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Read the latest on the Brooklyn building collapse here.
Updates
(95)Key developments in the Brooklyn building collapse
• Widening probe: New York officials are investigating what caused the deadly collapse of a three-story building in Brooklyn yesterday, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani vowing to hold anyone responsible “fully accountable.” Officials are inspecting about 100 locations throughout the city linked to the site.
• Prior concerns: The mayor said he was troubled to learn cracks had been reported in the facade of the building as part of the permitting process for construction on an adjacent lot. A local councilmember and a tenant organizer described past issues with the building’s owner.
• The victims: New York police have identified all eight people killed, including two children. Eighteen others were injured. Stunning video shows the moment residents’ homes crashed to the ground.
• Search complete: Crews have finished a marathon search through the rubble and determined there are no more survivors to be rescued. The complex operation was hindered by heavy rain and thunderstorms today.
Building collapse exposes cracks in safety net for New Yorkers, immigrant communities, advocate says
A building collapse is rare in New York City, but when it does happen, it exposes “the cracks within our social safety net for all New Yorkers,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the advocacy nonprofit New York Immigration Coalition.
That’s especially true for immigrant communities, Awawdeh told CNN, who are often forced into unsafe, overcrowded conditions due to soaring housing costs.
The building in the Flatbush neighborhood that collapsed, killing six adults and two children, was home to a mix of immigrant communities. Two construction workers were among the eight who died, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The eight people who died deserve justice, Awawdeh said. “We expect our elected officials and those who run our justice system to hold the individuals accountable,” he said.
“We want to ensure that every person, regardless of immigration status, is able to have access to the funds that are raised and any supports that are available,” Awawdeh added.
All 8 people killed in the Brooklyn building collapse are identified
All eight people who were killed in the three-story building collapse in Brooklyn have been identified by law enforcement sources and the New York Police Department.
The eighth victim who died in the tragedy was identified by police on Thursday as 31-year-old Mamadou Ndiaye.
Law enforcement sources previously confirmed the identities of the seven other victims to CNN: Mamadou Barry, 23; José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26; Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10; Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; Nicole Daniela Salvala Rodriguez, 9; Edgar Sapon, 26; and Gabriel Siguencia, 22.
Guatemalan man, 26, among the dead, officials say
A 26-year-old Guatemalan man is among the dead in the Brooklyn building collapse, Guatemala’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed today.
The man is originally from the department of Totonicapán, about 60 miles northwest of Guatemala City, the nation’s capital, officials said in a statement.
Guatemalan officials contacted his family, including with information about a fund used to repatriate the remains of Guatemalan nationals who die abroad, the statement said. Guatemala’s consulate in New York is also working with city authorities to determine if his case qualifies for financial aid, the statement said.
A Guatemalan ministry official declined to provide the man’s name, citing protection of Guatemalan nationals.
Law enforcement sources earlier identified one of the dead as Edgar Sapon, who was age 26. In addition, three Colombian nationals, including two children, as well as two Ecuadorian men are among the dead, officials from both countries said.
CNN’s John Miller contributed to this report.
Search concludes and attention turns to investigations in New York. Catch up here
The New York City Fire Department has wrapped up search and rescue operations at the Brooklyn building collapse that killed eight people and injured more than a dozen others.
The agency has combed through the rubble of the entire site and determined there are no other victims, a spokesperson said.
Catch up on the latest here:
- Growing scrutiny: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he’s “incredibly troubled” by a report filed earlier this year that noted cracks in the building as part of the permitting process for construction on an adjacent lot, which the collapse spilled into. Mamdani said he’s committed to holding any person or entity responsible “fully accountable.”
- The owner: The building’s owner has a troubling history that reportedly landed him in jail for 12 days in 2006 for failing to repair hundreds of violations across multiple buildings. A local councilmember and a tenant organizer described past issues with the landlord.
- Sweeping review: New York City’s Department of Buildings is looking at 100 other locations throughout the city linked to the site of the collapse.
- The victims: Law enforcement sources identified seven of the eight people killed, including two children aged 9 and 10. The unidentified victim is a man in his early 30s, the sources said. Firefighters are among the eighteen other people injured.
- Foreign consulates: Mamdani noted that the victims of the collapse included immigrants from several countries. Two Ecuadorian men were among the dead, according to the country’s consulate in New York, while Colombian officials said two children and one adult from the country were killed.
- Stunning video: Ring camera video from inside the building helps illustrate the sudden force of the collapse.
- How to help or receive assistance: Resources are available for those needing emergency shelter, supplies or updates about missing people, and there are also opportunities to give.
CNN’s Gloria Pazmino, Brynn Gingras, Taylor Romine, John Miller, Eduardo Cuevas and Holly Yan contributed reporting.
More storms moving over New York
Another round of thunderstorms is bringing heavy rain and gusty winds to the collapse site in Brooklyn.
