East 43rd St. Reopens But Cause of Buckled Building Still Under Review
The East midtown area faced a major scare in early July when buckled beams in the former Pfizer Building forced a multi-block shutdown due to fears of collapse. The Department of Buildings continuing to investigate the cause of the buckled beams but roads reopened July 24.
| 10 Aug 2026 | 03:16
The E. 43rd St. rear of the former Pfizer HQ. The buckled beams of the building at 235 E. 42nd St. were in the northwest corner of the building, which caused nearby buildings to be vacated and roads closed until July 24. The cause of the near catastrophe remains under investigation. (
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East 43rd St. between Second and Third Avenues was closed for 17 days but the road was finally reopened on July 24. The buckled beams in the former Pfizer HQ that caused the street closures and evacuation of nearby buildings was July 7. (
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The NY Department of Buildings (DOB) is still investigating the cause of structural issues at an East 42nd St. building, which caused a multi-block shutdown to traffic and full vacate orders to nearby buildings. While the investigation continues, however, the area has resumed normal after the DOB lifted the final vacate orders on July 24.
“DOB engineers have completed review of the stabilization & facade enclosure work at 235 East 42nd St. & have determined that there are no significant structural issues which would endanger public safety,” DOB wrote on ‘X’ July 24. “As a result, we have given the green light for lifting closures on 43rd St.”
Vacate Orders around the building, located at 235 E. 42 St., first went into effect July 7, stretching over a couple days and forcing a mass evacuation which initially shut down 12 square city blocks. The building, which was a former Pfizer headquarters, had been under construction to add 11 additional floors and a rooftop swimming pool to a 37-story building. According to DOB, a Stop Work Order is still in effect until DOB’s investigation into the cause of the building’s collapse is complete. Currently, the only additional work allowed are due to safety measures ordered by DOB.
“Shoring work and an additional façade enclosure were ordered by the Department following this month’s incident, which was done under constant supervision by structural engineers hired by the property owners,” DOB wrote on Instagram.
The shutdown was first ordered after the discovery of buckled steel beams and sagging floors on the buildings 11th floor, which was in the process of being converted from office space into convert the 1,600 luxury residential apartments. On July 10, the DOB reported that temporary shoring, vertical supports, had been installed from the ninth to top floor of the building, stabilizing the floors and removing public safety risk.
While a catastrophe was averted with no injuries or loss of life, the DOB still increased scrutiny for other office-to-residential projects within the city. Following the structural issues at the former Pfizer HQ, the DOB has launched a series of enforcement sweeps throughout current city construction sites and said it inspected 180 construction site sweeps including 24 planned office-to-residential conversion projects. During the sweeps, the DOB issued 19 Stop Work Orders, one to an office conversion project and 18 to other projects, but no Vacate Orders were issued at these sites.
From these sweeps, the DOB told Our Town they found no evidence to suggest the structural failings at 235 E. 42 St. were inherent to office-to-residential conversion projects, with a lower rate of violations at office conversion sites compared to other types of projects. The DOB also did not find any additional hazardous structural issues which posed a danger to public safety in the former Pfizer HQ but said they would be conducting follow-up sweeps while the investigation of 235 E. 42nd St. continues.