7 జులై, 2026

"Midtown residents, workers and tourists ran for their lives from homes and offices near a buckling building Tuesday..."

"... 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).

28 కామెంట్‌లు:

Enigma చెప్పారు...

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).

bagoh20 చెప్పారు...

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.

Gilbert Pinfold చెప్పారు...

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.

tcrosse చెప్పారు...

"They just need more nuts and longer screws."

NYC has no shortage of nuts, and they are in for a very long screwing.

Aggie చెప్పారు...

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.

PrimoStL చెప్పారు...

I love how in several of the interior videos nobody is speaking English.

Hey Skipper చెప్పారు...

As Confucious would say, in the original Chinese: Ho Lee Fook.

Peachy+2 చెప్పారు...

the Islamist communist communicator with a smile and no experience will fix it.

Josephbleau చెప్పారు...

“ 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.

gilbar చెప్పారు...

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

Paul చెప్పారు...

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...

RCOCEAN II చెప్పారు...

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.

RCOCEAN II చెప్పారు...

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.

Original Mike చెప్పారు...

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.

mccullough చెప్పారు...

Metaphor

Left Bank of the Charles చెప్పారు...

As it’s the former Pfizer building, I’d suggest just keep feeding it viagra.

Original Mike చెప్పారు...

"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.

hanuman_prodigious_leaper చెప్పారు...

Karen Bass is waiting by phone for Mamdani call

Breezy చెప్పారు...

Perhaps a slap on the head moment for the mayor - perhaps the nyc govt doesn’t actually want the responsibility of owning all the stuff.

Mike (MJB Wolf) చెప్పారు...

My goodness this has been in the news an entire 24-hour cycle without any Democrat concocting a credible narrative that blames Trump. The DNC is off their game. Oh well…

Leland చెప్పారు...

In the effort to solve a housing crisis, they created a bigger crisis. Yeah, metaphor.

Tina Trent చెప్పారు...

Those beams look like rotting, interior lumber. Not what you use to frame a multi-story building. Very weird.

Chris చెప్పారు...

Perfect metaphor for the new communist mayor.

CJinPA చెప్పారు...

"...the under-construction 37-story former Pfizer headquarters..."

How can it be "former" if it hasn't been built yet?

I thought the article would explain, but it didn't. It's the *site* of a former Pfizer building that was torn down and is being replaced?

Enigma చెప్పారు...

@CJinPA: Other sources were clear. They developer took the shell of the old Pfizer HQ, gutted it, and started to stack new floors on top. The lower floors couldn't take the added weight and started to collapse.

I'm guessing it was a cheap effort to sell new luxury apartments on the top floors while keeping the old Pfizer lower floors for NYC mandated rent-controlled housing. Cities "overbuild" on top of historic buildings a lot, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Freder Frederson చెప్పారు...

Perfect metaphor for the new communist mayor.

That's lame, if construction was already in progress, Mandami had nothing to do with it. He has only been in office since January. The permits would have been issued under Mayor Adams, who by the had corruption charges against him by Trump, and ordered the opening of a new Turkish Consulate, even though the fire inspection was not complete.

Freder Frederson చెప్పారు...

The corruption charges were dropped by Trump.

Freder Frederson చెప్పారు...

"Since it was being redone for 1000s of apartments... with socialist frozen rent."

Why don't you do a little research before showing your ignorance. Rent control only applies to buildings built before 1947 and occupied since 1971.

Yes, NYC has a longstanding requirement requiring new residential complexes set aside some units (I think it is 25%, but since I already did half your work for you, you look it up) as "affordable"

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