Bricks fall from Midtown Manhattan construction site, evacuations ordered

More than 100 fire and EMS personnel rushed to 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan just before 8 a.m. Tuesday after bricks began falling from a building being converted from office space into apartments. Firefighters from FDNY found buckling and sagging floor conditions inside the former Pfizer headquarters, and city officials cleared nearby blocks as crews moved to contain the risk.

The damage was concentrated high in the tower. Two columns buckled on the 21st floor and floors sagged between the 21st and 26th floors. The New York City Department of Buildings did not initially see falling debris, but it did find structural damage after the alarm was raised. No injuries were reported, and all workers were accounted for.

Emergency responders established both a frozen zone and a collapse zone around the site, shutting down pedestrians and vehicular traffic across several blocks in Midtown East. Evacuations spread beyond the construction site itself and included nearby offices, hotels, a school, diplomatic offices and other businesses close to Grand Central Terminal.

Zohran Mamdani said there had been additional movement in one of the compromised columns earlier in the day, before later saying the building had stopped moving after several hours, allowing crews to go floor by floor. By Tuesday evening, officials were still assessing whether evacuated buildings could be repopulated.

Workers were expected to begin stabilizing the building with emergency trusses and temporary shoring, a process that could continue for days. Governor Kathy Hochul said her team was in close contact with city officials and ready to provide assistance as needed.

New York City’s Office Conversion Accelerator launched in 2023 to help expedite office-to-residential projects and connect owners with the agencies needed for code-compliant work. In July 2025, the city comptroller said 44 completed, ongoing and potential conversions totaled 15.2 million gross square feet and could produce about 17,400 apartments citywide, with a large share concentrated in Manhattan south of 59th Street.