NYC Inspects 14 of 20 MetroLoft Sites After 2 Columns Buckled at Midtown Tower
Updated
Updated · Gothamist · Jul 29
NYC Inspects 14 of 20 MetroLoft Sites After 2 Columns Buckled at Midtown Tower
3 articles · Updated · Gothamist · Jul 29
Summary
City records show New York inspectors have checked 14 of 20 other MetroLoft projects since two columns buckled July 7 at 235 East 42nd St., leaving several converted apartment buildings—including 20 and 55 Broad St.—still unvisited.
The sweep followed a structural failure on the 21st floor of the former Pfizer headquarters, where columns under a 14-story expansion lacked planned steel reinforcement, according to the project engineer and an earlier agency note.
Department of Buildings officials said the investigation is ongoing and would not explain why some MetroLoft-linked properties were skipped; inspections completed so far found no unsafe conditions or violations at those sites.
The city also widened scrutiny to contractors tied to the project, visiting at least eight Barone Steel jobs and stopping steel work at one Greenwich Village site, while checking at least six MetroLoft projects involving Domani Special Inspections.
The Midtown failure has intensified concern around MetroLoft's office-to-housing push, including the 1,600-apartment East 42nd Street redevelopment billed as the city's largest conversion of its kind.