Brooklyn Building Collapse Kills Eight, Contractors Face Safety Scrutiny

A three-story apartment building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn collapsed Wednesday afternoon into an empty lot next door at 2625 Bedford Avenue. The lot was being excavated for a planned apartment building when the late afternoon collapse occurred.

City officials said Thursday that eight people died and 18 more were injured. Among the dead were two children aged 9 and 10 and two construction workers.

“If there is anyone or any entity operating in this city who is responsible for this, we will hold them accountable.”

Firefighters searched for survivors amid treacherous conditions worsened by a torrential downpour. They ended their mission late Thursday after determining the search was complete.

Police released the names of the victims on Thursday evening. They included Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9; Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10; Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Barry Mamadou, 23; Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26; Edgar Sapon, 26; Ndiaye Mamdou, 31; and Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the Buildings Department identified five companies working at the site that are associated with 100 locations across the city. The agency launched a sweep of those sites to check compliance with the building code.

Records and worker interviews identified Elite Concrete as the excavation handler and N Tech Design of America as the demolition contractor. N Tech Design had previously defied a stop-work order issued in March at the adjacent property and failed to install proper safety precautions such as netting and sheds.

Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said excavation work was ongoing at the Bedford Avenue site when the building collapsed. He noted the company had a plan approved for a three-story building but current plans for a nine-story building had not yet been approved.