Indian UN Mission Premises Evacuated As Nearby NYC High-Rise Buckles, At Risk Of Collapse

 

 

New York : The building housing the Permanent Mission of India to the UN was among the several premises evacuated in Midtown Manhattan after structural damage rendered an under-construction high-rise "unstable", raising concerns of its potential collapse.

 

The Indian Mission building, located just over a block away from the United Nations headquarters, houses offices, as well as residences of Indian diplomats and other officers. Sources said all Indian diplomats and their families are safe and following necessary precautions in the wake of the evacuation orders.

The mission in New York is housed in a 27-story red granite building built in 1993. The building was designed by Indian architect Charles Correa and is located between 43rd and 44th Street just off Second Avenue.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the situation as "extremely serious" and added that no injuries have been reported so far from the incident and every worker has been accounted for.

 

Giving a detailed account of the situation, Mamdani said that around 8 am Tuesday morning (local time), the New York Fire Department received reports of a "structural issue" at an "active construction" site between Second and Third Avenues on 42nd Street in Manhattan. The Indian Mission, located just across the street from the troubled high-rise, shares the area with several other UN missions, UN agency officers, prominent hotels and restaurants, residences and businesses.

 

The troubled building, which was previously the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is a 37-story high-rise with active permits to convert it from a commercial office building to a residential building.

First responders from the fire department and the Department of Buildings responded to the call immediately and found "structural issues on the 21st floor," Mamdani said.

Two structural columns in the building have buckled, in addition to multiple cracks and sagging floors. "The building remains unstable," Mamdani said, adding that "additional movement" has been witnessed in one of the compromised columns.

First responders and structural engineers are working closely with the project engineer to develop plans to shore up the impacted floor. "This is an extremely serious situation," Mamdani said as he expressed gratitude to first responders for securing the area and initiating the evacuation plans.