Crews working to shore up Manhattan building at risk of collapse

Editor's note: For the latest on the high-rise building at risk of collapse in New York City, read USA TODAY's latest updates for Wednesday, July 8.

NEW YORK — Crews were working to a stabilize a high-rise building under construction in Midtown Manhattan after its two support columns buckled and prompted evacuations around the area on July 7, officials said.

Just before 8 a.m. ET, the Fire Department of New York received a report of bricks falling from the 37-story building currently under construction on East 42nd Street, between 2nd and 3rd avenues. On arrival, fire officials said two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors, while floors were sagging between the 21st and 26th floors. No one was injured by falling bricks, fire officials said.

David Maggiotto, a spokesperson for the city Department of Buildings, told USA TODAY that a team of emergency responders and engineers completed initial assessments by the evening of July 7 and observed no additional movement of the damaged columns.

Contractors on-site were expected to move forward with the installation of temporary shoring to stabilize the building, according to Maggiotto. FDNY Chief John Esposito previously warned that the building may be at risk of partial collapse and noted that a total collapse was less likely.

"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, but that remains our concern that it's moving," Esposito said at a news conference.

Earlier, Maggiotto said agency inspectors were called to the scene to investigate reports that a steel beam was compromised on the building’s 21st floor. Maggiotto said the location is an active permitted construction site to convert existing commercial offices into residential units.

The building is located in a heavily congested section of Midtown Manhattan. It's near several office buildings, tourist attractions in New York City and the United Nations.

Report: Added weight likely caused damage to high-rise building

Nathan Berman, the founder of MetroLoft, the developer of the building, told The Wall Street Journal that he believes the additional weight from the widening of about 15 top floors likely caused the support columns to buckle.

"Why those particular two columns and nothing else? We don’t know,” he told the Journal. “We’re investigating that."

Berman noted that 95% of the structure remained "sound and intact," adding that there was "no way that this corner of a small extension all of a sudden topples this building."

The building is being converted into a 1,600-unit apartment building due for completion in 2027, according to the architectural firm Gensler's website. MetroLoft earlier said in a statement it was working closely with the city buildings department to understand the full scope of the situation.

Some residents told it is safe to return home

The FDNY said in a statement, citing a city official, that officials are "going building-by-building and continuing to assess the surrounding area to determine any potential changes to street closures and whether buildings that had been evacuated can be repopulated."

Maggiotto confirmed to USA TODAY that residents of at least one building on East 44th Street have been told it is safe to return to home. He added that authorities were continuing to evaluate additional buildings that had been evacuated.

Crews to begin installing emergency shoring to stabilize building

Officials are continuing to monitor the damaged section of the high-rise building, according to Maggiotto. He said crews have concluded prep work and staging, and were expected to start installing the temporary shoring.

"We have determined that the contractors on-site can move forward with the installation of temporary shoring to stabilize the building," Maggiotto said. "This emergency shoring is a measure to stabilize the building, and additional stabilization work will be done throughout the evening and coming days."

Maggiotto noted that the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

NYC building had multiple safety fines

The Manhattan high-rise was the subject of multiple building safety complaints and fines since 2025, according to records on the New York City Department of Buildings website.

Initial complaints were about after-hours construction or workers without proper credentials. But the most common among the complaints were reports of falling debris.

On July 21, 2025, a report documented falling debris from windows. Less than a month later, city staff responded to a report on Aug. 6, 2025, that “electrical equipment” fell from the building and into the street.

Another report on Oct. 9, 2025, stated that a “large item fell and broke through 5 floors and almost hit someone.” There were two more reports of falling debris in March and April 2026. Read more here.

— Chris Quintana

Consulates announce closures in 'frozen zone'

With a sweeping no-go zone in Midtown Manhattan, countries' consulates near the United Nations announced closures on Tuesday.

The Consul-General of Ecuador in New York said on social media that it suspended services due to the incident at the building in the adjacent area of the consulate, which is located across from 2nd Avenue.

The Israeli consulate, also located in the same building as Ecuador’s consulate, was evacuated, consular officials said in a statement.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani earlier said the "frozen zone," which was temporarily closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, was from 40th to 45th streets, between 1st and 3rd avenues.

Could the building actually collapse?

John Kagaoan, principal at Kagaoan Engineering in New York, explained that while some buildings are designed to accommodate some movement, the concern for a collapse can grow as potential failures cascade.

The location of the columns is important in assessing a potential collapse, he explained.

"The lower it is, you have all of the weight you’re supporting, but as you go higher if something fails you have all of that mass and if a column buckles and the floor falls, each time you have velocity and acceleration and the building might not be able to handle it."

Kagaoan, whose firm is not involved in the project, declined to comment on any potential cause.

NYC building collapse risk closes area to traffic

Several nearby addresses on 42nd and 43rd streets were evacuated as a precaution, according to the fire department.

There are no injuries reported at this time as operations are ongoing, FDNY said. City officials said emergency personnel were in the area and told residents to use alternate routes with expected traffic delays.

Mamdani called it an "extremely serious" and "incredibly complex" situation as first responders and city Department of Buildings officials try to secure the area and to shore up the impacts of structural damage.

"The building remains unstable," Mamdani said in an afternoon news briefing near the scene in Midtown Manhattan. "Since arriving on scene, we have witnessed additional movement in one of the compromised columns."

The city has established a "frozen zone" from 40th through 45th streets between 1st and 3rd avenues, which are temporarily closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, Mamdani said. Police are deployed to secure the zone, and officials are encouraging people to avoid the area.

Earlier, Mamdani said nearby tall buildings were evacuated. A school with about 400 children was also evacuated, and most of 42nd and 43rd streets in the area had been shut down to pedestrians and vehicles, he said in a morning news briefing.

Inside the building, Mamdani said officials are assessing impacts with the use of drones as they await materials to fix affected floors. If the floor is deemed secure, he said engineers can go in to shore up the building to make it safe.

Where is the building at risk of collapse located?

The building is the former Pfizer building, which broke ground in 1959, according to the New York Times and Reuters. In 1961, the pharmaceutical company moved its headquarters to the space and expanded its offices there.

It's located just east of Grand Central Terminal, the major transit hub, as well as the iconic Chrysler Building, both of which are on 42nd Street. It’s also an avenue west of the United Nations headquarters.

Chaotic scene unfolds near evacuated NYC building

In Midtown, dozens of onlookers gawked down the closed-off street as they tried to get a view of the building next to TV cameras staged against police barricades.

Meanwhile, cars poured into congested surrounding streets, trying to make do with closures caused by the evacuation. Building workers sat in the surrounding areas waiting for their next order, while car alarms and police sirens blared in the background.

Anthony Vecere, who had been reading news on the building this morning, was on a street corner during his lunch break talking to concerned locals about what was happening.

Vecere works in a building just a block away, and said he had been seeing and hearing the multi-agency response all morning.

"It would be dramatic if it were to happen, but I kind of worry about debris, dust and rubble around everything," he told USA TODAY. "It’s just sort of shocking that on any normal day, what would that sound like?"

Keyla Pilatasig, who works at a shop nearby, was among the onlookers. Some of her friends work near the building.

"I wanted to see if it actually collapses or not," Pilatasig said. "We were just there [at work] panicking like, 'What if it does fall? What’s gonna happen to us?'"

Contributing: Jerry Staas-Haught, USA TODAY Network; Reuters