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Midtown Manhattan building evacuated after structural failure warnings

newsJul 7, 202623785

Officials evacuated a 30+ story former Pfizer complex near Grand Central after inspectors found support columns buckling and upper floors sagging during a conversion to residences. The FDNY received reports that bricks were falling from the tower, and responders found buckled columns on the 21st floor of the 33-story structure, prompting evacuations of that building and others nearby. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said there were no injuries reported. Witnesses and local reporting described visible crumbling on the north side of the building and I-beams bending. Authorities cordoned off the area around 40th to 45th Streets between First and Third Avenues while emergency crews assessed structural stability. A separate post said a liquid oxygen tanker caught fire near Bellevue the same morning, and that incident also prompted people to avoid Midtown East, though no injuries were reported there either.

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