3-story building with a store and apartments collapses into a construction site in Brooklyn’s Flatbush, killing at least 8 as crews dig for others
At least eight people have died, and 17 others were injured after a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed into an active construction site on Wednesday, according to ABC7NY, citing the FDNY. The building, located near Newkirk and Flatbush Avenues, fell at around 4:00 PM, leaving emergency crews to search through a massive pile of rubble for anyone who may remain trapped.
Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said construction crews were excavating the empty lot next door when the Brooklyn building collapse happened. Officials warned that the search is dangerous and expected to last for days. FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the work is extremely difficult, as moving too fast risks disturbing the debris piles.
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said the department is working carefully to prevent a secondary collapse, as the debris remains unstable. More than 250 FDNY personnel are on the scene, using search dogs to look for victims. Four of the injured are reportedly in critical condition, and seven children were among the casualties, though officials have not said whether any of them died.
One witness heard two loud bangs right before the building came down
Anthony Griggs, 21, said he was walking home from work when he heard two loud bangs just before the building collapsed. He said a couple of bricks fell by his foot, and one hit him, but he is OK. Others at the scene spent agonizing hours waiting for news about relatives inside.
Anderson Velez, 35, a resident of the building, told the New York Post he was at work when his wife called to say she and their two children, ages seven and two, were trapped inside. “My family, man. Oh man. My two kids,” Velez said. Velez said his wife was screaming for help with rubble on top of her before the call cut off. However, he later learned that his family had been pulled from the wreckage alive and is expected to be OK.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the Brooklyn building collapse at a late-night press conference. “This was a devastating collapse and we know that it affects the lives of many New Yorkers who live here on Flatbush,” Mamdani said. He later said three firefighters were among the injured.
The lot next door was already on the city’s radar before the building fell
The collapsed building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. dates back to 1930, and city records show demolition and construction work had been going on next door for months. The Department of Buildings issued a summons for that site in April, and a stop-work order was allegedly violated before the matter was resolved.
New York City’s Building Code places the duty of protecting neighbors on whoever digs. Section 3309.4 requires the party causing an excavation to support adjoining structures through underpinning or similar methods, and New York courts have described it as imposing strict liability for excavation damage. However, investigators have not linked a specific failure to the Brooklyn building collapse.
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