The developer behind a Manhattan high-rise that was hastily evacuated over collapse fears has said the danger was exaggerated, describing the structural damage as a "localized situation" that never threatened the building. MetroLoft, the firm converting the 235 East 42nd Street tower into luxury apartments, said it had worked with New York City's Department of Buildings to confirm the structure is now stable and that it has a clear plan to repair the affected section. The dispute matters because emergency responders had initially warned of an "extremely dangerous situation" and forced the evacuation of construction workers and occupants of nine surrounding buildings.

Emergency crews discovered two buckled support columns and sagging floors on Tuesday, with construction workers on the 21st floor reporting badly bent steel beams and cracking walls. MetroLoft said the issue affected fewer than 30 apartments out of more than 1,600 in the 1.3 million-square-foot project, and founder Nathan Berman told The Real Deal that the damage was confined to a roughly 20-by-20-foot section at the building's north-west corner, calling it "very fixable". Fire officials had said their primary concern was a "localized collapse" rather than failure of the entire 37-storey structure, and crews worked overnight to stabilise the building before some evacuations were lifted.