New York Stabilizes 37-Story Pfizer Tower With Steel Struts After 21st-Floor Columns Buckle
Updated
Updated · The New Yorker · Jul 11
New York Stabilizes 37-Story Pfizer Tower With Steel Struts After 21st-Floor Columns Buckle
3 articles · Updated · The New Yorker · Jul 11
Summary
Steel struts moved in by the city overnight stabilized the former Pfizer headquarters after support columns buckled on the 21st floor, allowing officials to shift the site from "unstable to stable."
Two columns failed during MetroLoft's conversion of the 37-story tower into a mixed-use project with 1,600 apartments; developer Nathan Berman said added load from upper-floor changes likely caused a four-inch sag.
A frozen zone around East 42nd Street has largely thawed, but work remains halted as officials assess damage that Berman said was confined to a 20-by-20-foot corner of the 1.3 million-square-foot building.
Union critics and city scrutiny are intensifying around whether corners were cut on steel and oversight, with mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani demanding a rigorous safety review and the city comptroller promising an investigation.
The incident is already rippling through New York's office-to-housing market, where developers and lawyers warn a new "Pfizer premium" could make ambitious conversion projects harder and costlier.