Mass evacuations ordered as buckling Manhattan high-rise remains unstable, mayor says

DEVELOPINGUpdated 2 minutes agoU.S. newsU.S. newsMass evacuations ordered as buckling Manhattan high-rise remains unstable, mayor saysThe building, formerly Pfizer’s global headquarters, is being converted into a luxury rental complex. It was evacuated, along with neighboring buildings, and no injuries were reported.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Add NBC News to Google'The building remains unstable': Mamdani briefs on high-rise with buckling beams02:14Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 7, 2026, 12:08 PM EDT / Updated July 7, 2026, 1:40 PM EDTBy Matt LavietesA high-rise apartment complex in Midtown Manhattan remains structurally unstable and is at risk of collapse after the building’s support beams started buckling on Tuesday morning, officials said. Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The area surrounding the 37-story building, situated near Grand Central Terminal, was evacuated after two structural support beams on its 21st floor began to buckle at around 8 a.m. local time.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other city officials addressed reporters nearby, saying that the building “remains unstable” as of Tuesday afternoon. The mayor added that “since we have been on site in the early morning, we have seen continued shift of the structure.”“This is an extremely serious situation, and I am thankful to our first responders for quickly arriving at the site, and to New Yorkers for reacting calmly and with urgency,” the mayor said.The city’s fire commissioner said that because the building is made of steel, there is only a possibility of a “localized collapse” versus a “total collapse.” Add NBC News to GoogleVideo shows the buckling beams inside the former Pfizer building00:26Mamdani said that authorities were working “to develop plans to shore up the impacted floor. He said that if the floor is deemed to be secure, engineers will enter and begin shoring up t...