COLLAPSE UPDATE: Eight Dead in Building Collapse Minutes from Boro Park; Rescue Search Continues Into Second Day

By BoroPark24 Staff

Eight New Yorkers were killed and at least 17 people were injured, including three firefighters, after a three-story residential building collapsed into a neighboring construction site's excavation at 1321 Flatbush Avenue Wednesday afternoon, minutes from Boro Park.

Mayor Mamdani announced the sharply higher toll Thursday morning. Rescue workers spent the night searching the site, "working under extremely dangerous conditions to find and save anyone who may still be trapped," he said, and operations are ongoing.

"There are no words for a loss of this magnitude," the mayor said. "My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today."

The toll rose overnight: on Wednesday evening officials had reported two people dead and more than 15 others injured, cautioning that the figures were preliminary and could change as the search continued. Seven of the patients reported Wednesday evening were children, officials said at the time, though they did not release their ages or say whether those who died were adults or children.

The mayor had come to the scene Wednesday evening and held a press conference alongside FDNY chiefs and the NYPD commissioner, providing an update on the rescue operation and the city's response.

The call came in at approximately 4:01 p.m. Wednesday. Units arrived within one minute after a fire company returning from another emergency came upon the scene and immediately began rescuing trapped people. More than 250 fire and EMS personnel responded.

"Multiple people from the building and the construction site were trapped," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said at the briefing. "This will be a prolonged operation. Collapse operations are extremely dangerous. Every move is choreographed and critically important to patient outcomes and member safety. Members have been working methodically and haven't stopped since they arrived this afternoon."

It remains unknown how many people were inside the building or how many may still be unaccounted for. FDNY is working with NYPD to cross-check missing-person reports as crews search voids in the wreckage, with FDNY and NYPD K9 teams checking for additional areas to search. The adjoining building remains partially intact, and a secondary collapse is a major concern. Crews are carefully removing debris down to the ground to search for additional victims, coordinating each movement to protect victims and emergency personnel.

FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said crews expect to remain for several days, until the entire site has been searched.

Construction workers were actively working when the collapse occurred. The Department of Buildings commissioner said excavation work was underway at the neighboring site, where workers were digging down. The site has approved plans for a three-story building; plans seeking a nine-story building have not been approved. DOB, which remained on site overnight, and law enforcement partners are investigating the cause.

DEP has shut down city water mains at the collapse site so emergency crews can continue search-and-rescue operations, affecting approximately 100 buildings, according to a Thursday morning notice from NYC Emergency Management.

The mayor described a coordinated response involving FDNY, emergency management, NYPD, DOB and HPD, with utility providers and the Red Cross also on site. A reception center for affected and displaced residents has opened at the Flatbush YMCA, at 1401 Flatbush Avenue.

Flatbush Avenue remains closed from Clarendon Avenue to Bedford Avenue. Officials are urging people to stay clear of the area so emergency crews can continue their work.

Anyone unable to reach someone who may have been affected by the collapse is asked to call 311, or 212-639-9675 from outside New York City, under a UVIS activation issued by NYC Emergency Management.

Governor Kathy Hochul also expressed condolences and said her administration had reached out and offered its full support as authorities investigate.

"I'm keeping them in my thoughts and praying for everyone affected," Hochul said.

"This was a devastating collapse," the mayor said, pledging that the city would stand alongside those affected "at every step of the way."