MANHATTAN, N.Y. (WPIX) – New York City officials have expressed confidence in the stabilization efforts addressing a high-rise on the verge of collapse, which caused a flurry of activity in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday.
The incident resulted in extended street closures, disrupted transit schedules, and necessitated the evacuation of several buildings, including Nexstar’s WPIX headquarters. However, according to a Tuesday night update from the Department of Buildings, emergency supports seem to be effectively stabilizing the situation.
The high-rise, situated on 42nd Street between Second and Third Avenues, is undergoing transformation into 1,600 residential units. It previously served as a facility for Pfizer.
The chaos started around 8 a.m. on Tuesday when the New York City Fire Department was alerted to falling bricks from the structure.
Workers at the construction site reported to authorities that two support columns had given way on the building’s 21st floor.
As officials worked to clear the area, road closures and evacuations grew by the hour until a wide frozen zone was established, with 40th to 45th streets shut down from First to Third Avenues.
At a news conference on Tuesday, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the building was unstable and shifting, calling it “an extremely serious situation.”
Crews examined the building floor by floor, finding no additional movement of the damaged columns and giving workers the green light to begin emergency repairs.
“We had columns that could not hold the weight before, so we came in with metal beams and poles and galvanized steel in order to replace those columns and hold up the weight,” said Ahmed Tigani, the commissioner for the Department of Buildings.
“The two most important things right now are making it stable and safe for the people working inside and for the people who are nearby, and then looking to figure out what the right intervention is for the long-term stability of the building.”
The city had lifted some evacuations and road closures Wednesday as the stabilization work and investigation continue.