New York skyscraper terror erupts 1,000 feet above city: See the two luxury buildings engineers fear could fall after Midtown high-rise crumbles

A sagging skyscraper in the heart of New York City has sparked fears that other massive structures in the Big Apple could one day fall without any warning.

On July 7, construction workers were in the former headquarters of pharmaceutical  giant Pfizer when two columns in the 37-story office building at 235 East 42nd Street buckled.

The 21st to 26th floors of the building near Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal caved in under the stress, and multiple cracks and sagging floors were discovered throughout the high-rise.

While the fear of the building collapsing at any moment has dropped, after workers rushed to stabilize the structure, questions linger about how many other high-rises in New York could be hiding serious flaws that potentially endanger tenants and pedestrians.

A 96-story skyscraper in one of New York's ultra wealthy neighborhoods is feared to be cracking apart as it terrifyingly sways in high winds, engulfing its tenants in a bitter legal battle with the builders, who they accused of covering up critical flaws. The city maintains it is safe.

Meanwhile, another 60-story high-rise overlooking the city's financial nerve center sits half-finished as it sinks into the ground and leans more and more to one side.

The leaning tower has sparked its own lawsuit as its builders say the skyscraper is too dangerous to finish and blame the project's developers for choosing cheap shortcuts which led to the potentially catastrophe issue.

While New York City officials said everything safe for now, it may only be a matter of time before some of the city's largest buildings trigger more mass evacuation orders like the crumbling albatross now sitting on 42nd Street.

432 Park Avenue (1,396 feet)

The 'supertall' residential tower on New York City's Billionaires' Row has seen a long list of issues documented since it opened in 2015.

Soon after residents started moving in, condo owners began complaining about alarming swaying and creaking noises in the wind, plus cracks in walls, ceilings and the building’s concrete facade.

Former celebrity power couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez once lived in the exclusive high-rise in 2018, but quickly moved out of their $15.3 million condo one year later.

The now-separated couple cited a lack of space for selling. It is not known if they encountered similar issues while living in the building.

Eventually, inspections of 432 Park discovered 'thousands of severe cracks,' including a 10-inch-deep crack in the building’s core. 'Other forms of deterioration' were also reported by independent building engineers.

According to a lawsuit filed in 2021 by the condo board against the building's developers and a follow-up lawsuit in 2025, these problems have persisted for years, and other tenants claimed the developers knew about the defects before residents moved in.

The 2025 lawsuit was filed against 56th & Park (NY) Owner, LLC - the legal sponsor entity created by the developers (CIM Group and Macklowe Properties) - and accused them of 'deliberate and far-reaching fraud' for failing to disclose approximately 1,900 construction and design defects to condo buyers.

Problems at 432 Park have also allegedly included corrosion of the steel reinforcement in the concrete columns caused by repeated flooding, malfunctioning elevators and disruptive noise and vibrations, according to the complaint.

Despite visible cracks and fears of structural failure, the New York City Department of Buildings has repeatedly claimed that it has inspected the building and that it currently meets safety standards with no immediate risk of collapse.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the developers, CIM Group and Macklowe Properties, for comment on the claims made by the condos' owners.

Jami Schlicher, a spokesperson for the defendants, said: 'Claims of 432 Park’s facade deterioration are baseless and contradicted by the Board’s own engineers, who have certified the facade as SWARMP (Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program).'

'Importantly, Sponsor, its design team, the contractors, and each of their respective experts disagree with the Board’s meritless allegations and reaffirm that the building is safe,' Schlicher continued.

'Assertions that the Sponsor ignored risks are categorically untrue and contradicted by the Board’s own engineers, who have confirmed the façade is safe with a repair and maintenance program.'

Public records show 432 Park Avenue has received 135 open complaints, 145 regular building code violations and 111 fines and penalties from the city for various infractions found throughout the skyscraper.

Specifically, NYC Department of Buildings records have shown the building was fined for safety problems such as loose or falling concrete on its exterior walls and for not putting up proper sidewalk barriers to protect people below during repairs.

