NYC workers continue stabilizing 29 floors of former Pfizer HQ in Midtown. Here's the latest on the investigation.
Efforts to shore up the former Pfizer headquarters on the East Side of Manhattan continued Thursday after concerns of a potential collapse earlier this week sparked wide evacuations.
With the exception of 43rd Street, all the streets around the 37-story building at 235 E. 42nd St. are back open to traffic. New York City is still not letting people back into four buildings in the area, and part of one additional building.
Despite the inconvenience to some, the current situation is a far cry from Tuesday and Wednesday, when safety concerns shut down a chunk of the neighborhood.
The Department of Buildings says workers already installed shoring on 17 floors of the building, but they're still working on 12 other floors.
Latest on the investigation
New York City is now investigating everyone's role in the project, including developer MetroLoft.
The general contractor, 235 GC LLC, racked up seven violations from the DOB for the project over the last year, including violations for falling metal and glass and a worker falling from a ladder.
All of those violations are now listed as resolved.
"The problem is, when you have a situation like that, that's indicative of someone looking to cut corners," said Gary LaBarbera, president of the New York City Buildings and Construction Trades Council.
CBS News New York's Tim McNicholas has reached out to the contractor directly, but didn't immediately hear back.
One of the workers who first spotted the issues in the building told CBS News New York's Lisa Rozner the general contractor told him to return to work Thursday and that he refused.
Sean Dow of Steamfitters Local 638 took a photo of cracked slab when he arrived to work on the 22nd floor of the building on Tuesday. The 25-year-old says when he went to the 21st floor he saw a bending column.
"Definitely was worried about my safety," Dow said.
"The general contractor told him don't worry, go work on the floor below," said Cliff Johnsen, business agent for Steamfitters Local 638. "This is irresponsible contracting."
The steamfitters union blames the sagging floors and bending columns on the job being mostly non-union workers, and that Dow was asked by the general contractor to re-enter the building on Wednesday night.
"I asked was this cleared by the FDNY? The DOB?" Johnsen said.
The union is calling Dow a hero. He said he was just relying on what he learned during his apprenticeship.
"The developers are saying this is no big deal. Well, the battalion chief of the FDNY went in there and said we need a five-block radius isolation zone," Johnsen said.
Sagging floors will be replaced, developer says
Nathan Berman, principal and owner of MetroLoft, told CBS News New York by phone earlier Wednesday that the issue had nothing to do with non-union work.
"There may have been some human error involved or there may have been some inherent issue with that, with those particular two columns," Berman said.
MetroLoft declined to comment Thursday but said Wednesday the building was never at any risk of collapsing because the issue is with a small section.
CBS News New York asked the developer if any kind of demolition will be required. He said no and that the sagging floors will be replaced.
"We will replace the facade and the slab on those floors. We will put them ... We will rebuild them new," Berman said.
Inspector for 235 E. 42nd St. previously issued several violations
CBS News New York has also learned the inspector hired for the site, John McMonagle of Domani Inspection Services, has been issued several violations by the DOB since 2012, the most recent in 2022 for a site at 14 Gay St., in Manhattan.
The DOB says he "failed to adequately perform their duties as a special inspection agency," adding that violation was resolved.
CBS News New York reached out to Domani Inspection Services, which released the following statement:
"Domani Inspection Services is currently working with the NYC DOB in their review of the project records for 235 East 42nd Street. Until that review is complete, it would be inappropriate to speculate about the cause of the reported conditions.
"It is important to understand the role of a Special Inspection Agency. As a New York City Special Inspection Agency, Domani performs inspections required by the New York City Building Code and identified in the approved construction documents. Our responsibilities are defined by the Engineer of Record and the applicable code requirements. A Special Inspection Agency does not independently determine which structural elements require inspections, nor does it assume the responsibilities of the Engineer of Record. We can only inspect work performed.
"Domani has performed tens of thousands of special inspections throughout New York City over many years, and we take our professional and regulatory responsibilities extremely seriously."
