NYC Building Evacuated Amid Collapse Fears; Protesters Blame Developer

Protesters gathered near a compromised 37-story building in New York City that was evacuated Tuesday amid fears it could collapse, leaving nearby residents, workers and tourists in limbo and without their belongings.

On Wednesday morning, a truck rolled up a few blocks from 235 East 42nd Street with a screen broadcasting messages aimed at the developers of the project, who are in the process of converting the former Pfizer headquarters to luxury residential units.

One message read “Crime Scene,” while another stated: “1,600 residential units at risk due to cutting corners.” More protesters soon arrived with signs reading, “Shame on MetroLoft,” according to The New York Times.

Metroloft, the developer, has called the incident a routine construction mishap. The building has 44 prior complaints against it, including one alleging there was “falling debris.”

Situated two blocks from the United Nations headquarters, the high rise remains at the center of a "frozen zone" Wednesday as construction crews continue working to stabilize the structure. Traffic is being rerouted around the area between East 42nd and 43rd Streets and between Second and Third Avenues. In total, five buildings in this vicinity remain partially or fully vacated. People who live and work in the zone, but not in one of those five buildings, will be granted access.

City officials said “traffic delays, road closures, mass transit disruptions” and “emergency personnel” should be expected near 2nd Avenue on Wednesday morning.

Early on Tuesday, construction workers noticed alarming signs of stress — steel beams “bending like cigarettes,” cracks and falling bricks — in the building and ordered an evacuation of nearby hotels, offices and a school with 400 students. No injuries have been reported.

“They obviously didn't add the right amount of steel, so the north side is crumbling,” Steamfitters union representative Cliff Johnson told local media. “The I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous.”

At a press conference shortly after noon on Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the establishment of a sweeping “frozen zone” spanning 40th to 45th Streets and First to Third Avenues. In the hours that followed, crews raced to steady what officials described as a shifting high-rise. Authorities later said the building had been stabilized, though additional work is expected in the coming days.

That perimeter has since been narrowed, but Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani cautioned that “the public should not engage with that area.”

Here are the latest developments on the building Wednesday, July 8:

Workers, residents and tourists left in limbo

The evacuation left workers, residents and tourists suspended in limbo Wednesday with many unable to retrieve belongings from buildings that remain sealed behind police lines.

Early Wednesday morning, small crowds had formed near barricades, lingering in the summer heat and angling for scraps of information.

“I’ve been both working and in meetings, but of course at the same time waiting for information,” an Italian businessman told The New York Times as he tried to gain access to the Hampton Inn Grand Central to collect his luggage.

One nearby resident struck a markedly different tone. She told the outlet she had managed to return to her East 43rd Street apartment late Tuesday night, appearing largely unfazed by the disruption: “I’m not worried about anything in life.”

A worker at a physical therapy center at 815 Second Avenue — one of five buildings with restricted access — told The Independent she had “gotten in personally” to her place of work Wednesday.

A North Carolina mother staying at the Westin New York Grand Central on East 42nd Street posted in a TikTok video Tuesday that she and her family were unable to return to their hotel. “We just called the hotel. We cannot get back to the hotel, which obviously, it’s dangerous,” she said.

“Who knows where we’re gonna stay tonight,” she added. “This has been quite an eventful New York trip for the girls.”

Protesters also appeared Wednesday morning along East 43rd Street, holding signs that read “Crime Scene” and “1,600 residential units at risk due to cutting corners,” according to the Times.

Developer downplays concerns

Nathan Berman, the founder of MetroLoft, the project’s developer, downplayed concerns about the building, telling the Times that it was never in danger of collapse and that the project will likely only be set back by a few weeks.

“This incident is nothing more than a typical construction mishap,” Berman said. “It happens unfortunately far too often on construction sites: falling cranes, people — God forbid — falling off buildings, windows falling out.”

According to the city’s Department of Buildings, the building has 44 prior complaints against it, including an allegation in March that a worker was blowing material off the roof. In April, another complaint said there was “falling debris” from the building, which an emergency response team later said they had not observed.

As part of the conversion project, workers have been in the process of adding 11 floors to an area that was previously 22 stories, according to The Real Deal. The project is part of a broader campaign to turn office space into residential units amid a housing shortage.

Office-to-residential conversions have emerged as a priority for Mamdani, who frequently spoke about affordable housing on the campaign trail. His SPEED task force seeks to accelerate the process, aiming to trim permitting timelines by about five months.

The Independent has contacted MetroLoft and the mayor’s office for comment.

‘The building has continued to move since we have been on the scene’

The situation began shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday, when the New York City Fire Department received reports of a possible structural failure at the 37-story building.

When firefighters and Department of Buildings officials arrived, they found alarming signs on the 21st floor: two buckled columns, visible cracks, and floors beginning to sag under strain.

“It's a very serious situation because the box beams—the steel beams—have started to bend and deflect from the weight," Fire Chief John Esposito said Tuesday. "We evacuated the building and started evacuations of surrounding buildings. The building has continued to move since we have been on the scene."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday that officials are “working toward reopening the area as quickly as possible” and that the safety of those nearby remains the “top priority.”