Collapse Fears Spur Evacuation at Midtown Manhattan Building Undergoing Conversion to Luxury Apartments

A full evacuation was ordered Tuesday at a historic skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, after signs of structural weakness prompted fears of a building collapse.

The 37-story building was formerly home to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's global headquarters. It is now being retrofitted into a 1,500-unit luxury rental complex, making it the largest office-to-residential conversion project in the country.

At a press conference, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the situation as “extremely serious” and said crews have witnessed additional movement in the building since arriving on the scene.

However, developer Metro Loft says that the affected area is a "small section" of the two-building complex, and says the entire building is not at risk of collapse.

A New York City Fire Department official told Realtor.com® that the department responded to reports of falling bricks at the Pfizer Building at 235 East 42nd Street at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning. (A Department of Buildings official later clarified there was no evidence of debris falling from the building.)

Officials say construction workers on the 21st floor of the building saw columns showing signs of collapse. Sagging floors were observed between the 21st and 26th floors.

A full evacuation was ordered. No injuries were reported. Approximately 40 FDNY units consisting of 140 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene.

Department of Building engineers also rushed to the scene, and used FDNY drone footage to examine the building, officials said.

The surrounding area near East 42nd Street and Second Avenue was closed to traffic.

Developer plans ambitious residential conversion

The Pfizer Building consists of two formerly independent structures that have since been connected: one built in 1905 that was originally 10 stories tall, and one 33-story building completed in 1960.

Pfizer moved to a new headquarters building in Manhattan's Hudson Yards in 2023, after selling the East 42nd Street complex to a consortium of developers led by David Werner for $364 million.

In partnership with Metro Loft Management, Werner announced plans to expand the complex and convert it into some 1,500 luxury apartments, a retrofit expected to cot hundreds of millions of dollars.

Interior demolition on the project began in 2024, and the project involves expanding the shorter structure at 219 East 42nd Street up to 29 stories.

In a statement to Realtor.com, Metro Loft thanked the FDNY, NYPD, and DOB for their quick response.

"The safety of everyone at and surrounding the building is our number one priority," the developer said. "We're thankful there were no injuries, and as the DOB clarified, no debris fell from the building. We want to confirm that the affected area is a small section of one of the two buildings on this site. As the FDNY spokesperson noted, the entire building itself is not at risk of collapse."

Realtor.com Senior Reporter Allaire Conte contributed to this report.