Olufemi Falade, owner of the Brooklyn building that collapsed onto a neighboring construction site and killed eight people, is not only a notorious slumlord. The Post has learned that he also owes more than $450,000 in fines, unpaid property taxes and water bills.
Falade, who has appeared three times on the NYC public advocate’s annual “Worst Landlords Watchlist,” accumulated nearly all of that debt at the three-story property at 1321 Flatbush Ave., which crumbled Wednesday.
A review of city records found that Falade owes $170,000 in Department of Buildings fines issued in 2019 for improperly displayed signs. His outstanding debts also include $114,945 in unpaid water bills accrued over several years and $113,526 in property taxes dating back to 2021.
According to a 2010 lien, Falade separately owes the Internal Revenue Service $49,269 in unpaid personal federal income taxes. He also has $4,316 in outstanding New York state personal income taxes.
City officials are still working to determine who bears responsibility for the building’s collapse.
The city approved excavation plans for the neighboring construction site, which likely triggered the collapse, even though the project lacked critical structural support, The Post previously reported.
The Department of Buildings approved the plans in March for excavation at 2625 Bedford Ave., where a developer planned to construct a three-story, 25,000-square-foot mixed-use building.
Records show the plans called for extensive, sophisticated shoring and bracing across most of the site, including the backyard of 1321 Flatbush Ave. But the blueprints notably omitted hard reinforcement directly beside the building that later collapsed.
Falade’s record also includes a 12-day jail sentence in 2006 and a $50,000 civil contempt fine after he failed to correct more than 1,800 violations at 12 Brooklyn buildings he owned. The violations included vermin infestations, exposed wiring and leaking pipes.
Before its collapse, the Flatbush Avenue building had 98 open violations with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, HPD records show. Those violations included a leaking roof, defective doors, bedbug infestations and exposed wiring.
Records show that roof-related violations at the property date back to 1976 and continued to be issued through earlier this year.
Falade bought the 96-year-old building in 1999 for an undisclosed amount through Femi Realty Corp., according to city property records. In November 2024, he transferred ownership to another company he controls, Isolag Realty Corp., signing the deed as both seller and buyer in a transaction with no money exchanged.
Legal experts say moving properties between shell companies to avoid fines and taxes is a common tactic among rogue landlords, but such transfers do not erase the underlying debt.
Massimo D’Angelo, a longtime real estate attorney with Blank Rome, said HPD and the Department of Buildings need to share their records more effectively when safety violations are involved to strengthen enforcement.
“There has to be unity between HPD and DOB files, and particularly for structural oversight violations,” D’Angelo said.
“This guy was rotting in jail for 12 days and it didn’t cure the problem. The city’s remedies are too slow.”
Falade did not respond to messages seeking comment.