'Buckled' beams and 'sagging' floors at a NYC high-rise building force evacuations

A Manhattan high-rise that once served as Pfizer’s global headquarters was evacuated Tuesday morning after bricks plunged from the 38-story tower, sparking a large emergency response and the clearing of several neighboring buildings.

New York City Fire Department officials said that after emergency responders arrived at the under-construction building at 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown, they found two support columns “buckled” on the 21st and 22nd floors as well as “sagging” floors between the 21st and 26th floors.

The FDNY initially received a call about falling bricks just before 8 a.m.

Seven other surrounding buildings were evacuated as a precaution as city officials assessed the scene, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that all construction workers who had been inside the building at 235 East 42nd Street were accounted for. “Multiple cracks and sagging floors were found at the 21st floor,” Mamdani told reporters during a press conference.

Video footage circulating on social media appears to show structural steel beams bending inside the building.