OT: NYC Skyscraper facing imminent collapse

[DJ Spanky]

Just heard about this, skyscraper at E42nd & 2nd Avenue has structural support beams which are buckling up on the 21st and 22nd floors.

Midtown Manhattan buildings evacuated after beams found buckling at high-rise construction site

Used to be Pfizer HQ but is being converted to residential housing.

 

[mdk02]

I was in that building a number of times 30 years ago when it was Pfizer's HQ. Everyone involved in the conversion better have their insurance paid up.

 

[24Babybull]

Who cut the wrong Beam?

Seriously every heard on One Seaport Tower?

One Seaport Tower, located at 161 Maiden Lane in Lower Manhattan, is an unfinished, abandoned 60-story luxury condominium skyscraper widely known as the "Leaning Tower of New York". Intended to yield 80 high-end waterfront residences, construction permanently halted in 2020 after critical foundation errors caused the 670-foot building to tilt 3 inches to the north.

The tower is completely stalled, locked in a web of more than two dozen lawsuits, foreclosure proceedings, and bankruptcies between the developer (Fortis Property Group) and contractors. While structural engineers state that the shell is not at risk of an imminent collapse, it has been deemed commercially and legally unfixable. Remediation estimates run between $80 million and $150 million. Lenders have entirely frozen construction funds, buyers have long since rescinded their contracts, and no broker can market a leaning tower at luxury prices.

 

[RC1991]

Damn, I used to work in that building!

 

[AreYouNUTS]

I worked around the corner for a few years and the building was part of my territory. Def was inside multiple times!

 

[RUnTeX]

Would anticipate a wave of cancellations among pre-leased units.

 

[RUnTeX]

Just heard about this, skyscraper at E42nd & 2nd Avenue has structural support beams which are buckling up on the 21st and 22nd floors.

Midtown Manhattan buildings evacuated after beams found buckling at high-rise construction site

Used to be Pfizer HQ but is being converted to residential housing.

Retrofitting of failed load-bearing columns was potentially not in the scope of the building renovation/conversion (unless something in the structural due diligence review or property condition assessment during acquisition raised this as a concern). Inevitable budget overrun forthcoming and/or a substantial drawdown or exhausting of the project contingency.

 

[patk89]

Retrofitting of failed load-bearing columns was potentially not in the scope of the building renovation/conversion (unless something in the structural due diligence review or property condition assessment during acquisition raised this as a concern). Inevitable budget overrun forthcoming and/or a substantial drawdown or exhausting of the project contingency.

Have to imagine massive delays, several years, before this gets the go ahead. Time is money so cost overruns will make this a loser for the investors.

 

[29PAS]

The developer said this is “a typical construction mishap”. Really???

 

[mdk02]

The developer said this is “a typical construction mishap”. Really???

"Remain calm, all is well."

 

[IMARUFAN]

Nothing a little duct tape can't fix.

 

[Knight Shift]

Random musings on X:









Internet sleuths pondering the calculations without having taken an Engineering Statics course:

 

[DJ Spanky]

The latest:

NYC building at risk of collapse is 'stable,' more evacuations lifted

Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, told reporters late July 7 that jacks were in place to stabilize the weak points and new steel was being installed to create additional stability. He said that officials had not seen any movement after hours of monitoring inside and outside the building.

“I can say right now the building is stable. It has not moved since we started monitoring it earlier today,” Tigani said. “And we feel confident in the emergency plan we have now.”

 

[iReC89]

The developer said this is “a typical construction mishap”. Really???

understatement award candidate right there, along with the risk being stated as only for a local collapse, not entire building collapse. The problem is the "local collapse" is about 21 stories up, with another 11+ floors above it sagging.

There are a bunch of people working on site that are not getting paid enough.

 

[24Babybull]

Stole this from the NY Times
The Gold portion is the newly added section & little black box is where the columns buckled.

 

[MADHAT1]

All this means : if any of you are thinking about moving to the City, I know a place that you'll find a great deal
on a luxury apartment.
If you act quickly

 

[Bueller]

A comment from NY Post made general sense


sense

 

[RUnTeX]

A comment from NY Post made general sense


View attachment 1357274 sense

Missed any reference to union labor/trades...doubt the bldg addition project was able to avoid having any union participation or arrangements

 

[mdk02]

Missed any reference to union labor/trades...doubt the bldg addition project was able to avoid having any union participation or arrangements

In Manhattan I'd say that's a very safe bet.

 

[24Babybull]

6 Phases of a Project:

• Enthusiasm
• Disillusionment
• Panic
• Search for the guilty
• Punishment of the innocent
• Praise and honors for the non-participants

 

[MADHAT1]

Missed any reference to union labor/trades...doubt the bldg addition project was able to avoid having any union participation or arrangements

Also missing was The private inspection firm hired to inspect that 37-story Midtown Manhattan skyscraper renovation was Domani Inspection Services which a google search found it had faced NYC Department of Buildings fines, including a $12,500 penalty in 2019 after a concrete wall collapsed from a 25th-floor Upper East Side project they were hired to monitor.
The New York Times reported on the firm's history of past citations. [1]
“A firm that inspected alterations at a Midtown Manhattan office tower where columns buckled on Tuesday was cited for missing warning signs at other projects, according to a New York Times review of city records.
google search found theses items of interest
Domani Inspection Services operates as a non-union private firm
Perspectives on Non-Union Labor at the Pfizer Building

A recent major development project at the old Pfizer building—where Domani served as the inspection agency—drew protests from union workers.
“The steamfitters union blames the sagging floors and bending columns on the job being mostly non-union workers, and Unionized construction workers slamming the building's developers for using non-union labor.