NEW YORK: Indian diplomats at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations remain displaced three weeks after an evacuation order was issued to them after a high-rise building under construction suffered structural damage.The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations building, located just one block from the United Nations Headquarters, houses the mission offices and residences for Indian diplomats and officials accredited to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations and their families.On July 7, after structural problems were reported at the former headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the entire building was evacuated, along with other high-rise buildings and businesses in the area. The headquarters, a 37-story high-rise on 42nd Street in Manhattan between Second and Third avenues, is an “active construction” site.India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations is located across the street from the troubled high-rise. The area is home to several United Nations missions, United Nations agency officials, prominent hotels and restaurants, residences and businesses.After the evacuation order was issued, all Indian diplomats and their families took necessary precautions and evacuated their bases. Police officers and their families had to find temporary accommodation in hotels across the city.Within a day, evacuation orders were lifted for nearly the entire area near the Pfizer building, and people moved back into their homes and office buildings. Streets in and around the affected buildings are also open to pedestrian and vehicular traffic.However, the Indian mission, a school and a hotel in the area remain under evacuation orders and are inaccessible.Three weeks after the incident, there is still no word from the New York City mayor’s office or the Department of Buildings when the premises of the Indian Mission to the United Nations will be reopened for officials and their families to move back.Protracted displacement has caused significant disruption and inconvenience to Indian diplomats and their families.Indian diplomats have continued to carry out their work and duties amid these disruptions, including managing External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the United Nations on July 13 to launch India’s formal campaign for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2028-29.The high-level visit also comes amid chaos, with Indian diplomats still unable to enter the Indian embassy premises.Sources told PTI that the difficulties faced by the Indian mission have been raised with the relevant authorities as diplomats at the Indian Permanent Mission continue their work.PTI contacted officials from the Buildings Department of the New York City Mayor’s Office to understand the status of the Indian Mission Building, the damage caused by the displacement, which is now in its third week, and the timeline for whether officials and their families will be able to enter the building again. The department has not yet responded.The Permanent Mission of India in New York is housed in a 27-story red granite building built in 1993. The building was designed by Indian architect Charles Correa and is located between 43rd and 44th Streets, just off Second Avenue.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the situation at the Pfizer building “extremely serious” and said the building remained unstable.Ahmed Tigani, director of the New York City Department of Buildings, said in a video posted on X on July 18 that the agency had not seen any movement in the affected buildings for more than a week.While he gave an update on the measures being taken to secure the building, there was no update from the department or the mayor’s office on when access to the Indian Mission to the United Nations premises would be possible again.
