A Manhattan high-rise under conversion into luxury apartments was declared stable late Tuesday after buckled structural columns triggered fears of a partial collapse, forcing emergency evacuations near Grand Central Terminal and disrupting several Midtown blocks.The 37-storey building at 235 East 42nd Street, the former global headquarters of Pfizer, had been under construction as part of one of New York City’s largest office-to-residential conversions. Workers raised the alarm on Tuesday morning after structural distress was detected on upper floors, prompting the evacuation of the tower and nearby properties as fire officials, engineers and building inspectors moved to assess whether the structure could fail.
Emergency crews found two buckled columns, cracks and sagging floors around the 21st and 22nd levels. Officials initially warned that a partial collapse was possible, although the steel-frame design made a full collapse onto surrounding streets less likely. No injuries were reported, and there were no confirmed reports of major debris striking pedestrians or vehicles.
By late Tuesday, temporary shoring had been installed and monitoring showed no continued movement in the affected section. The city reduced the emergency perimeter, allowing some residents, hotel guests and workers to return to surrounding buildings. Several structures closest to the site remained under evacuation orders while engineers continued checks and reinforcement work.
The emergency response shut down streets from parts of East 40th Street to East 45th Street between First and Third avenues, affecting traffic, buses and pedestrian access through a busy commercial and residential corridor. A nearby school with about 400 children, hotels, diplomatic offices and other buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
The building is being converted from offices into about 1,600 apartments, including hundreds of affordable units, as New York seeks to turn underused commercial towers into housing after the pandemic reshaped demand for office space. The project has been closely watched because of its scale and its location in one of the city’s densest business districts.
Developers involved in the conversion have said the problem was confined to a small section of one building at the site and that most of the structure remained sound. Engineers are examining whether work to widen the upper floors placed stress on columns that had not yet been adequately reinforced. Structural specialists expect more extensive repairs, including replacement or rebuilding of damaged columns and floors, before normal construction can resume.
The incident has drawn attention to the engineering complexity of office-to-housing conversions, especially when older commercial towers are reconfigured for residential layouts. Such projects often require new plumbing, ventilation, windows, floor plates and amenity spaces, while maintaining the integrity of load-bearing elements. Adding or modifying upper levels can increase stress on parts of a structure that were not originally designed for the altered configuration.
City building records show the site had faced earlier safety violations during construction, though officials have not linked those matters directly to Tuesday’s structural failure. The Department of Buildings is expected to review engineering submissions, construction sequencing and inspection records as part of its inquiry into what caused the columns to buckle.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the situation as serious during the emergency response, while fire officials emphasised that the primary concern was localised failure inside the structure rather than a tower-wide collapse. Drones were used to inspect damaged areas before engineers entered the building, reducing the risk to first responders during the most uncertain phase of the operation.
The stabilisation effort is expected to continue as crews install additional supports and monitor load shifts. Engineers will need to determine whether the affected floors can be repaired safely in place or whether partial demolition and reconstruction are required. Any decision will have to balance worker safety, public access and the structural demands of a complex redevelopment.
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