Disturbing video shows the moment a Brooklyn family survived a building collapse, while neighbors said their homes had been shaking for weeks because of construction next door.
Eight people were killed when the three-story building in Flatbush collapsed at about 4 p.m. Wednesday as crews excavated an adjoining lot.
Newly released footage from inside one apartment captures the walls giving way while Anderson Velez’s family—including his 9-year-old and 2-year-old sons—was inside.
Velez was away when the collapse occurred, according to the video shared by CBS News, but his wife and children were home.
He said his wife and older son were hospitalized, while his younger child escaped injury.
A 44-year-old resident of a neighboring building said his home had vibrated every day since construction began nearby about a month earlier.
‘Since those people started building next door it’s everyday, every minute you hear it and feel it,’ the man, who was not named, told the US Sun outside the site.
Anderson Velez said he was away when the building collapsed, while his wife and sons, ages 2 and 9, were inside
Footage from inside an apartment shows the moment the Brooklyn building collapsed at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, killing eight people and injuring 18
The Flatbush Avenue building fell while workers were excavating an adjacent lot
Dervie Mapp, a 67-year-old retiree who lives beside the construction site, said she and other residents had raised concerns about the project for months. She witnessed the collapse firsthand.
‘People were running up out of the pit, screaming and hollering,’ Mapp told the Associated Press. ‘I couldn’t believe it.’
Mapp said she ‘froze’ as she watched ‘the whole thing come down.’
She said her landlord had previously arranged for engineers to inspect the building, but residents were never shown a report.
Sumathy Kumar, executive director of New York State Tenant Bloc and Housing Justice for All, said landlord Olufemi Falade had a ‘track record of tenant neglect,’ according to CNN.
Councilmember Farah Louis, who represents the neighborhood, also described Falade as a troubled landlord who failed to maintain his properties to code.
The eight victims included two Colombian children, Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9, and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10, the New York City Police Department said.
Police and the Ecuadorian consulate in New York identified two other victims as José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, and Gabriel Siguencia, 22.
Authorities also confirmed the deaths of Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31, Ndiaye Mamadou, 31, Barry Mamadou, 23, and Edgar Sapon, 26.
A neighboring resident said his home had shaken daily since construction began nearby
José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, an Ecuadorian migrant whose wife was heavily pregnant, was among those killed in the collapse
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that inspections had been ordered at about 100 other New York City construction sites linked to companies involved in the project
On Thursday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered inspections at roughly 100 sites across the city connected to companies involved in the construction project.
‘If there is anyone, or any entity, operating in this city that bears responsibility for what happened, we will hold them fully accountable,’ Mamdani said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Mamdani said 18 people—14 civilians and four firefighters—were injured in the disaster.
Most remained hospitalized in stable condition, although one person was reported to be in critical condition.
Built in the 1930s, the collapsed structure was a mixed-use building with apartments on its upper floors and a ground-floor business. It stood along the edge of a lot where a one-story building had been demolished for a new project.
Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, said workers were excavating the vacant lot next door when the collapse occurred.
City officials said inspectors issued a stop-work order in March after finding that the neighboring building was being demolished without sufficient overhead protection, including netting designed to protect adjacent properties.
Inspectors determined in April that demolition had resumed despite the order.
The department said work was permitted to resume in May after the violations were addressed.
Mamdani said 18 people, including 14 civilians and four firefighters, were hurt in the collapse
A full stop-work order was issued for construction on the neighboring lot after Wednesday night’s collapse
First responders navigated a massive debris field as they searched for and rescued people trapped by the collapse.
Video showed firefighters pulling a pregnant woman from the rubble Wednesday before rushing her to an ambulance.
Building records cited by the AP show that the structure contained four apartments across its upper two floors and a commercial space on the ground floor.
Resident James Williams said he was inside his third-floor apartment when the building gave way.
‘All I know is I was with the wife and then we just heard some rumbling, the next thing you know, just open the door and happen to see the outside,’ Williams told 1010 WINS.
He said he then saw a bright light before first responders arrived to help him.
‘Everybody’s traumatized, we all are,’ Williams said. ‘Because one minute, we’re all just living our normal lives and the next minute, before our eyes, this just happened so suddenly.’
A person was seen being taken away on a stretcher after the Brooklyn building collapsed
The property had 98 open housing violations, including reports of bedbugs and leaks, according to CBS News.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said his office was ‘looking into disturbing things we heard about the property and the property owner who may have been negligent.’
He added that the landlord ‘may have been on our worst landlord watchlist, one of the years recently.’
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office was coordinating with the Department of Buildings and other law enforcement agencies to determine whether criminal conduct contributed to the collapse.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the collapse ‘horrific’ and said, ‘New Yorkers deserve to know how and why this happened.’