Carol Sigmond Discusses Impact of Pfizer Building Structural Failure

Carol Sigmond was quoted in the Law360 story “Attorneys Size Up Woes At Old Pfizer Building“ and the Construction Dive story ”Structural failure in NYC likely to trigger legal battles.” Both stories explore the legal landscape that will likely result after structural issues caused steel columns to fail on a New York City residential high-rise that was converted from commercial office space.

Construction Dive wrote, “Construction lawyers lauded the city’s response to the dangers, saying the rapid evacuation of the affected building and surrounding area ensured there were no injuries or deaths.”

Commenting for the article Carol said, “New York City is very well organized. Its life safety system for protecting people in these types of situations went smoothly. Everyone did their job, which is why we are where we are. The infrastructure was there and it worked.”

According to building ownership, the impacted structure is part of a 1.3 million square-foot apartment project, and 18,000 square-feet was impacted. This equates to fewer than 30 apartments.

Commenting on how this could affect the overall project, Carol added, “Without a full independent investigation, it’s hard to know for sure if the build can proceed as planned without a major change in scope. I think the building department will require the building to come down below the failure. The next step is what can they put back, how much the building can take.”