However, the DOB has not issued major 'unsafe' structural violations or vacate orders for the residents still living there.

A group of building construction experts told The New York Times in October that if the problems at 432 Park Avenue are not addressed, the building could eventually need to be evacuated.

Steve Bongiorno, a structural engineer not involved with the original project, told the Times: 'Chunks of concrete will fall off, and windows will start loosening up.'

'There’s no sidewalk shed that’s going to protect you from chunks of concrete popping off a 1,400-foot building.'

An estimated $160 million repair project to fix the facade will reportedly begin in July 2026 and take up to four years to complete.

The building's condo owners are reportedly paying for the repairs themselves, but are hoping the lawsuit will force the developers of 432 Park to pay back the tenants.

161 Maiden Lane (670 feet)

The 60-story residential tower in New York's Financial District literally leans over Lower Manhattan due to a severe error in the setting of its foundation.

Also known as One Seaport, it has been nicknamed the 'Leaning Tower of New York' because of a roughly three-inch lean that halted construction in 2021.

The tower has remained unfinished and unoccupied as a 2019 lawsuit, fighting over how to fix the lean, continues to drag on in 2026. 

In the suit, the visible lean at 161 Maiden Lane is alleged by contractor Pizzarotti LLC to have been caused by the developers’ choice of soil improvement methods at the building site to create a firm foundation, instead of installing traditional concrete piles deep underground for stability.

According to Structure Magazine, the builders injected cement grout or other materials into the ground to make the soil denser.

In theory, this would make it less likely to settle or shift unevenly. However, the soft, riverside soil did not solidify enough for the skyscraper, which is still shifting to this day. The process also reportedly saved the developer, Fortis Property Group, approximately $6 million.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Fortis Property Group for comment. The developers publicly said at the time the lawsuit was filed that the claims were 'patently false from start to finish and nothing more than simple defamation.'

The lean has become so noticeable that the problem made glass and elevator installations in the building too difficult and dangerous to complete.

Workers actually tried to unevenly pour the concrete on the upper floors of the building, hoping the weight in the opposite direction would correct the lean, but the plan failed.

Fortis has denied the allegations, blamed Pizzarotti for the problems and filed counter-claims against the contractor.

Pizzarotti hired independent structural engineers from the firm Thornton Tomasetti, with their expert, Elisabeth Malsch, warning: 'There is insufficient information to assure that the building will remain safe if work advances.'

The Department of Buildings has not approved 161 Maiden Lane for occupancy, but said the skyscraper is structurally stable for now.

The worst case scenario, where the high-rise topples over and crushes nearby buildings, potentially killing thousands of people, was deemed to be highly unlikely by Malsch.

However, in a 2019 court affidavit, Malsch warned that continuing construction without a major redesign would lead to 'breaking windows and components falling to the street' from up to 58 stories above the ground, causing 'grave injury to persons and property.'

While it does not pose an imminent risk of collapse, DOB has mandated that the unfinished project receive constant monitoring and that regular engineering reports on its stability.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Department of Buildings to learn which structures in New York City have officially been placed on the 'Structurally Compromised Buildings' list.

Officials said they would not be able to respond to the request before October 2026.

As for the current emergency at 235 East 42nd Street, Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the high-rise has not shown any more signs of movement since its initial buckling.

'If there is any movement or if we sense any movement, we have protocols in place to make sure we're quickly removing people outside the building to evaluate and reassess,' he added.

The DOB filed a complaint against the building owner, listed as 235 Fee Owner LLC, on July 8, accusing it of carrying out unauthorized construction.

The complaint alleged that the owner performed construction that went beyond previously approved plans, as public records showed.

The evacuation in Midtown was not even the first incident involving a New York City building succumbing to structural failures in recent years.

In 2023, the entire side of a seven-story Bronx apartment building collapsed due to the unsafe removal of a load-bearing pier during a construction project at the multi-family residence, according to a city investigation.

Last year, the basement wall of a 17-story office building on Manhattan's 59th Street partially collapsed and caused large cracks to form in the foundation wall.