Track the storm in the CNN Weather app
These storms dropped rain at rates up to one inch per hour as they tracked over parts of New Jersey, and bring the potential for flash flooding in urban areas with poor drainage.
The heaviest rainfall will last until around 7 p.m. when the thunderstorms are expected to slowly weaken and exit eastward out of the city. Rainfall will take another break this evening before scattered showers resume later overnight.
Blustery conditions will continue as our developing nor’easter sticks around through Friday.
Owner of collapsed building had troubling record, served jail time for building conditions
The owner of the collapsed building in Brooklyn had a troubling history that reportedly landed him in jail for 12 days in 2006 for failing to repair hundreds of violations across multiple buildings.
City records show 1321 Flatbush Avenue – the building that collapsed Wednesday afternoon, killing at least eight people and injuring 18 others – is owned by Olufemi Falade, a landlord who owns buildings in Brooklyn and is known to local leaders, including Councilmember Farah Louis, who represents that area and described him as a problematic landlord whose properties are not kept to code.
A new complaint posted on the Department of Buildings website shows a report raising concerns shortly after the building collapse on Wednesday and urging investigators to examine approved excavation drawings at the construction site next door. The complainant writes in detail about ongoing excavation at the site and whether it may have contributed to the collapse of the adjacent three-story residential building.
The Department of Buildings has not yet determined the cause of the collapse, and an investigation is underway. During a news conference on Thursday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would conduct a full investigation of the situation and hold anyone responsible “fully accountable.”
According to records from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, 1321 Flatbush Avenue currently has 98 open housing violations. The violations range from unsafe electrical wiring, a lack of smoke detectors and bedbug infestations to a lack of adequate water supply for the building’s sprinkler system. Some of the violations date back to the 1970s, but dozens more are from the last six years.
Records show Falade owns at least five buildings across Brooklyn. He has been listed previously on the Office of the New York City Public Advocate worst landlord list for multiple years.
When Falade was ordered to serve jail time in 2006, the former Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan described Falade to The New York Post as “one of the most egregious examples we’ve seen citywide of flouting the law and forcing his residents to live in horrible conditions.”
CNN reached out to Falade for comment.
Sumathy Kumar, executive director of New York State Tenant Bloc and Housing Justice for All, an organization that works to organize tenants, said Falade had an extensive and troubling history with the city.
Falade has a “track record of tenant neglect,” Kumar said in a statement. “We need better and faster tools to hold landlords accountable and to make sure that buildings are properly maintained and managed.”
Three Colombian citizens, including two children, among dead, consulate says
Two children and one adult who are Colombian citizens are among the dead in the Brooklyn building collapse, Colombia’s consulate in New York said today.
The consulate also said in a statement posted to social media that a Colombian citizen was injured and received medical attention. The statement didn’t name the Colombians killed in Wednesday’s building collapse.
A list provided by law enforcement sources earlier identified two children among the eight people who died. Sources identified them as Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10, and Nicole Daniela Salvala Rodriguez, 9.
CNN has reached out to Colombia’s foreign affairs ministry and its New York consulate.
The consulate said it was in contact with the relatives of the Colombian nationals affected, providing them with assistance and support.
“The Consulate of Colombia in New York reiterates its most sincere condolences to the victims’ families and loved ones,” the consulate’s statement said.
Ring camera captures the moment building collapsed
Video credit: James Williams
A Ring video camera captured the moment a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed yesterday, killing eight and injuring 18 more.
Consulates weigh in as Mamdani says immigrant New Yorkers among the dead
Several consulates have weighed in as Mayor Zohran Mamdani said immigrant New Yorkers were among the dead in the Brooklyn building collapse.
“I want to take a moment to remember those we have so senselessly lost,” Mamdani told reporters today. “These were our friends and our neighbors, parents and children, young families building their lives in our city, and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, and beyond.”
Two of the eight people who died were construction workers, he said.
Ecuador’s consulate in New York already confirmed two Ecuadorian men were among the dead.
Colombian consular officials said they were working to identify whether any Colombians were among the victims, according to a social media post.
The Mexican consulate in New York said it hadn’t identified Mexican nationals affected by the collapse. Guatemalan officials also announced they hadn’t yet identified any of their citizens, either.
Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign affairs ministry didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
The death toll is particularly reflective of New York City, long a destination for immigrants from around the world. Over one in three New Yorkers is an immigrant, according to the mayor’s office. In Flatbush, the Brooklyn neighborhood where the collapse occurred, it’s even higher: Nearly half of local residents are foreign-born, according to a city report.
Here's what the building collapse site looks like 24 hours later
A little over 24 hours after a building collapsed in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush, first responders are no longer on site after finishing search and rescue operations, but cleanup crews remain.
