"... and now have no idea when they can return to the evacuated 'frozen zone' around the site. Nine buildings had to be suddenly cleared after 8 a.m. when crucial support columns began caving in the under-construction 37-story former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street near Second Avenue — and City Hall would not say when anyone might be able to return to the area...."
From "Massive ‘frozen zone’ around buckling Midtown NYC building leaves hundreds out on street — with no idea when they can return" (NY Post).

18 comments:
They tried to turn a thin, light commercial shell into a taller housing structure and were adding floors. It's often not cost effective to convert office buildings to housing. A nice example of the risks here.
I hope they cut their losses and rebuild from the ground up. NYC has had issues with other new skinny skyscrapers too. I lack confidence in the city government permitting system and inspection/build rules (before and beyond Mamdani).
My extensive time with an erector set in the 60's makes me an expert in this subject. They just need more nuts and longer screws.
This is the former Pfizer headquarters in midtown. As an employee of a company (Wyeth) that Pfizer acquired and stripped of assets while firing the workforce, it seems like poetic justice.
"They just need more nuts and longer screws."
NYC has no shortage of nuts, and they are in for a very long screwing.
An office building being turned into 'luxury condominiums' is what I read. Bad news when your structural steel starts deflecting like that, though. I wonder if the office was open plan, and not designed for the weight of all those walls.
But I'm sure Rent Control will fix all that.
I love how in several of the interior videos nobody is speaking English.
As Confucious would say, in the original Chinese: Ho Lee Fook.
the Islamist communist communicator with a smile and no experience will fix it.
“ during the Tuesday morning rush when massive beams in the under-construction building started buckling — prompting several floors to cave in and sending bricks raining down on the street under the crushing strain.”
Beams are not loaded to buckle, columns buckle. And strain is a deflection caused by stress, so say crushing stress not crushing strain. When floors collapse the rubble loads the floor below and this is very dangerous because a floor is expected to carry the weight of several upper floors causing collapse all the way down. And there is nothing you can do about it, there is no reasonable way to clear the rubble safely.
well, it's GOOD that NYC has a true Socialist running things!
he WON'T be able to make things better; but WILL be able to blame capitalism
Since it was being redone for 1000s of apartments... with socialist frozen rent.. I am sure they used high quality repairs and didn't cut out some supporting beams...
Yeah, an incompetent Contractor causes a building to collapse and its all the fault of those commies and their damn rent control.
Lets get Rosie on the job site. She knows all about Steel beams. Its seems that steel doesnt melt but it does bend and break.
Seems they were add more stories to a building and didnt plan properly.
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all.
I'm sure Mamdani has a parcel of DEI engineers to deal with this.
Seriously, it's hard to imagine residents getting into to their adjacent buildings anytime soon.
Metaphor
As it’s the former Pfizer building, I’d suggest just keep feeding it viagra.
"Also among those out on the street were workers at Israel’s Consulate in New York."
“All consulate staff were evacuated safely,” Consul General Ofir Akunis said in a statement. “I have instructed the team to examine alternative arrangements to resume normal conditions as quickly as possible.”
Silver lining, RC.
Karen Bass is waiting by phone for Mamdani call
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