Story perspectives

Engineers Stabilize Former Pfizer HQ After Buckled Columns

7/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

Engineers installed temporary shoring on the 21st-through-23rd floors, stabilizing the former Pfizer headquarters.
The 235 East 42nd Street building was evacuated after buckled columns were found, which officials now deem stabilized.
Building Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said emergency beams and columns are being added to reinforce the supports.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said safety is the top priority, linked the conversion to the housing-affordability plan, and reported no injuries.

History

Historical Context

The 1981 Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City killed 114 people, exposing design flaws and prompting nationwide code upgrades and ASCE policies for peer-reviewed shop drawings. Those reforms shaped modern safety oversight, so today New York City officials such as Building Commissioner Ahmed Tigani and Mayor Zohran Mamdani install emergency shoring at the former Pfizer tower to prevent a repeat.

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Story summary

Engineers installed temporary shoring on the 21st-through-23rd floors, stabilizing the former Pfizer headquarters.
The 235 East 42nd Street building was evacuated after buckled columns were found, which officials now deem stabilized.
Building Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said emergency beams and columns are being added to reinforce the supports.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said safety is the top priority, linked the conversion to the housing-affordability plan, and reported no injuries.

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