A buckling building in New York City’s Manhattan borough forced the evacuation of two television newsrooms on Tuesday.
The story began developing early Tuesday morning when a building located along the 200 block of East 42nd Street experienced buckling columns, triggering the precautionary evacuation of seven nearby offices.
The News Building located near the corner of 2nd Avenue and 42nd Street was among those evacuated, according to local media outlets. The building houses the television studios of WPIX-TV (Channel 11, the CW Network) and the cable news outlet NewsNation.
A reporter on scene said the evacuation forced WPIX to suspend its normal programming, with a simulcast of NewsNation replacing its daytime schedule. NewsNation is broadcasting from its studios in Chicago and Washington, D.C. while the situation unfolds in New York.
The Desk has reached out to a spokesperson for Nexstar, the broadcaster that owns NewsNation and operates WPIX through an agreement with the station’s owner Mission Broadcasting, for additional information.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, local police said the affected building continues to move on its own, which prevents engineers from accessing the property.
The building was in the process of being converted from office space into apartments. The 1970s-era structure previously served as the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Eyewitness video from inside the building showed numerous wood and steel support columns bending at unusual angles. Records unearthed by WPIX-TV found the building had numerous citations issued by New York City officials for occupational safety and construction violations.
