Former Pfizer Headquarters - Structural Collapse

A midtown Manhattan building was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after steel beams started buckling under the weight of the floor above and officials feared its collapse.

Construction crews were working to convert the structure from its former Pfizer headquarters into 1,600 apartments. The workers noticed the structural support beams buckling on the 21st and 22nd floors, prompting the evacuation.

“They obviously didn’t add the right amount of steel, so the north side is crumbling,” Steamfitters union rep Cliff Johnson told local media. “The I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous.”

“Two structural columns have buckled, in addition to multiple cracks and sagging floors. The building remains unstable,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Also seen HERE at Virtual Globetrotting.