Crews allowed to enter and begin stabilizing high-rise NYC building
CB Cotton is reporting from New York City, where a Manhattan tower under construction raised alarm after support columns bent and several floors began to sag. Emergency responders cleared the work site and surrounding buildings, while FDNY drone video revealed extensive damage inside. The property’s owners have also faced multiple unresolved violations, including one issued last August after a metal panel fell — a record that drew sharp criticism from a union official over safety oversight.
A 37-story high-rise in Manhattan that triggered concerns about a potential collapse and led to major evacuations in one of New York City’s most heavily trafficked areas was secured late Tuesday, enabling authorities to ease some of the evacuation orders.
Officials said residents were cleared to reenter several of the seven buildings evacuated earlier after inspectors determined the compromised tower had not shifted further.
“We’ve been monitoring the building for many hours and have not seen any movement,” New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said during a Tuesday evening news conference.
The emergency began Tuesday morning when construction workers found structural columns buckling inside the former Pfizer headquarters, a 1970s office tower now being redeveloped into more than 1,600 luxury residential units.
The unstable building at 235 East 42nd Street on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Fire crews arrived at about 8 a.m., setting off evacuations at nearby properties, including a school, diplomatic offices and hotels in the busy Midtown area close to Grand Central Terminal.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the incident as “extremely serious” while engineers carried out inspections on each floor of the building.
By Tuesday evening, contractors had begun shoring up the damaged area after city officials determined the damaged columns were no longer shifting, though repair work is expected to continue and could disrupt the surrounding area.
An NYPD officer puts up caution tape near East 41st Street after buildings in the area were evacuated, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Fire Chief John Esposito said officials were concerned about the possibility of a localized structural failure rather than the entire steel-framed building collapsing. A visibly bent column on the 21st floor, along with cracks and sagging floors, prompted the extensive precautionary response.
Nathan Berman, founder of developer MetroLoft, told The Wall Street Journal that additional weight from the project’s upper-floor expansion likely contributed to the damage, though he insisted the building itself remains structurally sound.
“Ninety-five percent of the building, the structure is sound and intact,” Berman told the newspaper. “There is no way that this corner of a small extension all of a sudden topples this building.”
Berman added that investigators are still trying to determine why the two columns buckled.
