Two dead, 19 hurt as Brooklyn building collapses next to excavation site

A three-story mixed-use building partially collapsed into an adjacent excavation site in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon, killing two people and injuring at least 19 others, seven of them children, in one of New York City's deadliest structural failures in recent years. The collapse struck near the intersection of Flatbush and Bedford avenues shortly after 4 p.m., according to NBC New York, sending a section of one building down and tearing away part of the wall of the building next to it.

The first fire company arrived within about a minute and began pulling people from danger before the full scale of the collapse was clear, and crews pulled at least one survivor from the rubble around 6:15 p.m., according to CBS New York. More than 250 Fire Department personnel, along with police K-9 units, worked through the night, and officials said the search could continue for days given fears of a secondary collapse in the partially standing structure next door.

The toll, still moving

Fire officials cautioned Wednesday night that the casualty figures were preliminary and could still change. Of the injured, four were listed in critical condition and the rest stable, including one firefighter with minor injuries. The identities and ages of the two people killed had not been officially released as of Thursday morning, and fire officials said they did not yet know with certainty how many people had been inside the building or whether everyone was accounted for.

Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore told reporters at the scene that the operation would stretch on.

"We know that we're not finished here, and we will likely not be finished for quite some time."

Excavation work and a buildings department already under scrutiny

The collapsed building sat beside a vacant lot where a crew was carrying out excavation work ahead of planned new construction. The city's Department of Buildings said the approved plans called for a three-story building on that lot, not the taller project some neighbors had feared. Anyone can check a property's permit history and open violations through the department's own Building Information Search database, the same public tool investigators and reporters have used to trace the site's paper trail, which shows the adjacent lot was cited in April for continuing demolition work after the city had issued a stop-work order, a violation later marked resolved.

Glenn Corbett, a fire science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CBS New York that deep excavation beside an occupied building can undermine its footing if contractors fail to properly shore and underpin the adjoining foundation, something investigators are now examining alongside the excavation permits for the site. The Brooklyn District Attorney's office said it was working with the Buildings Department and police to determine whether criminal conduct contributed to the collapse, CBS reported. The identity of the excavation contractor had not been publicly disclosed as of Thursday. Published reports identified the lot's ownership with a limited liability company tied to developer Robert Fischman, who did not respond to requests for comment.

A city still tallying its construction toll

The collapse lands amid a broader reckoning over construction safety in New York City. The Department of Buildings' own Construction Safety Week announcement in May acknowledged "an uptick in building construction related fatalities" in 2025 compared with prior years, even as reported injuries at job sites under its jurisdiction fell 33 percent to the lowest level in recent memory. The department publishes monthly breakdowns of accidents by cause, including excavation and soil-related failures, through its Construction Related Accident Reports page. The Flatbush collapse follows a string of 2026 structural scares across the city, including the buckling of support columns at a Midtown high-rise undergoing office-to-residential conversion in July, though officials have drawn no direct link between that incident and Wednesday's collapse.

Residents displaced, avenue closed

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who visited the scene Wednesday night, called the response "an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation" with "precarious wreckage to navigate," and said the city would lead an investigation into the collapse's cause. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state had offered its full support to the recovery effort, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said on social media he was "praying for the safety of anyone who may be trapped." Rep. Yvette Clarke, whose district includes the area, said her office was closely monitoring the situation.

The American Red Cross and New York City Emergency Management opened a reception center for displaced residents at the Flatbush YMCA; by Wednesday night several households, including children, had registered for emergency housing assistance. The city's standard protocol for such incidents, outlined on its emergency management agency's building collapse preparedness page, calls for exactly this kind of coordinated notification of road closures and transit disruptions once a structural failure affects a wide area. Flatbush Avenue remained closed between Clarendon Road and Bedford Avenue Thursday morning, and officials urged drivers to avoid the area.

The Buildings Department said inspectors were conducting structural stability checks of nearby buildings, including the one whose wall was torn away in the collapse, to determine whether residents could safely return. Search and recovery work was expected to continue for several more days. People seeking information about relatives who may have been affected were directed to call 311, or 212-639-9675 from outside New York City.