Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Briefs the Media With DOB, FDNY and NYCEM Officials on a Structurally Compromised Midtown Building
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good afternoon, everyone. Around 8 a.m. this morning, FDNY received reports of a structural issue at an active construction site on East 42nd Street between Second and Third Avenues. This is an existing 37-story building with active permits to convert it from a commercial office building to a residential building. First responders from FDNY, NYCEM and the Department of Buildings responded to the call immediately and found structural issues on the 21st floor. Two structural columns have buckled, in addition to multiple cracks and sagging floors. The building remains unstable. Since arriving on scene, we have witnessed additional movement in one of the compromised columns. First responders and structural engineers are working closely with the project engineer to develop plans to shore up the impacted floor. If the floor is deemed to be secure, engineers will enter and begin shoring up the building. As we await the arrivals of materials that will stabilize the building, DOB engineers have been investigating with FDNY drones. This is an extremely serious situation, and I am thankful to our first responders for quickly arriving at the site and to New Yorkers for reacting calmly and with urgency. I am grateful to report there have been no injuries at this time and that every worker has been accounted for. The NYPD has instituted a frozen zone from 40th to 45th Streets between First and Third avenues. These streets have been temporarily closed off to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The NYPD is also deploying additional officers to ensure that the area remains secure. I want to encourage New Yorkers to avoid the area until it has been deemed safe to reenter. As we work to secure this building and ensure that New Yorkers are safe, I want to encourage New Yorkers to also continue to follow the instructions of those who are on the ground. I want to thank the many government agencies who have worked closely with one another this morning to protect the people of this city. FDNY coordinated with NYCEM. NYPD officers are keeping traffic moving and helping to keep New Yorkers out of the frozen zones. DOB inspectors and engineers are managing an incredibly complex situation. On behalf of New York City, thank you. Now I will pass it over to our fire commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think this is a minute-by-minute assessment, and I'm thankful for the work of all of our city workers in doing exactly that from the morning through this moment and then through the rest of the day. And as you heard from our DOB commissioner, the number one focus here is the safety of New Yorkers. We're thankful that at this time there are no injuries. Every worker is accounted for. And now, we are continuing to assess. As soon as this building is stable, it then opens up the possibilities for us to shore up the building. But until that point, we are still having to measure that. I know our DOB commissioner wanted to add a few details.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I will just add a few words before passing it over to my deputy mayor for Housing to share on that. When it comes to what this building is, as you said, this is a commercial office building that is being renovated into a residential building. And as part of the renovations is what we have seen here today.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThe concern is that since we have been on-site in the early morning, we have seen [a] continued shift of the structure. And I'm going to pass it over to our chief of department to add a little more detail.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'll first just start with the importance of safety at this time. We have evacuated not only the building but also seven buildings around it. I really do appreciate the way in which New Yorkers have responded to this situation. We've seen that they have followed the instructions that have been provided by first responders on the ground. And that has been immensely helpful to ensuring that those first responders can be focused on the work at hand. I'm now going to pass it over to our DOB commissioner to add two additional things.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI want to be honest with New Yorkers that this is a fast-developing situation. We are taking it minute by minute, and I appreciate our city workers who have been on the forefront of that. Every few minutes, we are looking at a new assessment of the structure and of the possibilities and the options that we have in front of us. When it comes to the New Yorkers who call these streets their home, we are going to be in touch with them as soon as we have any updates. What I will say to them for now is thank you, because despite the impact on their day, they have responded calmly; they have responded with urgency. And to those New Yorkers who do not live in this neighborhood, I would say to steer clear of this area so that we can actually ensure the focus is on this response. We will be sure to keep the public up to date with any new developments as we have them. Right now, we are going to go back to work to ensure that all of these incredible city workers can do what they have been here doing since the morning, which is looking to keep us all safe. We are only going to allow New Yorkers to return back into these buildings when we are fully confident that they are safe for them to do so. That safety is paramount for us in every decision we are making right now.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou heard from our DOB commissioner that there is an active investigation underway as to what brought us to this point. Our focus right now is on making sure that this site is safe, this building is safe, this neighborhood is safe. That investigation, however, will continue because we want to make sure that these actions are not ones that are repeatable. Thank you all very much. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Briefs the Media With DOB, FDNY and NYCEM Officials on a Structurally Compromised Midtown Building.