Map of NYC Midtown Exclusion Zone Amid Skyscraper Concerns
Summary
A 37-story building in Midtown Manhattan showed signs of structural damage, leading to an emergency evacuation and a restricted zone covering several city blocks. The building, formerly Pfizer’s headquarters and now being converted into apartments with extra floors added, showed buckled columns and sagging floors that required urgent engineering attention.Key Facts
- The affected building is located at 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
- Structural problems included bent steel beams, buckled columns, and sagging floors around the 21st floor.
- The building is part of a conversion project turning offices into residential apartments, involving the addition of new floors on an older structure.
- A “frozen zone” was created blocking pedestrian and vehicle movement from 40th to 45th Streets and First to Third Avenues, though the perimeter was later made smaller.
- Five nearby buildings remain evacuated for safety reasons.
- The zone includes offices, residential buildings, hotels, restaurants, shops, a medical center, and a school with 400 students.
- MetroLoft, the developer, said fewer than 30 apartments were affected and claimed the building was never at risk of collapse.
- Such wide area closures in Midtown for structural issues are rare, with past “frozen zones” mostly linked to attacks or explosions.
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