# NYC building in imminent danger of collapse **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494 "2026-07-07T18:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/81 "2026-07-09T09:32:55Z")
JB Weld IS epoxy resin, with some steel imbedded in it. It has worked tremendously well for me for joining metal to metal, while being also much easier to use than regular epoxy. 5-minute epoxy is much weaker than slow-cure epoxies. I don’t use it for anything that really needs to stay put. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/82 "2026-07-09T11:35:42Z")
> [@robby](#): > > It’s obvious that the load on the top kid’s hands just doubled in the second case. Just like the load on the walkway nuts. I’ve obsessed over this disaster story since I lived in Kansas years ago, and I never came across as clear an analogy as this one, until now, thanks to you. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/83 "2026-07-09T12:14:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > > “when something is being blown out of proportion.” By “something”, he means the column, right? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/84 "2026-07-09T12:22:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m surprised and relieved they apparently saved the building. They haven’t. They’ve stabilized it. That just means that it’s not going to come down right now. It’ll still almost certainly have to be demolished, and the developer should be watched closely to make sure he doesn’t flee to a non-extraditing country with investors’ money before that’s officially determined. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/85 "2026-07-09T14:34:07Z")
> [@crooked NYC real estate developer](#): > > but then I repeat myself, > > Berman …said he thinks future renters in the building will understand “when something is being blown out of proportion.” He sounds remarkably like the owner of the Seoul department store. Before it fell. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/86 "2026-07-09T14:42:40Z")
Looks like a job for the FlexSeal family of products. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/87 "2026-07-09T14:46:28Z")
The New York Times has a [report](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/nyregion/nyc-building-collapse-inspection.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wVA._aPB.1MliDL5kTYkU&smid=url-share) (gift link) that Domani Inspection Services, the private firm conducting inspections of the construction work, “has been repeatedly cited for missing warning signs at other building projects in the city.” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/88 "2026-07-09T15:08:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Domani Inspection Services, the private firm conducting inspections of the construction work, “has been repeatedly cited for missing warning signs at other building projects in the city.” What, NYC construction-industry businesses being dodgy? Say it ain’t so, Joe! /s ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/89 "2026-07-09T15:27:07Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’ve obsessed over this disaster story since I lived in Kansas years ago, and I never came across as clear an analogy as this one, until now, thanks to you. Thanks! 😊 ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/90 "2026-07-09T19:02:00Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Domani Inspection Services, […] > > What, NYC construction-industry businesses being dodgy? Say it ain’t so, Joe! /s Especially when the name of the inspection company is literally “[we’ll get to it] tomorrow” ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/91 "2026-07-09T21:37:36Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > What, NYC construction-industry businesses being dodgy? Say it ain’t so, Joe! /s This surprises me: I thought the dodgyness was most prominent at the very top: the city council, the mayor and his advisers, the borough presidents. I expected someone here would be quoting how much in political contributions the developer had made. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/92 "2026-07-10T13:01:15Z")
Has anyone else noticed that when one of these sketchy buildings is being renovated it’s usually to luxury apartments? At this point I would feel safer living in a flophouse than a million dollar apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/93 "2026-07-10T13:04:55Z")
And apparently, being poorly-renovated is part of the chic of these “luxury” apartments. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/94 "2026-07-10T13:09:05Z")
This sort of redevelopment is expensive, no matter whether luxury apartments result or affordable housing. So to maximize the return, most often luxury apartments are built. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/95 "2026-07-10T13:11:29Z")
Which, based on the pictures and promotional materials I’ve come across, have all the charm of the average operating theater. “Sterile” seems to be all the rage in such conversions. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/96 "2026-07-10T13:59:53Z")
Plus AIUI with Manhattan real estate it has its own whole set of how they define everything. (But yes, all over the country you see everything now is being pitched as “luxury homes”) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/97 "2026-07-10T14:14:22Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > Has anyone else noticed that when one of these sketchy buildings is being renovated it’s usually to luxury apartments? At this point I would feel safer living in a flophouse than a million dollar apartment. There is a real crisis in NYC with empty office buildings due to WFH and companies moving elsewhere as cost saving measures unless they really have a business need to be in Manhattan. Converting them to housing of some kind is about the only profitable thing that could be done. And that process is difficult and expensive even if nothing goes wrong. So when you get done, you’ve still got a very expensive building on a per square foot basis. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/98 "2026-07-10T14:18:25Z")
Not just Manhattan; _many_ cities in _many_ places have an excess of office buildings and not enough residential buildings. So office-to-residential conversions are happening all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/99 "2026-07-10T14:24:29Z")
Incidentally, three years ago, the New York Times ran [this interactive article](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/11/upshot/office-conversions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wlA.3y_q.p1PzHa-nvyEb&smid=url-share) (gift link) about what’s involved in converting an office building to residential use, and why older buildings are easier to convert than modern ones. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494/100 "2026-07-10T14:28:20Z")
My understanding is that of the 1600 apartments 400 will be affordable–in return for which the building will receive massive property tax cuts. You can see the temporary repairs (the new supporting columns) at the video in this reddit thread: https://embed.reddit.com/r/StructuralEngineering/comments/1us79v9/a_closer_look_at_the_pfizer_building_stabilizing/?embed=true&ref_source=embed&ref=share [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-building-in-imminent-danger-of-collapse/1031494.md?page=6)