The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has launched a comprehensive investigation into the structural failure that halted the conversion of a 42nd Street skyscraper this week.
The emergency at 235 East 42nd Street in Manhattan involved two load-bearing steel columns on the skyscraper’s 21st floor that buckled.
“That investigation is ongoing, and we have not yet come to a determination on what caused the failure,” DOB press secretary Andrew Rudansky told The Epoch Times on July 10.
The incident became public during the morning rush hour on July 7 after the New York City Fire Department arrived.
Officials shut down several blocks of Midtown Manhattan, creating an evacuation zone that encompassed nine surrounding buildings.
The DOB also issued a partial stop-work order that’s currently in effect at the site.
“The only work allowed at the site at this time is the ongoing emergency stabilization work we have ordered the contractor to complete under the supervision of their professional engineer,” Rudansky said.
Rudansky made the remarks on July 10 after the Steamfitters Local 638 hosted a press conference on Thursday, across the street from the Gensler Building, where teamsters commented on the near-catastrophe.
Only 10 union members were working inside the building on fire protection, sprinklers, and safety systems at the time that Steamfitters Local 638 shop steward Sean Dow spotted the flaws, according to Steamfitters Local 638 political director Brett Thomason.
Dow said it was a normal day on the job when he was told to work on the 22nd floor.
“I went up there and as I was walking around, I realized I saw cracks in the slab and I realized that’s not supposed to be there,” Dow told reporters on July 9. “So, I proceeded to head down to the 21st floor, and that’s where I saw the bending columns.”
Metro Loft, one of the property developers, did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Most of the employed workers on the project were non-union, according to Thomason.
“The majority of that building was being built by a workforce that was not qualified and trained and given the proper safety training to be on the job that they were on,” Thomason added.
Although no law in New York City requires property developers to hire union labor, Steamfitters Local 638 business agent Cliff Johnsen said he would like the city to understand the safety training that goes with being in a union.
The DOB enforces safety training requirements for all construction workers on larger building construction work sites, according to Rudansky.
Specifically, any worker who wants to work on construction sites in New York City must complete a minimum of 40 hours of mandatory construction safety courses.
“Thanks in part to the implementation of this training program in recent years, New York City has seen a major drop in construction-related injuries,” Rudansky said.
In 2025, there was a 33 percent drop in building construction-related injuries compared to 2024, and in the first five months of 2026, the city reported a 10 percent drop in construction-related injuries compared to the same period last year.
