Flatbush Collapse: 2 Children Among 8 Dead, and a March Inspection Report Had Flagged Cracks in the Building's North Wall

Since the three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. fell into an excavation pit at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, the toll has settled at eight dead and 18 injured, and officials have now said who some of the victims were.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday, Nov. 12, that the dead are six adults and two children. Two of the adults were construction workers. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and two died at the hospital. Of the injured, 14 are civilians and four are firefighters. One person is in critical condition, and Mamdani said the "vast majority" of those still hospitalized are stable.

Search still a rescue, not a recovery

FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said crews have not changed course. "To be clear, we have not shifted from rescue to recovery," she said. "We are still in the search-and-rescue phase."

The FDNY has not said how many people may still be missing. Bonsignore said crews assume more people are in the debris until they can reach the ground beneath it. Heavier excavation equipment was brought in Thursday to clear the larger pieces.

Steady rain left shin-high water on adjacent streets. "It will definitely hinder our efforts," Bonsignore said, adding that operations would continue.

One death has a name. Gabriel Siguencia, 22, had started work as a carpenter at the site two weeks earlier. The New York Times reported that his mother learned he was among the dead while watching crews haul debris from the pit.

What the city's records show

A pre-construction inspection of the excavation lot at 2625 Bedford Ave. found "visible cracks" in the north, west and east facades of 1321 Flatbush, plus the sidewalk, according to city records. The north facade was rated "poor," with a "wide range of major deficiencies noted." The west and east facades were rated "fair." Only the roof was rated "good."

The report was filed with the developers' application for a nine-story building. That plan has not been approved. The city has approved only a three-story building on the lot.

The Department of Buildings (DOB) has also described the site's earlier history. It issued a stop-work order on March 20 after finding demolition underway without adequate overhead protection, such as sheds and netting, for neighboring properties. Inspectors found work had resumed in violation of that order and issued a second violation on April 23. The order was lifted after the violations were corrected.

The DOB says the developer held an active permit for excavation and foundation work. Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said crews were excavating at the time of the collapse. A full stop-work order is now in place.

Asked about reports of cracks in the building's exterior before the collapse, Tigani said no violations had been reported at the building in advance of the collapse, and that every entity involved will be subject to investigation.

Who is responsible

City records identify the lot's owner as a limited liability company run by Robert Fischman and associates, according to Newsweek's review of those records. A letter to neighboring buildings about the construction carried a phone number tied to a Brooklyn hardware store. Newsweek said its voicemail and email to that contact went unanswered. LMW Engineering Group, which applied for the excavation permit, was also contacted by email Thursday. CBS New York said the owner and general contractor had not responded to its inquiries either.

The demolition contractor told CBS New York it handled only demolition, not the digging underway Wednesday.

Neighbors describe a worksite that never went quiet. Novella Spence, who watched the collapse from her window, told CBS New York there were warning signs: "The workers were working every day." She questioned whether the construction played a role. Deli worker James Williams said he heard loud banging at the site all day Wednesday and saw bricks falling from one building shortly before it came down.

Mamdani said he was "incredibly troubled" by reports that construction continued despite the inspection report on the cracks. He said anyone responsible for unsafe conditions would be held "fully accountable."

City Council Member Farah Louis said, "A building does not simply collapse in the middle of a residential neighborhood without warning signs or systemic failures." She is demanding an investigation into whether "negligence or ignored safety complaints contributed to this fatal collapse."

Officials have not said whether the excavation, the condition of the older building, or something else caused the failure. CBS New York noted it was unclear whether any of the construction contributed.

Investigation widens

The DOB and law enforcement are leading the investigation, which Mamdani said covers both the construction site and the collapsed building. He said five entities are involved with the Bedford Avenue site, and they are associated with about 100 other sites across the city. DOB began inspection sweeps of those sites Thursday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said her office stands ready with state resources. "They deserve answers and we will do everything we can to get them," she said.

The next questions are on the record the city already holds: what the DOB did with the March report on the cracked north wall, and whether any inspector reviewed it before excavation continued. The 100-site sweep and the search at Flatbush Avenue are both still under way.