{"id":320109,"date":"2025-10-21T02:49:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T02:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/320109\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T02:49:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T02:49:09","slug":"432-park-ave-could-rain-chunks-of-concrete-if-nyc-supertalls-cracks-not-fixed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/320109\/","title":{"rendered":"432 Park Ave. could rain ‘chunks of concrete’ if NYC supertall’s cracks not fixed"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Manhattan\u2019s tallest and ritziest towers<\/a> is full of cracks \u2014 and some engineers reportedly fear chunks of concrete could rain down on the Midtown sidewalks if a $160 million renovation isn\u2019t undertaken.<\/p>\n

The white concrete facade of 432 Park Ave. \u2014 the nearly 1,400-foot, 96-floor \u201cBillionaires\u2019 Row\u201d tower that reaches high above Midtown\u2019s skyline \u2014 has been splitting, fissuring and left with pieces missing since it was completed in 2015, an alarming study from the New York Times found Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And the problem is so bad that the supertall skyscraper could be left \u201cuninhabitable\u201d if a major restoration isn\u2019t completed soon, one expert told the outlet.<\/p>\n

432 Park Avenue opened in 2015 and its 125 units quickly sold for $2.5 billion. A decade later, it has many problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cChunks of concrete will fall off, and windows will start loosening up,\u201d structural engineer Steve Bongiorno explained, cautioning water could begin seeping into the cracks and destroying the building from the inside out.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t take the elevators, mechanical systems start to fail, pipe joints start to break and you get water leaks all over the place,\u201d Bongiorno said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe building just becomes uninhabitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

432 Park Ave.\u2019s 125 units \u2014 which command stunning views of Central Park, the Big Apple and beyond and have acces to a private restaurant \u2014 hit $2.5 billion in sales<\/a> to celebrities like Jennifor Lopez, Alex Rodriguez<\/a> and Saudi royalty just three years after its unveiling.<\/p>\n

Available apartments range from a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath on the 52nd floor for $10.5 million to a palatial six-bedroom abode with six full baths and two half-baths for a staggering $55 million, according to StreetEasy<\/a>. <\/p>\n

However, the stunning building has been plagued by problems for several years.<\/p>\n

Residents have complained that the superall sways in the wind and groans like a ship at sea, and that leaks, power outages and elevator problems have persisted since they moved in.<\/p>\n

A corner of 432 Park\u2019s facade that appears to have chunks of concrete missing from it. DOB<\/p>\n

Those problems have led to ongoing legal battles between the building\u2019s<\/a> board and developers, including Macklowe Properties, WSP and CIM Group.<\/p>\n

But the facade problems were reportedly known risks while the building was still under construction \u2014 with the striking white concrete selected being prone to cracking. The developers went ahead anyway because they were determined not to compromise on their design vision, the Times reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are going down a dangerous and slippery path that I believe will eventually lead to failure and lawsuits to come,\u201d Jim Herr, firm director of one of the building\u2019s chief designers Rafael Vi\u00f1oly, said in a 2012 email obtained by the Times.<\/p>\n

It was one of several in a thread where designers and engineers quibbled over the white concrete, with some arguing that it would become a problem down the road, while others stubbornly insisted on using the troublesome material without compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cColor or cracks,\u201d read another email on the thread from a WSP engineer, explaining there were two options, according to the Times.<\/p>\n

Photos from the exterior of 432 Park Ave. show numerous cracks in the concrete facade, many of which appear to have been mended or filled in.<\/p>\n

But in some places entire chunks of the facade \u2014 from extremely high floors \u2014 appear to have broken from the structure.<\/p>\n

It is common for \u201csmall amounts of loose materials\u201d to be removed from facades during inspections, the Department of Buildings told the Times, noting that 432 Park Ave. has passed inspections and has not been found to have unsafe conditions.<\/p>\n

The 432 Park Ave. facade is reportedly riddled with cracks, fissures and chunks of missing concrete. DOB<\/p>\n

Some engineers are fearful that damage to 432 Park Aves. facade could pose a danger for pedestrians on the streets. DOB<\/p>\n

The DOB\u2019s last facade inspection at 432 Park Ave. was in 2023, the agency said.<\/p>\n

Building residents have been looking into repairs<\/a>, with emails obtained by the Times showing a three-year $160 million overhaul that would repair current damage and bolster against future problems is on the table.<\/p>\n

432 Park Ave. appears to have been entirely up to code, the Times reported \u2014 adding that there no risks of a collapse. <\/p>\n

Still, some engineers are alarmed by how much appears to have happened to the building in just 10 years facing the elements, according to the Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cA 10-year-old building should not be showing that level of deterioration,\u201d said Jose Torero, an engineering expert at the University College London.<\/p>\n

Some engineers are alarmed by how much appears to have happened to 432 Park Ave. in the 10 years it\u2019s faced the elements. dbox inc.<\/p>\n

And Bongiorno fears innocent passersby on the streets<\/a> below might be the ones who get hurt if something isn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building is being stressed beyond what was intended,\u201d Bongiorno said. \u201cThere\u2019s no sidewalk shed that\u2019s going to protect you from chunks of concrete popping off a 1,400-foot building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Macklowe Properties and WSP did not respond to requests for comment Monday.<\/p>\n

CIM Group called the damage reports and need for repairs \u201cbaseless\u201d in a statement to the Times, and said allegations that developers ignored problems were \u201ccategorically untrue, defamatory and yet another misstep by the board that will drive down property values.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Manhattan\u2019s tallest and ritziest towers is full of cracks \u2014 and some engineers reportedly fear chunks…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":320110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5248,17833,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,5319,4329,10204,32006,57198,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-320109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-metro","10":"tag-midtown","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-property-damage","18":"tag-real-estate","19":"tag-residential-real-estate","20":"tag-skyscrapers","21":"tag-surreal-estate","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-us-news","28":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115409883369513122","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}