Manhattan High-Rise Building Evacuated as Officials Warn of Collapse

Name: Manhattan High-Rise Building Evacuated as Officials Warn of Collapse
Uploaded: 2026-07-08T08:45:44.000Z
Description: The property itself is a commercial office—formerly the world headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer—that is in the process of being converted into apartments.

The property itself is a commercial office—formerly the world headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer—that is in the process of being converted into apartments.

John Rigolizzo

Published: 7/7/2026, 2:49:28 PM EDT

A Manhattan high-rise was evacuated Tuesday amid fears of major structural issues.

A 15-block radius in the area of 42nd Street in Midtown was shut down to traffic and multiple buildings were evacuated after the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) discovered a crumbling wall in an active construction site in the building. City officials gave more details about the collapse at a press conference Tuesday morning.

New York City's Emergency Notification System issued a notice on social media warning of emergency personnel on the corner of 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. The FDNY followed up that it was on scene as part of a "major technical rescue response." The Department of Buildings added that structural engineers were on scene investigating potential structural issues at the site. Building Commissioner Ahmed Tigani was also on site.

A video posted to social media by local news outlet PIX 11 showed the interior of one of the upper floors of the high-rise. Two columns can be seen split in half and partially collapsed, with wall framing also bent.

According to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, just before 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, firefighters responded to reports of bricks falling from the upper floors of the building. Firefighters worked in conjunction with site contractors to investigate the building and discovered the collapsing columns on the 21st floor. Upon determining that the building was unstable, authorities began evacuating the building and surrounding buildings and establishing a collapse zone.

Fire Chief John Esposito added that no injuries were reported, and all workers in the building were accounted for. However, the steel beams holding up the structure have started to bend. Mamdani said that in addition to cracks in the structure and sagging floors, one of the columns has seen additional movement from the time of the initial survey. The FDNY is using drones and equipment to detect additional movement down to fractions of an inch.

"This is a minute-by-minute assessment," Mamdani said. "The number one focus here is the safety of New Yorkers."

A frozen zone has been declared between 40th and 45th streets, between 1st and 3rd Avenues. The area is closed off to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. In addition to the affected property, the seven surrounding buildings were also evacuated.

Tigani said that officials are coordinating with contractors and building ownership to establish a plan for shoring up the affected area. Once it has been determined that the affected floor is secure, authorities will go in and shore up the structure with additional columns and emergency struts, then investigate any other structural issues and potentially add more reinforcements to the building in order to prevent further issues.

Esposito said that the building is a steel-frame construction, so a potential collapse would be localized.

The property itself is a commercial office—formerly the world headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer—that is in the process of being converted into apartments. It is comprised of two structures: a 37-floor high-rise and the 22-floor building adjacent to it. As part of the renovation, builders are adding an 11-floor extension to the second structure. The building underwent a full planning review and permitting process; authorities are now investigating how the collapse occurred.