By Joseph Ax
NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - A high-rise building under construction in midtown Manhattan that had been at risk of collapse appears to have stabilized, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday, a day after two support columns buckled and forced the evacuation of a half-dozen nearby buildings.
The 37-story office building, which is being converted into residential apartments, is located on East 42nd Street, one block west of the United Nations and three blocks east of Grand
Central Terminal.
Temporary shoring and beams have been installed on floors 18 to 23, and workers are adding more support to additional floors, Mamdani told reporters.
"There has been no additional movement of the structure since yesterday morning," the mayor said.
The city's fire department said it received a call just before 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday about bricks falling from the building. Emergency responders found two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors and that multiple floors were sagging.
Neighboring buildings, including a school, were evacuated, and the busy thoroughfare of 42nd Street was closed down. Some of those buildings have been reopened, but four remain completely evacuated, while a fifth has a ground-floor restaurant that is still shuttered, Mamdani said.
The building, which served for decades as Pfizer's corporate headquarters, is being converted into a 1,600-unit apartment building due for completion in 2027, according to the architectural firm Gensler's website.
Mamdani said he remained supportive of converting office space into residences to help address the city's housing affordability crisis. The city's building department will conduct a "rigorous assessment" to ensure that the high-rise is safe and compliant with all codes before any further construction work can proceed, he added.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage and Mark Porter)
