NYC Building Conversion Creates "Frozen Zone" Amid Collapse Fears
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- A 37-story building in Midtown Manhattan, undergoing conversion to luxury apartments, is at the center of a "frozen zone" due to fears of partial collapse.
- Construction crews are working to stabilize the structure after alarming signs of stress were discovered.
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A 37-story building in Midtown Manhattan, being converted into luxury apartments, is experiencing structural issues, leading to a "frozen zone" and evacuations.
A 37-story New York City building that showed risk of partial collapse remains at the center of a "frozen zone" Wednesday with construction crews working through the night to stabilize the structure.
There are still lingering fears about the integrity of 235 East 42nd Street, a former office building that is being converted into luxury apartments, in the heart of midtown Manhattan.
Police have limited access to the zone which spans between East 42nd and 43rd Streets, and Second and Third Avenues. In total, five buildings remained partially or fully vacated.
Early on Tuesday, construction workers noticed alarming signs of stress - steel beams “bending like cigarettes" and cracks - in the building and ordered an evacuation of nearby hotels, offices and a school with 400 students.
“They obviously didn't add the right amount of steel, so the north side is crumbling,” Steamfitters union representative Cliff Johnson told local media Tuesday. “The I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous.”
Initially, officials established a sweeping frozen zone spanning 40th to 45th Streets between First and Third Avenues. That perimeter has since been scaled back, but Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani cautioned that “the public should not engage with that area.”
“We've been monitoring the building for many hours and have not seen any movement," Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani also said late Tuesday night. "Right now we have been in a consistent, stable and safe situation.”
Here are the latest developments on the building early Wednesday, July 8:
The evacuation has left workers, residents and tourists in a state of limbo on Wednesday, many unable to retrieve their belongings from buildings that remain sealed off.
“I’ve been both working and in meetings, but of course at the same time waiting for information,” an Italian businessman hoping to gain access to the Hampton Inn Grand Central to collect his luggage told The New York Times.
Açık Sorular
- What caused the structural stress?
- When will residents be allowed back?
- What is the full extent of the damage?
