The unstable Midtown building that forced evacuations after structural columns buckled has shown no additional movement since Tuesday morning, as crews continue installing emergency shoring inside the former Pfizer headquarters, allowing the city to reduce evacuation orders and narrow the frozen zone around the building, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
DOB said vacate orders remain in place for 815 Second Ave., 235 E. 43rd St., 231 E. 43rd St. and 225 E. 43rd St. A partial vacate order remains in place for the commercial unit occupied by Yakiniku Toraji Restaurant at 217 E. 43rd St., while all other temporary evacuations in the area have been lifted by FDNY.
The agency said 42nd and 43rd streets between Second and Third avenues remain closed to vehicles. People who live or work on those blocks, and are not in buildings under a DOB vacate order, will be allowed to access the area. All other traffic and pedestrian restrictions have been lifted, DOB said.
Temporary shoring and beams had been fully installed on floors 18 through 23 of the 37-story building at 235 East 42nd St. as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Mamdani said during an unrelated press conference. By 10:15 a.m., similar work was underway on floors 17 and 24, with crews expected to continue adding shoring throughout the day up to the roof and down to the ninth floor.
“I want to confirm for all New Yorkers that there has been no additional movement of the structure since yesterday morning,” Mamdani said. “This continues to be monitored as that emergency work is underway.”
DOB said the emergency shoring installed from the 18th through 23rd floors includes structural steel shoring columns on the 21st and 22nd floors and light-duty shoring posts on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 23rd floors. Contractors are also installing light-duty shoring posts on floors 17 and 24.
The update came a day after officials said two structural columns buckled on the 21st floor of the building, triggering evacuations, street closures, and concern about a potential localized collapse. Officials said cracks, sagging floors, and continued movement were observed inside the structure on Tuesday, though no injuries were reported and all workers were accounted for.
Mamdani said Wednesday that evacuation orders have since been reduced to four buildings under full vacate orders and one building under a partial vacate order affecting a ground-floor restaurant. He said the frozen zone around the site has also narrowed and would continue to shrink as officials receive more information from the building.
Late Tuesday, Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the buildings still under full emergency evacuation orders were 815 2nd Ave., 235 E. 43rd St., 231 E. 43rd St. and 225 E. 43rd St. A partial evacuation remained in place at 217 E. 43rd St. for the ground-floor restaurant, while the residential portion of that building had been allowed to reoccupy, Tigani said.
Other buildings evacuated earlier Tuesday were allowed to reopen, Tigani said. Remaining restrictions were focused on 42nd and 43rd streets between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.
DOB officials were able to reach the 21st floor late Tuesday to inspect the emergency shoring work, Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said. Emergency struts or jacks had been placed at weak points, and crews were also installing new steel as another emergency intervention, he said.
DOB said Wednesday that licensed surveyors have been continuously monitoring the site for any additional movement of the steel columns, and that no additional movement has been detected since Tuesday morning.
The full emergency plan involves structural reinforcement from the ninth floor to the roof, according to DOB. Additional structural steel shoring columns were expected to arrive later Wednesday, and contractors planned to replace the light-duty posts on all floors with steel columns. DOB said the light-duty posts were installed first because they could be put in quickly as an emergency measure, while steel columns take longer to deliver and install but are a more long-term solution.
DOB said all emergency shoring work is being installed under the direct supervision of the owner’s engineer and a third-party engineering firm hired by the owner that had not previously been involved in the work.
Mamdani said Wednesday that the contractor has had crews working around the clock and that DOB remains on site monitoring the structure.
The cause of the structural failure has not yet been determined. DOB said it has launched a full investigation, including a review of associated plans and construction documents, interviews with witnesses and responsible parties, a full inspection sweep of the construction site and a review of available video and photo evidence.
Enforcement actions against responsible parties are pending the results of the investigation, according to DOB. The agency said it has also required the owner to retain a third-party engineer to conduct a forensic evaluation.
Construction-safety advocates said the Midtown emergency should prompt scrutiny of safety practices on major job sites.
“The structural failure that led to the evacuation in Midtown should never happen in New York,” Charlene Obernauer, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, said in a statement. “The city that built the world’s most iconic skyline should also lead the nation in construction safety.”
Obernauer said 55 construction workers were killed on the job across New York State in 2024 and at least 587 have died statewide since 2015, according to NYCOSH. She said the incident was a reminder that construction workers face extraordinary hazards, while urging stronger accountability for those who control construction projects.
Mamdani said DOB will conduct a rigorous assessment once the emergency work is complete to ensure the project’s plans and site are fully compliant with city codes before any non-emergency work resumes.
The building is part of a major office-to-residential conversion, a policy Mamdani defended Wednesday while saying the Midtown emergency showed the need for safety and accountability.
“Yes, I do continue to consider the conversion of office space into residential space as part of our answer to the housing crisis,” Mamdani said. “I also consider that we have to do so safely and in a way that is fully accountable.”
The mayor said the emergency at the Midtown site was “not a necessary consequence of an office-to-residential conversion,” but was “clearly a breakdown in that process.”
The Department of Buildings said Tuesday that inspectors had been called to 235 E. 42nd St. to investigate reports that a steel beam on the 21st floor was compromised. DOB confirmed the site is an active, permitted construction project to convert the existing commercial office building into a residential building, and identified the general contractor as Robert Travis of 235 GC LLC.
amNewYork has reached out to Metro Loft Management and 235 GC LLC for comment. DOB said it has issued a vacate order for the construction site, barring anyone from entering and stopping all work except emergency shoring needed to stabilize the building.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
