A significant risk of a partial collapse persists for a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, with New York City fire officials issuing a dire warning that the unstable structure is continuing to move and could potentially fail in a 'pancake'-style event. The precarious situation at the former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street prompted an urgent response from engineers, firefighters, and city officials racing to avert disaster.
Buckling steel columns and shifting floors have rendered the 37-story building too hazardous for crews to safely stabilize. Compounding the crisis are allegations from the New York City Department of Buildings that the property owner was conducting construction beyond previously approved plans. A complaint was filed Tuesday as investigators began scrutinizing the circumstances that led to the structural failures within one of the nation's largest office-to-residential conversion projects.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated that emergency officials had been continuously monitoring the building since the initial signs of structural failure emerged Tuesday morning, and the movement had not ceased. "The concern is that since we have been on site in the early morning, we have seen continued shifting of the structure," Mamdani said during an afternoon briefing.
The building, located at 235 East 42nd Street near Second Avenue, was evacuated during the morning rush hour after construction workers discovered structural columns buckling inside. FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito indicated that the building's steel-frame construction makes a total collapse unlikely, but a localized structural failure remains a significant concern. "The way this building is constructed, it's a steel-frame building, so it would not be a total collapse, it would be more of a localized collapse," Esposito said. "That remains our concern – that it's moving. We have seen continual movement. It does mean it is not stable."
When asked if such a failure could resemble floors collapsing into one another like a pancake, Esposito responded, "Possibly."
Officials reported that two structural columns on the building's 21st floor had buckled, with another column also exhibiting movement. The 21st to 26th floors have reportedly caved under stress, and multiple cracks and sagging floors have been observed throughout sections of the building.
Authorities rapidly cleared eight neighboring buildings and established a wide exclusion zone, spanning East 40th to East 45th Streets between First and Third avenues, blocking the busy Midtown corridor to both pedestrians and traffic. Sensitive monitoring equipment detected continuous movement within the structure as crews observed the building from the exterior.
"The building remains unstable," Mamdani affirmed, describing the response as a dynamic, minute-by-minute assessment. He urged the public to avoid the area while engineers worked to determine the safest course of action.
Six specialists from the FDNY, Department of Buildings, and the project's construction management team entered the building Tuesday afternoon for a closer inspection after monitoring suggested the structure had not shifted for approximately two hours. Drones were also deployed to examine damaged areas from above. Firefighters have been utilizing specialized monitoring equipment capable of detecting movements as small as fractions of an inch. "It's a very serious situation because the box beams, the steel beams, have started to bend and deflect from the weight," Esposito explained.
Amid the emergency response, investigators are examining whether issues during the renovation project contributed to the dangerous conditions. The Department of Buildings filed a complaint against the property owner, 235 Fee Owner LLC, alleging construction exceeded approved plans, and noting that "no support of excavation has been approved."
The former Pfizer office tower has been undergoing a transformation since 2024 into a residential development projected to include approximately 1,500 to 1,600 apartments by 2027. Contractors were adding 11 new stories above an existing 22-story section, according to Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani. The compromised areas are believed to include the 17th and 21st floors, situated beneath the new construction.
City officials have stressed that any structural failure is expected to be localized due to the building's steel-frame design, rather than cause a total collapse. The precise cause of the structural failure remains undetermined, and Tigani indicated that securing the building is the priority before a full forensic investigation can commence to determine the trigger for the buckling. Emergency beams and temporary columns will likely be required to reinforce the damaged floors before the investigation can proceed.
