A Midtown Manhattan high-rise that buckled on Tuesday is slated for partial demolition, with experts warning that the stabilization process itself will be highly risky. The 37-story building, formerly the headquarters for Pfizer at 235 E. 42nd St., must be stabilized urgently to prevent a potential localized collapse.
Structural engineers estimate that the buckled columns on several floors are currently supporting only about one-third of their intended load, placing significant stress on the remaining structural elements. To address the instability, engineers plan to install temporary bracing and shoring. This would involve installing brackets on columns in the floor below the compromised ones to re-level the structure and reduce the strain on intact components.
However, gaining access to the building to implement these repairs presents a significant challenge. Experts noted that assessing the extent of the damage and determining the safety of entry for stabilization efforts will be a delicate balancing act. "It's a balancing act' of whether personnel can safely get inside to put supports in or it's just too risky of a situation," said Emily Guglielmo, a structural engineer and principal at Martin/Martin.
Once stabilized, the failed columns will need to be replaced. Engineers will conduct thorough inspections to compare the current conditions with original construction documents, aiming to understand how the building was erected and what might have contributed to the destabilization. Both Guglielmo and Ronald Hamburger, a structural engineer with extensive experience who served on the federal team investigating the World Trade Center catastrophe, agreed that the building will likely require at least partial demolition before any rebuilding can commence.
"The images we have seen show … a buckled column, you can see cracking, you can see floors that are sagging, those generally are damage that is not reversible," Guglielmo explained. "It's not like we can just push a cracked floor up and it can maintain its capacity, so there will absolutely be removal and replacement of some of these elements."
The building, which was undergoing a conversion to residential units and was projected to be the largest of its kind in New York City with approximately 1,600 units, was evacuated on Tuesday after construction workers observed two support beams bending and failing on the 21st and 22nd floors. Nine city blocks surrounding the site were secured as a safety precaution. No injuries were reported as only construction workers were present in the building at the time.
This incident is not the first safety concern flagged for the tower. Records indicate that the construction site received seven violations between July and December 2025, incurring fines totaling over $32,000. "This raises some flags," Hamburger commented on the violations.
Preliminary assessments suggest the instability may be linked to the ongoing construction, which involved adding 11 floors to the building. Potential causes include overloaded columns due to unanticipated loads placed above the 21st floor or damage to critical support components during construction. "It's hard to diagnose at this point in time, but it's very likely that there were heavier loads placed on this column than it was anticipated to support," Guglielmo stated. "It's likely that potentially the incorrect member size is there, whether by design or construction."
Experts believe the catastrophic failure is likely a combination of factors that may not have been immediately apparent, possibly only manifesting as more of the building's structure was erected or additional loads were applied. The process of stabilizing the building is expected to take about a week, followed by structural repairs.