Building Falls Beside Dig Site, Neighbors Dig Out Survivors

A three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. toppled into a neighboring construction site just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 17, including seven children. Residents and construction workers were trapped inside. The neighborhood is home to a predominantly Black and Afro-Caribbean community.

Officials spent the evening describing the response. They were far less forthcoming about how a building came down next to an active dig.

Who Gets Crushed

The numbers come from the Fire Department. Four victims were in critical condition, 12 were stable, and one firefighter was treated for minor injuries. Seven of the injured were kids.

Then there's the pregnant woman. Around 6:15 p.m., firefighters broke through a collapsed wall and found her conscious and alert, covered in dust and debris. Just before 6:30 p.m., they lifted her out. She's six months pregnant. As of Wednesday night, she was still in critical condition, according to City Councilwoman Farah Louis.

Her husband spent those hours outside the rubble, phoning a number that wouldn't pick up. "This is tough, man. He's looking for his pregnant wife, and she's not picking up the phone," Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. When CBS News New York's Allen Devlin showed him video of the rescue, he confirmed it was her. "She is alive. She is still alive. I'm very happy. I'm very happy. I'm very happy. I thank all of you guys," he said.

The Dig Next Door

A construction project was underway next to the collapsed building. City zoning records show developers want to build a nine-story building at 2625 Bedford Ave., with 64 residential units and a grocery store on the first floor.

The city has approved something smaller. "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," DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said.

Workers were digging when the building fell. FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said, "We know that there was work going on. There were construction workers actively working when the collapse occurred." He said they were "digging down." Tigani described it as excavation work.

There's a paper trail, too. About seven months ago, in April, the Department of Buildings issued a violation to a demolition contractor at the site. Inspectors said an "entire building was demolished" at the address despite a city order to "stop all demolition work." The violation is now listed as resolved. The notice doesn't say why the city ordered the stoppage.

The contractor wouldn't agree to an interview. It emailed CBS News New York blaming a "missing fire extinguisher" and "house keeping issues," and said it only did the demolition months ago, not the digging happening Wednesday. CBS News New York also tried to reach the project's architect and the man listed in city records as the owner. It was still waiting to hear back.

Officials haven't said the construction caused the collapse. "It's not clear if any of the construction had anything to do with the collapse," the account goes, and the buildings department says it is still investigating.

What They're Calling "Order"

The apparatus rolled out in force. First responders arrived one minute after the first emergency call, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who held a news conference at about 8 p.m. and posted updates on X, warning people to avoid the area. FDNY Chief John Esposito said the crew was returning from a nearby emergency and went straight into search-and-rescue. The FDNY flew a drone to look for more victims. The NYPD patrolled the site. Emergency Management set up a help center for those affected at the local Flatbush YMCA.

Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore called it "dangerous and heroic work." She warned: "The risk of disrupting the piles by moving too quickly there ... can have a detrimental consequence." She added that the collapse will require a "prolonged operation."

Note who's investigating whom. The Fire Department commissioner is looking into the cause. The Department of Buildings, the same agency that issued and then closed out the April violation, is also still investigating. The people deciding what went wrong are the same offices that signed off on the paperwork around that block.

A man was searching a pile of broken building for his wife, and officials were at a podium. When the dust settles, the questions are plain: who approved the dig, who lifted the stop-work order, and who profits from a nine-story tower where a three-story building stood.