The Brooklyn building collapse on Wednesday afternoon killed at least eight people and injured 17, including three firefighters, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Thursday morning. The three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue held a store and four apartments. It fell into an excavation pit next door just after 4 p.m., the FDNY said.
Firefighters were still searching the rubble late on Thursday morning. Officials have not said how many people remain unaccounted for, or what caused the collapse. The Department of Buildings (DOB) and police are investigating, and heavy rain is due over the site into Friday.
Eight dead, 17 hurt, and no count of the missing
The first 911 call came in at 4:01 p.m., according to the FDNY, ABC News reported. Firefighters arrived within a minute, Mamdani said at a news conference on Wednesday evening. More than 250 fire and EMS personnel worked through the night, CBS New York reported.
The toll rose overnight. The FDNY confirmed two deaths on Wednesday evening. Authorities told ABC News that six people died at the scene and two in hospital, and that all four bodies recovered on Thursday morning appear to be construction workers.
“I am heartbroken that eight New Yorkers have now lost their lives,” Mamdani wrote on X, NBC News reported. The FDNY said seven children were among the injured and four people were in critical condition. It has not said whether any children died, and officials have not released the names or ages of the dead.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said on Wednesday that investigators did not know how many people might still be in the collapse zone. “We know that we’re not finished here, and we will likely not be finished for quite some time,” she said. Chief of Department John Esposito expected crews to stay for several days to search the entire site.
Rain is forecast over the rubble through Friday
The National Weather Service forecast for the site, updated at 10:28 a.m. on Thursday, calls for three-quarters of an inch to an inch of rain during the day. It predicts the same again overnight and up to half an inch more on Friday, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
A flood advisory covered Brooklyn until 1:45 p.m. on Thursday. For the longer-range outlook, our explainer on the record-early polar vortex breakdown covers what forecasters expect this winter.
NBC New York reported that heavy rain and strong winds could hinder the search. Officials also fear a secondary collapse. “This is such a very fragile situation here,” Bonsignore said. The collapse tore the side wall off the neighbouring building at 1323 Flatbush Avenue, exposing its apartments.
NYC Emergency Management and the American Red Cross opened a reception centre at the Flatbush YMCA for displaced residents. Officials closed Flatbush Avenue between Clarendon Road and Bedford Avenue, and officials asked people to avoid the area.
What officials have said about the dig next door
The building fell into an excavation at 2625 Bedford Avenue, where a one-story building once stood. Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said workers were excavating there when it happened. “They have a plan approved for a three-story building, but they have current plans looking for a nine-story building, which has not yet been approved,” he told CBS New York.
The DOB said the developer held an active permit for excavation and foundation work. It has now issued a full stop-work order while investigators determine the cause. NBC New York reported that the plans allowed digging to a maximum of 14 feet.
The DOB had halted the site once before. On March 20, inspectors stopped demolition because neighbouring properties lacked adequate overhead protection, PIX11 reported. On April 23, they found demolition had resumed despite that order and issued another violation. The DOB lifted the order on May 8.
The city fined the contractor $10,000 for the April violation, Fox News reported.
The demolition contractor told CBS New York that it finished its work months earlier and did not do the excavation under way on Wednesday. It disputed the city’s description of the violation. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office is working with the DOB and police to determine whether any criminal conduct contributed, CBS reported.
This is a city investigation. No federal safety board leads it, as one would after an air crash such as the Learjet crash in Florida. According to NBC News, the architect, property owner and general contractor listed in city records had not answered its messages.
The construction site’s record, date by date
We read the city’s public records for both lots through NYC Open Data: DOB job filings, complaints, ECB violations and HPD housing violations. The DOB extract carries a run date of Nov. 11, so it may not show actions taken since the collapse.
| Date | What the record shows at 2625 Bedford Avenue |
|---|---|
| Nov. 6, 2025 | Application filed to demolish the one-story building |
| Jan. 15, 2026 | New-building application filed: nine stories, 64 apartments, about 71,000 square feet |
| March 13 | First demolition permit issued |
| March 18 | Complaint logged: construction “contrary/beyond approved plans/permits” (closed May 19) |
| March 20 | Violation: demolition started without overhead protection for adjacent properties on three sides; $2,500 penalty paid |
| March 22 | Support-of-excavation plans approved, with special inspection of sheeting, shoring and bracing |
| June 3 | Foundation and earthwork plans approved |
| June 8 | Demolition signed off |
| Sept. 9 | Permits issued for foundation, earthwork and support of excavation |
| Nov. 10 | Permit issued for a construction fence, a day before the collapse |
The record lists the main nine-story application with “objections” as of late September, which fits Tigani’s account. It does not show the April violation and $10,000 fine that outlets reported, which may sit in a dataset we could not reach.
The collapsed building’s record: housing complaints, not structure
City land-use data lists 1321 Flatbush as built in 1930, with three floors, four apartments and one commercial unit. The DOB data shows no building violations against it. All 13 of its ECB violations date from May 2019 and concern an outdoor advertising sign. One DOB notice from January 2025, for failing to file a gas-piping inspection, remains active.
The housing agency, HPD, lists 129 violations at the address since 1977, and 98 remain open. NY1 reported 98 violations on Wednesday; in the data we read, 98 is the open count. An HPD inspection on April 20, 2026, cited exposed wiring in a third-floor hallway, a leaking roof and too little water for the sprinkler system. HPD also cited the owner in 2024 and 2025 for failing to file a valid registration.
None of the HPD orders we read concern the foundation. Two from 1980 remain open and cite eroded mortar on the roof parapet and a defective masonry wall in the cellar. NBC New York reported that a pre-construction survey rated the building’s north wall in “poor” condition. Officials have not linked any of these records to the collapse.
Esposito has said the search will take several days. Until the DOB finishes its investigation, the full stop-work order keeps the Bedford Avenue site shut.
