New York Construction Report staff writer
At least two people were killed and 17 others injured Wednesday afternoon when an occupied three-story mixed-use building in Brooklyn collapsed into an adjacent construction excavation site, tearing the side off a neighboring building and prompting a prolonged technical rescue operation.
The collapse occurred at approximately 4:01 p.m. at 1321 Flatbush Ave. in the Flatbush neighborhood, according to New York City Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. The structure, which housed commercial space on the first floor and four residential units across the second and third floors, fell into an adjacent pit at 2625 Bedford Ave., where a one-story structure had been demolished and excavation was underway for a planned nine-story development.
The collapse also sheared off the shared exterior wall of an adjacent building at 1323 Flatbush Ave., exposing stairwells, bedrooms and closets inside.
“We have 19 patients. Sadly, we have two that are deceased, four that are critical, 12 that are stable, and we also have one firefighter with minor injuries,” Bonsignore said during a Wednesday evening press briefing. “Of those 19, seven are children.”
More than 250 FDNY fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene, arriving within one minute of the initial call. Crews used drones, K-9 units and hand tools to search unstable voids in the brick and timber debris. At about 6:30 p.m., firefighters pulled a dust-covered survivor alive from a hole dug into the rubble pile and transported the person to an ambulance on a stretcher.
“Multiple people from the building and the construction site were trapped,” Bonsignore said. “This will be a prolonged operation. Collapse operations are extremely dangerous. Every move is choreographed and critically important to patient outcomes and member safety.”
New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said construction workers were actively performing excavation work next to 1321 Flatbush Ave. when the collapse happened.
City permit filings reviewed by Engineering News-Record list Townhouse Builders as the contractor for the neighboring project, with excavation permitted to extend 14 feet below grade. Professional engineer Jieming Wang of LMW Engineering Group LLC in Linden, New Jersey, is listed on the support-of-excavation filing, which specified tangent or secant piles, shoring and bracing, and soldier piles with wood lagging, alongside special inspection requirements.
Officials had not determined late Wednesday whether excavation or support-of-excavation work contributed to the failure. Department of Buildings inspectors remained on-site conducting structural stability assessments of surrounding properties, while the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said it is working with the department and law enforcement to determine whether any criminal conduct played a role.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the incident a “devastating collapse” and warned that casualty figures could shift as search efforts continued overnight, noting that rescuers were navigating unstable ruins and dangerous voids beneath the surface.
New York City Emergency Management opened a reception center for displaced residents at 1401 Flatbush Ave., and police closed Flatbush Avenue between Clarendon Road and Bedford Avenue.
