New York officials said they were confident that a Midtown Manhattan tower undergoing an office to residential conversion, can be stabilized after buckled beams were discovered, according to published reports.

Falling bricks and the discovery of the damaged columns in the building, located at 235 E. 42nd Street, led to the evacuation of several blocks following 911 calls made around 8 a.m. on July 7. Later in the day, work crews made their way to the 21st floor to inspect the structure and found it to be stable. 

Officials feared that a partial collapse could occur but said that a full collapse was not at risk. There were no reported injuries, and all construction workers were safely evacuated, police said. Workers installed temporary supports to stabilize the structure.

Construction had been under way at 219-235 East 42nd Street, a two-building office-to-residential conversion that includes 235 East 42nd, the 38-story former headquarters of drug company Pfizer. 

“The skyscraper at 235 East 42nd was built in the 1960s and designed by Emery Roth & Sons. Its original structure was steel and is set to have ‘both horizontal and vertical enlargements’ under the current scheme,” according to a report by Dezeen. “The ‘buckling’ columns may have occurred in new volumes to enlarge the width of the vertical tower aspect,” the report said.