The developer of a 37-storey office tower on East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan has been accused by New York City's Department of Buildings (DOB) of carrying out unauthorised construction, after two support columns buckled and several floors collapsed. Crews evacuated the building near Grand Central Terminal shortly after 8am on the Tuesday when the columns began to give way, and the incident has raised fears of a partial collapse onto the surrounding area. The case matters because it involves a prominent high-rise in one of the busiest parts of the city, undergoing a major residential conversion.

According to a complaint filed by the DOB, the owner — listed as 235 Fee Owner LLC — performed work that went beyond previously approved plans, with the department's portal noting that "no support of excavation has been approved". Officials say the 21st to 26th floors caved in under stress, with multiple cracks and sagging floors reported throughout the structure, and worker footage showed steel beams on the 21st and 22nd floors bending moments before the floor crumbled. Although the building remains unstable, experts insist any collapse would be localised and that its steel supports mean it will not topple. Formerly home to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the tower has been under renovation since 2024 as part of a conversion into a 1,500-unit luxury apartment complex.