Labor Unions Blame Ignored Safety Warnings Before Near-Collapse
A feared disaster was averted after emergency shoring up kept the damaged building at 235 E. 42nd St. from shifting further after beams buckled in the northwest corner on July 7. But union workers say that past safety warnings in the non union building were ignored.
| 13 Jul 2026 | 10:49
Anthony Williamson, Local 79 spokesperson, leading a chant on July 9, blasting the non-union developers behind the troubled building. (
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Shorings and multiple support beams were installed next to one of the two buckled columns by July 8. (
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Two labor union organizers taking questions during rally on July 9, include Billy Irwin (left) and Mike Batter (right). (
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A construction crew arrives at the old Pfizer HQ with new support beams. (
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The Carpenters Union parked a box truck with LED signs outside the rally with messages reading “Crime Scene” and other provocative statements. (
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A dozen supporters and spokesmen for NY laborer unions showed up Wednesday, July 9th, expressing frustration with the contractors and building owner. (
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As the city continues investigating the potential collapse at the former Pfizer corporate headquarters, members of Laborers Local 79, an affiliate of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), gathered outside the restricted zone on East 43rd Street, saying that past safety violations in the non-union job were ignored. The small group of laborers and representatives of Local 79 arrived on the scene around noon to voice frustrations over the failure to acknowledge warning signs on this project.
LIUNA and Local 79 have been protesting at the Pfizer buildings’ conversion for the last two years. “The problem is that this project is office-to-residential, which is receiving public tax breaks and being subsidized, but the workers are overwhelmingly non-union,” says LIUNA field representative Alvero Gonzalez.
Before any issues were reported on the conversion of the building, LIUNA was on site to “educate the workers on their rights.” Gonzalez suggested this issue, however unexpected, “is the nightmare scenario.”
The old Pfizer HQ has had seven OATH violations related to construction safety in 2025, according to DOB records. The violations resulted in over $32,000 in penalties, including a $10,000 penalty in 2025 for falling debris. The building, leased by David Werner Reality Group, purchased in 2018, is undergoing the largest conversion in the city, expected to build close to 1,600 luxury apartments. The project is led by developer MetroLoft and subcontracted by Northeast Specialist Group LLC. Both non-union companies have struggled with a history of fines for safety issues and worker complaints.
Mike Batter, Assistant Director of Organizing for LIUNA, attended the rally specifically to protest the project management. The operations of MetroLoft and David Werner are “exploitation at its finest,” he says. “In 2023, the Manhattan DA named Northeast Interior Services among the defendants and conspirators of a multimillion-dollar construction kickback and bribery scheme.”
Gonzalez told Straus News that he was at the same work site on August 6th, last year, when a piece of metal fell from one of the top floors of the work site. “Our members noticed it flying over the building, and it fell across the street,” Gonzalez explained. He recorded the incident and reported it to the city. A review of the footage and an investigation led to the discovery of multiple “violating conditions,” leading to a full stop-work order lasting a few weeks.
Admittedly, Gonzalez was not sure what specifically caused this structural failure on July 7, but he explains, “it’s those shortcuts and cutting corners” that are the danger.
While the investigation continues, as a temporary fix, Mayor Mamdani and Department of Buildings inspectors and engineers have installed struts on the floors affected by the buckled columns on floors nine to the 37th floor, where a rooftop pool is among the enhancements in the conversion project.
Despite Nathan Berman’s comments suggesting that construction could be back on track, the DOB has not stated when or if the project will start again. Berman was downplaying the incident in the days after the initial alarm and chaos that closed a dozen streets and forced the evacuation of nine buildings.
“This incident is nothing more than a typical construction mishap,” the managing principal and founder of MetroLoft Berman says. “It happens unfortunately far too often on construction sites: falling cranes, people—God forbid—falling off buildings, windows falling out.”
Nobody was injured in the July 7th incident, according to police, and construction workers safely evacuated the building.
The Local 79 rally group blasted the statement from Berman. “It's a sad precedent because he doesn’t care about the public and workers' safety,” says Billy Irwin, Director of Organizing for Local 79.
Another Local 79 spokesperson, Anthony Williamson, led chants with a bullhorn in hand. “It is unacceptable that they are allowed to work without using union labor, quality labor,” Williamson claims MetroLoft is cutting corners and paying employees subpar wages.