The New York City Department of Investigation has opened an inquiry after a Manhattan high-rise’s columns buckled earlier this week, forcing workers to flee and officials to evacuate neighboring buildings and close down roads, a spokesperson for the department told CNN.
The developer behind the skyscraper – the former Pfizer headquarters being converted into apartments – previously told CNN that faulty column supports carrying too much weight were to blame, and the building has since been stabilized.
The company was adding 18,000 square feet to 15 upper floors of the building, and the additional load caused two columns to bend, sagging the floors – some as much as 4 inches, Nathan Berman, founder and managing principal of MetroLoft, told CNN.
While the developer said no part of the building, located on East 42nd Street, was ever at risk of collapsing, city officials on Tuesday described the building as unstable and established a formal “collapse zone” around it.
CNN has reached out to MetroLoft for comment on the inquiry into the incident.
