Manhattan DA Opens Criminal Inquiry Into 2 Buckled Columns at Midtown Tower
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 17
Manhattan DA Opens Criminal Inquiry Into 2 Buckled Columns at Midtown Tower
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 17
Summary
Two columns that buckled on the 21st floor of 235 East 42nd Street last week have triggered a preliminary criminal inquiry by the Manhattan district attorney and the city’s Department of Investigation.
Engineers who reviewed drawings and photos said the failed columns did not appear to have required steel-plate reinforcement; GACE Consulting Engineers said its plans called for added support, but the work was not done.
The structural failure sowed panic and forced mass evacuations around the Midtown conversion project, where office space is being turned into apartments.
Domani Inspection Services, the oversight firm on the project, was founded by Ronald Lattanzio, a former Buildings Department official who later pleaded guilty to bribery after resigning in an earlier scandal.