A construction worker injured in Wednesday’s deadly Brooklyn building collapse claims safety shortcuts were taken at the neighboring job site now being examined as a possible factor in the disaster, The Post has learned.
The laborer, who asked not to be identified because he feared for his job and personal safety, hired New York City construction accident attorney Christopher Gorayeb after the collapse left him with injuries to his knee, shoulder and back.
“It isn’t one act that causes a disaster. It’s a series of missteps and negligence,” Gorayeb told The Post.
“And already, in this particular instance, we see negligent actions which accumulated and ultimately resulted in this accident and the deaths and injuries that occurred.”
Gorayeb’s client worked for subcontractor Elite Concrete, laying the foundation for a planned mixed-use development at 2625 Bedford Ave. The property sits next to the three-story apartment building that collapsed Wednesday, killing eight people — including two children and three construction workers.
Excavation was underway at the development site when the facade of 1321 Flatbush Ave. gave way and fell into the adjacent lot. Several victims were trapped beneath the rubble, and nearly 20 people were injured.
Gorayeb said his client alleges the developers relied on inadequate safeguards, including a 5-foot pile of dirt topped with concrete to protect the neighboring apartment building from collapsing instead of installing proper wall shoring.
Photos supplied by Gorayeb, along with excavation plans approved by the city and reviewed by The Post, showed shoring around most of the building. However, one section of the construction area directly abutting 1321 Flatbush did not appear to have the same protection.
The laborer said that 18 Elite workers were on the site the day of the collapse, but no representative of the general contractor was present. Gorayeb said the workers were not union members.
“That’s like Third World stuff, using dirt to bank against a building and hold it up,” said Gorayeb, who has practiced personal injury law for 40 years.
According to Gorayeb, the worker said that proper shoring was not installed in that section because the owner of 1321 Flatbush objected.
“The owner of the building did not want them to install shoring, similar to what was against the yard in the back of the building, because that would have created holes and potential for leaks into his building,” Gorayeb said.
“There was prior knowledge of at least one crack in the building wall. And measures were taken to reinforce the cracked area,” he added, referring to a fissure noted on the north facade of 1321 Flatbush in a March report from the city Department of Buildings.
Gorayeb said his client is now unable to work in construction or at his second job as a kitchen employee because of his injuries.
The attorney said he plans to pursue claims against the owners of 2625 Bedford, the general contractor and the engineers, and may also sue the owners of 1321 Flatbush. He said he was still weighing whether there were grounds for a lawsuit against the city.
“This was an entirely preventable accident, as most are,” Gorayeb alleged. “They didn’t take reasonable steps that would have supported the building, and instead they used almost ridiculous procedures, inadequate procedures, that no competent engineer or contractor would have implemented to support an unsupported wall of an adjacent residential building.”
Elite Concrete declined to comment. The owner of 2625 Bedford could not be reached, and no working phone number could be found for the landlord of 1321 Flatbush.
A DOB spokesperson said engineers’ excavation plans were approved after “they were found to comply with the city’s requirements,” while noting that the agency’s investigation into the collapse remains active.
“As part of our larger investigation, we will also review whether work was being done in compliance with the approved plans,” the DOB statement said.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office is also investigating. Gorayeb said the potential for criminal charges could prolong the civil damages case for as long as a decade.
“The fact that two children died underscores that this accident not only could have been prevented, it should have been prevented,” he said.
Gorayeb said his client did not report his concerns to supervisors before the collapse because he feared being fired. The worker would have spoken up, the attorney added, if he had realized the conditions could be life-threatening.
“For many laborers they are there just to take instruction or do work. They are not there to make suggestions, to point out that something should be done differently,” he said. “Everybody wants to keep their job. They don’t want to cause trouble.”
The family of one of those killed in the collapse has also hired an attorney, according to Jacob Oresky of Oresky & Associates, PLLC.
“We are investigating the circumstances which caused the collapse to determine what went wrong and the failure to use proper and safe construction practices which would have avoided this terrible tragedy,” Oresky said. “Our goal is to seek answers, accountability, and justice for our client’s family and those harmed in this tragic accident.”
— Additional reporting by Peter Senzamici