What Went Wrong at the Midtown High Rise Where Columns Buckled?

What Went Wrong at the Midtown High Rise Where Columns Buckled?

July 20, 2026 · 17 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the structural issues at a Midtown high rise and the community impact of the FIFA World Cup in NYC.

A few weeks after two structural columns buckled at a Midtown Manhattan high rise, WNYC and Gothamist reporter David Brand shares new details from hours spent reviewing hundreds of pages of building plans at the Department of Buildings. He explains what the plans called for, what the engineering firm says about whether required steel reinforcements were installed and what city officials are investigating now. Plus, WNYC and Gothamistreporter Arya Sundaram reflects on how the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought immigrant communities together at watch parties across New York City. Photo: New York City Department of Buildings -Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org -Got any questions, comments or story ideas? Send us a message at NYCNow@WNYC.org Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

People in this episode

Guests: David Brand, Arya Sundaram

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: WNYC, Gothamist, Department of Buildings

Places: Midtown Manhattan, New York City

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