Pfizer building’s column scare tests Midtown East’s biggest conversion bet

All eyes were on Midtown East last week after steel columns buckled inside the Pfizer building conversion project, forcing evacuations at the site and nearby buildings on Tuesday.  The structural failures at 235 East 42nd Street — where Nathan Berman’s MetroLoft Management and investor David Werner are converting the pharmaceutical firm’s former headquarters into 1,600 apartments — captured national headlines and sparked surprise among industry players, as well as a probe by the city’s Department of Investigation into their cause.  Though the building has since been stabilized, its near-collapse — and the spotlight it attracted — also raises questions about […]

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