Crucial support beams in Tuesday’s buckling Midtown skyscraper were “bending like cigarettes” — sending some floors collapsing under the punishing pressure, according to a construction worker.
Cliff Johnsen of Steamfitters Local 638, whose crew was installing the building’s fire-protection system at the under-construction 38-story hi-rise at 235 E. 42nd St., was among several hardhats forced to flee the site when they spotted two metal support beams bending on the 21st and 22nd floors.
“The I-beams are bending like cigarettes in there, which is super dangerous,” Johnsen told reporters outside the troubled structure.
The building was undergoing a renovation to add 16 more stories as part of its conversion from commercial to residential, he said — alleging that developers failed to install enough steel supports to bear the added weight.
“At that point, you need to add more steel — and they obviously didn’t add the right amount of steel,” Johnsen said.
“So the north side of that building is crumbling.”
First responders evacuated the shaky Manhatan building around 8 a.m. when workers discovered the warped support beams buckling — leaving the 21st and 26th floors sagging from the crushing strain.
No injuries were reported.
Police and fire officials shut down pedestrian and vehicle traffic along East 42nd Street between Second and Third avenues as they investigate the scene.
Several nearby buildings, including a hotel and school with more than 400 kids, were also evacuated as a precaution, officials said.
“What they have found thus far is that there are structural issues with the building,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters during a press conference.
“I would say beyond that, just for those in the immediate area to follow the instructions of those on the ground, we have seen evacuations not only of the building but also surrounding buildings, as well as a nearby school. And I believe those actions are appropriate at this time.”
