The Israeli Consulate in New York was evacuated on Tuesday as a precaution after structural columns buckled at a nearby Manhattan building undergoing construction, officials said.
“All consulate staff were evacuated safely,” Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis stated. “I have instructed the team to examine alternative arrangements to resume normal operations as quickly as possible.”
Akunis thanked the New York City Police Department and Fire Department for their response.
The evacuation came after officials responded to a structural emergency at 235 E. 42nd St. in Midtown Manhattan, a 37-story building formerly used as Pfizer’s global headquarters that is being converted from office space into residential apartments.
The New York Fire Department stated that it received a report shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday of falling bricks and structural issues at the construction site. Firefighters found that two columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors, causing floors between the 21st and 26th levels to sag.
“We evacuated the building and started evacuations of surrounding buildings,” FDNY Chief John Esposito stated. “The building has continued to move since we have been on the scene.”
Several nearby buildings, including a school, were evacuated as officials assessed the situation. No injuries were reported, and all workers at the construction site were accounted for, officials said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a press conference on Tuesday that “the building remains unstable” as engineers worked to determine how to stabilize the structure.
