8 people dead in Brooklyn building collapse; recovery effort underway
Officials say 250 fire and EMS personnel responded to the collapse of a three-story building at 1321 Bedford Ave. just after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
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A recovery effort is underway Thursday morning after a Flatbush building collapse left eight dead and more than a dozen people injured.
Officials say 250 fire and EMS personnel responded to the collapse of a three-story building at 1321 Bedford Ave. just after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The structure crumbled into an adjacent construction and excavation site at 2625 Bedford Ave. Fire officials say a major technical rescue response followed.
The FDNY says 27 patients were hospitalized. Eight were dead upon arrival, four were listed in critical condition and five received treatment for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Ten people with minor injuries were also taken to local hospitals.
As of this morning, Flatbush Avenue remains closed from Farragut to Clarendoon roads. Multiple side streets are also closed off, including Newkirk and Foster avenues.
Multiple New York City officials and agencies have been posting social media updates following the collapse.
Officials including council member Farah N. Louis are also publicly calling for an investigation into the collapse and the building’s compliance history.
“What happened on Wednesday is completely unacceptable and raises serious questions that our community deserves clear answers to. A building does not simply collapse in the middle of a residential neighborhood without warning signs or systemic failures,” she said. “If negligence or ignored safety complaints contributed to this fatal collapse — where children, pregnant women, and elderly New Yorkers were put in harm’s way — those responsible must be held fully accountable under the law."
NYS Tenant Bloc Executive Director Sumathy Kumar released the following statement in wake of the incident:
“The deaths of 8 people in yesterday’s building collapse are a terrible loss for New York City. We mourn the lives that were taken from the Flatbush community, and the 17 people who were injured are in our thoughts. Yesterday’s preventable tragedy stresses the urgency of taking buildings out of the hands of bad landlords who are looking to make quick profits at the expense of people’s safety. Slumlord Olufemi Falade has a notorious 20 year track record of tenant neglect and at the time of 1321’s collapse the property had 61 open HPD violations. We need better and faster tools to hold landlords accountable and to make sure that buildings are properly maintained and managed. As the neighborhood looks towards rebuilding, this tragedy also highlights the need for dignified, high quality housing built with union labor, which is why we are fighting for social housing across the city and state."
Gov. Kathy Hochul assures the public that investigators are hard at work.
“City officials are leading the investigation,” she said. “New Yorkers deserve to know how and why this happened. They'll get to the bottom of it. And we will make sure that we support them in any way.”
The American Red Cross and the New York City Emergency Management Team is offering resources to those impacted. This includes food, clothing and health services.
Anyone who has not had the opportunity to register for assistance should call 877-REDCROSS.
