Here's the latest
• New York officials said they are “confident” the installation of temporary shoring is stabilizing an under-construction Midtown Manhattan building that was evacuated after structural columns buckled. More stabilization work will be done throughout the coming days.
• A New York City fire chief previously said there was concern about a possible “localized collapse,” but the building is constructed in such a way that a total collapse is impossible.
• Several buildings in the area remain under evacuation orders. Evacuated workers face potential weeks without office access.
• The building, located on East 42nd Street, is the former headquarters for Pfizer and is being converted into apartments.
Midtown Manhattan high-rise before and after addition project
Aerial images show the change to the former Pfizer building over a year.
The image on the left, captured March 11, 2025, shows the building before construction, and the image on the right, captured April 7, 2026, shows the building during construction as it was being converted into apartments.
Where the effort to stabilize a NYC high-rise stands
Officials working to reinforce a Midtown Manhattan building after some of its support columns buckled will continue their efforts Wednesday after saying they made good progress, allowing many of those evacuated from nearby buildings to return.
“We are feeling confident that many of the emergency shoring measures that have been put in place … is stabilizing the situation,” NYC Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said Tuesday night.
Crews were seen working in the building late into the night, placing additional supports in the area of the crumpled columns.
These are the roads still closed in Midtown Manhattan
The size of the frozen zone in which crews are working to stabilize a building in Midtown Manhattan was decreased late Tuesday, but some roads remain blocked.
42nd and 43rd streets between 2nd and 3rd avenues remain closed to vehicular traffic, officials said.
Four buildings in the area remain under a full evacuation, while a fifth building is partially evacuated, with only the ground floor business impacted.
Crews worked through the night to stabilize a Manhattan building. Here's what to know
Construction crews worked through the night to stabilize a Manhattan high-rise after structural columns buckled on the 21st floor Tuesday morning, raising fears of a partial collapse.
Multiple nearby buildings remain under evacuation orders Wednesday.
Here’s what we know:
- After emergency jacks were installed to stabilize the building’s weakest points, crews began adding new steel supports, improving stability and allowing workers and materials to move safely into the structure, NYC Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said late Tuesday.
- Officials have lifted the evacuation of some buildings around the site, but four nearby buildings remain under evacuation orders, Tigani said. A fifth building is under a partial evacuation with only businesses on the ground floor impacted.
- The first signs of trouble came just before 8 a.m. Tuesday, when the New York City Fire Department received reports of a structural issue at the building, which is being converted from office space into apartments. The project, expected to be completed next year, will add 19 floors to the existing 10-story building at 219 East 42nd Street and renovate the neighboring 33-story tower at 235 East 42nd Street, according to architectural firm Gensler.
- The damage at the building is “nothing more than a typical construction mishap,” developer Nathan Berman of MetroLoft, which is the firm converting the building, told The New York Times. The buckling of support columns was likely caused by added weight, Berman told the Wall Street Journal. MetroLoft did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
- The skyscraper has been the subject of multiple complaints, including allegations of falling debris and unsafe conditions, records show. A construction worker also suffered a “grave injury” last year at the same building, according to a lawsuit. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit have denied the allegations.
- The evacuations around the skyscraper drew confusion and frustration from people working and staying in the area with evacuated hotel guests hauling suitcases out of the danger zone.
