A Midtown high-rise whose support columns were discovered buckling Tuesday is “shifting’’ and in danger of partially collapsing — a situation so precarious that crews can’t even go in to stabilize it, authorities said.
The 37-story former Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street — which is being converted from commercial to residential use — was dramatically evacuated during the morning rush along with eight surrounding buildings as city officials mounted a desperate effort to avert catastrophe.
“The concern is that since we have been on site in the early morning, we have seen continued shifting of the structure,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said early Tuesday afternoon.
FDNY crews and other emergency responders have been monitoring the building with sensitive equipment and chillingly discovered the still-unfolding precarious situation high above the crowded streets of Manhattan, the mayor said.
“The way this building is constructed, it’s a steel-frame building, so it would not be a total collapse, it would be more of a localized collapse,” said FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito.
“That remains our concern – that it’s moving. … We have seen continual movement. It does mean it is not stable.”
When asked if that means the building could collapse into itself like a pancake, Esposito responded, “Possibly.”
A source at the scene with direction knowledge of the situation said, “It’s like squeezing both ends of a twig.
“And it is buckling,” the source said, explaining the breach occurred at the connection point between the building’s old and new sections.
There is concern that rain and wind expected later in the week could only worsen the situation, sources said.
Six officials — including from the FDNY, city Buildings Department and the contractor — entered the structure midafternoon to begin trying to better assess the damage and how to stabilize it, sources said — noting it did not appear to have shifted for about two hours.
Authorities were flying drones around the site, seeming to focus on the back of the building.
The news conference also revealed other heart-pounding new details about the harrowing engineering problem.
NYPD and FDNY officials instituted a “frozen zone from East 40th to 45th streets between First and Third avenues, barring all pedestrian and vehicle traffic for fear the building could shower debris below.
Mamdani said two structural columns have buckled inside the building’s 21st floor, while another one shows movement.
“The building remains unstable,” he said.
The building at 235 E. 42nd St. near Second Avenue and is considered one of the largest commercial-to-residential conversion projects nationwide, with 1,600 apartments slated by 2027.
Contractors had been adding 11 new floors on top of a 22-story section of the building, said city Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani.
Sources said the compromised sections appear to be the 17th and 21st floors, below the additions.
Tigani said cause will be investigated, but it’ll first have to be made safe.
He said emergency beams and columns likely would need to be brought in to shore up the floor.
Investigators likely will look into several potential causes, including whether the original design or construction was deficient, said a structural engineer. speaking to The Post on behalf of the Structural Engineers Association of New York.
“Could be one or all of many things, which will be investigated once the building is shored,” the engineer said. “Possible overload of floors with construction materials, possible removal of a structural element during a prior renovation that wasn’t known, original deficiency in design or construction.”
One source said investigators could also look into whether the steel was changed from the original plans during construction.
“This is a minute-by-minute assessment,” Mamdani said, as he warned New Yorkers to stay away.
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