A 37-storey office building on East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, near Grand Central Terminal, will have to be partially demolished after two of its structural columns buckled on Tuesday morning while construction crews were working inside. The failure caused the 21st to 26th floors to cave in under stress, with cracks and sagging floors reported throughout the high-rise, prompting a large-scale evacuation. The incident matters because engineers warn the structure remains at serious risk of collapse, and even efforts to stabilise it could bring it down in a scene evoking painful memories of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

The tower, the former Pfizer headquarters, was being converted into luxury flats when the columns failed. Structural engineer Emily Guglielmo told the New York Post that the visible buckling, cracking and sagging represented damage that is generally irreversible, meaning some elements will need to be removed and replaced rather than repaired. She said crews would likely require temporary bracing and shoring to stabilise the building quickly, but cautioned that doing so might prove too risky. Ronald Hamburger, an engineer who investigated the World Trade Center disaster, echoed the concern, warning the building is in significant danger of a local collapse.