Episcopal Church Center in New York evacuated after bricks fall from nearby construction site
A New York firetruck is parked at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and East 42nd Street after buildings in the area were evacuated July 7. Photo: Associated Press
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s headquarters in New York was one of several buildings in Midtown Manhattan that were evacuated early July 7 after emergency crews responded to falling debris at a nearby high-rise construction site.
Some news reports indicated that the building under construction at 235 E. 42nd St. was at risk of collapse, and that inspectors found that steel support beams on the 21st floor had buckled and that upper floors were sagging.
The 37-story building, the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, reportedly is being converted from a commercial office building into a residential building. Work was halted and the site evacuated after fire inspectors responded to reports that bricks had fallen off the building. No injuries have been reported.
The construction site is located just a block south of the Episcopal Church Center at 815 Second Ave., often referred to by the shorthand “815.”
The church’s 12-story building contains the offices of its New York-based staff, though in recent years, much of the churchwide staff has worked remotely in locations across the United States and Europe. Church operations or affiliated organizations now occupy less than half the 146,000-square-foot building. The other space is vacant or has been leased to outside tenants.
“Our building staff learned of the nearby incident around 8:30 a.m. and instructed all building staff and tenants to shelter in place,” a church spokesperson said in a written statement to Episcopal News Service. “Shortly after, our staff followed FDNY orders to evacuate the building out of an abundance of caution.”
The Episcopal Church announced in June that it intends to market 815 Second Ave. for a possible sale or redevelopment, an effort to follow through on a 2012 General Convention resolution calling on the church to search for a new location for its headquarters.
The church is considering a range of options for the Episcopal Church Center building, possibly including “a long-term ground lease with a group that would redevelop the building, potentially as affordable housing,” according to last month’s news release.
That discernment about the Episcopal Church Center comes at a time when residential conversions are transforming dozens of other office buildings in Manhattan, including the former Pfizer building, now under construction.
“Since 2020 many office buildings have started the process of converting to residential use, a trend that has accelerated after changes to the tax and land use codes were introduced in 2024,” the New York City Comptroller’s Office said in a July 2025 report. It counted 44 such projects adding about 17,400 apartments to the market.
– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
