A Manhattan high-rise’s columns buckled earlier this week, forcing workers to flee and officials to evacuate neighboring buildings and close down roads. The New York City Department of Investigation has opened an inquiry into the incident.
Incident Details
The developer behind the skyscraper, MetroLoft, previously stated that faulty column supports carrying too much weight were to blame. The company was adding 18,000 square feet to 15 upper floors of the building, and the additional load caused two columns to bend, sagging the floors – some as much as 4 inches.
The columns bent “essentially from not having been properly reinforced or having been missed in the reinforcement process,” according to Nathan Berman, founder and managing principal of MetroLoft. The buckled columns sit between the existing structure of the building and the new floors being constructed.
Investigation
A “full investigation” into the structural failure at the former Pfizer building will help determine how the failure happened, what led to it, and how similar incidents can be avoided in the future. The probe will include reviews of construction documents, interviews with witnesses, and a review of any available video and photo evidence from the site.
The New York City Department of Investigation is the city’s independent watchdog agency, which investigates fraud, corruption, misconduct, municipal malfeasance, city employees, contractors, and individuals who do business with the city.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
