Buckling columns force evacuation of Midtown Manhattan high-rise

New York City firefighters evacuated a 37-story tower at 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning after construction workers reported support columns starting to buckle on the 21st floor, city officials said.

The FDNY said it received a call about bricks falling from the building around 8 a.m. Police said officers who arrived were told that workers on the 21st floor saw columns beginning to collapse. No injuries were reported.

The FDNY called the operation a major technical rescue response. Neighboring buildings were evacuated as a precaution, and East 42nd Street is closed to pedestrians and vehicles between Second and Third avenues.

The building, Pfizer’s former global headquarters, is being converted into a roughly 1,500-unit rental complex. The Department of Buildings said the project has an active construction permit and that its structural engineers are on scene investigating reports of potential structural issues.

Officials are expected to brief reporters. This is a developing story.