describe as the largest office‑to‑residential conversion in the United States.
Led by Metro Loft and David Werner, with Gensler as architect, the project has been transforming the Midtown high‑rise into a luxury complex expected to hold between 1,500 and 1,600 apartments. Construction has been underway since 2024 across a multi‑building footprint that includes 219 East 42nd Street.
The structural emergency that unfolded halted work abruptly, prompting widespread evacuations along East 42nd and East 43rd Streets as officials assessed the tower’s stability.
This story is developing.
