Structural columns buckled Tuesday morning, July 7, 2026, inside a 37-story Manhattan tower under renovation near Grand Central Terminal, prompting the evacuation of seven surrounding buildings before officials declared the structure stable late that evening.
The tower occupies the site of the former Pfizer headquarters. Built in the 1970s as an office building, it is being converted by developer MetroLoft, with architectural firm Gensler involved in the project, into more than 1,600 luxury apartments. Renovation work is concentrated on the upper 15 floors, and officials said the extra weight introduced during that work likely caused the column failures.
Engineers determined the buckled columns must be removed and replaced. To hold the structure in the interim, crews put shoring in place before the stability assessment was completed.
The seven evacuated buildings included a school and the Israeli consulate. By evening, residents were allowed back into several of them.
New York City Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the situation had been closely watched throughout the day. "We've been monitoring the building for many hours and have not seen any movement," Tigani said.