The Israeli Consulate in New York City was evacuated on Tuesday after authorities ordered nearby buildings cleared over concerns that a neighboring office tower under construction could partially collapse.
Several floors of a Midtown Manhattan office building under construction began caving in on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of several adjacent buildings and street closures. The high-rise, at 235 E. 42nd St., is on the corner of East 42nd Street and Second Avenue and was the former headquarters of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. It is under conversion to residential use.
Around 8 a.m., construction workers noticed cracks inside the building. The FDNY said the workers spotted structural support beams beginning to buckle on the 21st and 22nd floors and self-evacuated. Officials said that caused the 21st to 26th floors of the 38-story building to start caving under the stress.
Israeli Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, said he had spoken with all relevant authorities and thanked them for their work.
"I instructed the professional staff at the Consulate, which is Israel's largest diplomatic mission in the world, to provide, if necessary, an alternative solution in order to resume normal operations as quickly as possible, including all consular services," Akunis said.
Multiple buildings were evacuated, including a hotel and a school. Mayor Zohran Mamdani advised anyone in the area to follow the instructions of first responders on the ground.
"Now luckily there have been no injuries to report at this time, all workers are accounted for, the building has been evacuated, a number of tall buildings in the area are also being evacuated at this time, a school with about 400 children has also been evacuated," Mamdani said.
Pedestrian and vehicular traffic is closed on East 42nd Street between Second and Third avenues. The FDNY has also asked for East 44th Street to be closed between Second and Third avenues.