NEW YORK. The New York authorities evacuated several skyscrapers in Manhattan on Tuesday after the “structural problem” detected in a 37-story building that is undergoing construction work to be converted into housing and for which there is a risk of “localized collapse.”
“Shortly before 8:00 a.m., the New York Fire Department (FDNY) received notices about a structural problem in a construction site in progress located on East 42nd Street in Manhattan,” the FDNY itself reported in a message posted on social media in which it was indicated that they were alerted to problems in a 37-story building, which is currently being converted from a commercial office building to a residential building.
The units deployed detected “structural problems” on the 21st floor, where two structural columns “had been deformed and multiple cracks and warped floors were observed.”
“It is a very serious situation because the steel beams have begun to bend and deform due to the weight,” declared the head of the Department, John Esposito, who reported that The affected building and nearby buildings were evacuated.
Shortly afterwards, in statements reported by the American channel Fox News, the head of the Fire Department spoke of the risk of “collapse” of the building, stressing that, due to its steel structure, “a total collapse would not occur”, but rather it would be “a localized collapse.”
“But we are still concerned that the building is moving,” he noted about the emergency that caused the deployment of 150 firefighters and emergency services personnel.
New York mayor in the area
For his part, the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, traveled to the area, where he described the situation as “extremely serious” and stressed that the building remains “unstable.”
“Since we arrived at the scene, we have observed additional movement in one of the compromised columns,” he indicated, after noting that emergency teams and structural engineers are working “to develop a plan to evaluate and secure the affected floor. If it is determined that the floor is safe, engineers will enter and begin shoring up the building,” he reported.
Likewise, the New York Police stopped traffic between 40th and 45th Streets and First and Third Avenues, explained Mamdani, who insisted on pointing out that the area is closed to both cars and pedestrians.