Crews have filled at least five industrial dumpsters with rubble from the site. They now sit in the middle of an eerily empty Flatbush Avenue, a place usually filled with life as pedestrians and drivers make their way on the thoroughfare.
FDNY finishes operations, finds no additional victims, spokesperson says
The New York Fire Department has finished its operations at the building collapse that killed eight people and injured more than a dozen others, according to a fire department spokesperson.
The agency conducted rescue operations throughout the entire site and determined there were no other victims, the spokesperson said.
The site has now been turned over to New York City’s Department of Buildings and the New York City Police Department, they said.
Mamdani “troubled” by report of building cracks before deadly collapse
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he’s “incredibly troubled” by a report filed by the city’s buildings department earlier this year that noted cracks in the Brooklyn building before its deadly collapse.
“These are the examples of why we are conducting a full and thorough investigation, and why the investigation will not stop at the sites that we are here to speak about today, but will extend to any and all sites that those who operated these sites are currently operating in across our city,” Mamdani said this afternoon.
The report, filed in March with the New York City Department of Buildings, listed the north facade of the collapsed building as being “in poor condition with noticeable cracks identified,” CNN Investigates reported earlier.
The agency is inspecting over 100 construction sites linked to the collapse across the city to identify potential issues that may need to be addressed, Mamdani said. Investigators who are working to determine factors in the collapse will be looking at the condition of the building and activity at the adjacent construction site, he added.
“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.
Witness shaken by death toll in Brooklyn building collapse
Katie Stevens, a Bushwick resident who lives about a block from the collapse, described the incident to CNN.
Stevens reacted emotionally to the death toll after seeing three body bags loaded into a van earlier this morning.
Ecuadorian man killed in collapse just started work at site, family and friends say
One of the two Ecuadorian nationals who died in the building collapse is a recent arrival to the country and had just started work at the site in Brooklyn, his relatives and family friends said.
Ecuador’s consulate in New York and New York City law enforcement sources identified 22-year-old Gabriel Siguencia as the second Ecuadorian national who died, in addition to José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26.
Siguencia had arrived about a month ago from Ecuador, according to family friends and relatives who accompanied his mother to the collapse scene on Thursday. He was a carpenter and had begun working at the site about two weeks ago, they said.
“He came to America looking for the same opportunities that people from all over the world come here for,” said Javier Ortega, a family friend who drove Siguencia’s mother, Leonor Yupa, to the site from her home in Connecticut.
The Ecuadorian consulate said in a statement it was in direct contact with both Siguencia and Caguana Cosquillo’s families and was providing them with assistance and support.
CNN’s Eduardo Cuevas contributed to this report.
City will likely be "doing a full review" of 100 other sites, structural engineer says
As New York City’s Department of Buildings is looking at 100 other sites throughout the city linked to the collapse, officials will likely be “doing a full review” of everyone involved in the project, structural engineer Matthew Roblez told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
These are the 8 people killed in the Brooklyn building collapse
Law enforcement sources have identified seven of the eight people killed in the Brooklyn building collapse:
- Mamadou Barry, 23
- José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26
- John Doe, an unidentified man in his early 30s
- Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10
- Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31
- Nicole Daniela Salvala Rodriguez, 9
- Edgar Sapon, 26
- Gabriel Siguencia, 22
How to get help if you need shelter, food or news about missing loved ones
Anyone needing emergency shelter, supplies or updates about missing people can seek help from several nonprofits and agencies.
311: “If you are unable to reach someone you believe may have been affected by the collapse, please call 311,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “If you are outside New York City, call 212-639-9675.”
Red Cross and YMCA: The Red Cross opened a service center at YMCA Flatbush, where residents can “connect with government and nonprofit agencies for additional support.”
As of this morning, “the Red Cross has registered 7 households (14 adults/5 children) for emergency assistance including temporary lodging,” the nonprofit said. YMCA Flatbush is also serving as a reception center for families.
NYC Human Resources Administration: The HRA can help with Medicaid and SNAP needs, moving and storage, and emergency cash assistance, the agency posted on Facebook.
World Central Kitchen: “WCK teams and local partners are on the ground serving meals to rescuers and affected families,” the nonprofit said.
How to send help: Anyone who wants to support families affected by the disaster can donate to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, NYC Emergency Management said. To make a donation, select the “Emergency Relief” option on the fund’s website.
Rain starts to ease in Brooklyn, but that won't last long
The heaviest storms that brought more than 1.5 inches of rain to Brooklyn — including the collapse site — early this afternoon are finally starting to move out of the area.
The really heavy thunderstorm we were concerned about earlier fortunately tracked east of the site, but it’s now sending gushing rain to parts of Queens, where a flash flood warning is in effect.
Any break in the rain for Brooklyn won’t last long. Another round is creeping north from out over the water between Staten Island and New Jersey.
On-and-off showers could follow in the coming hours ahead of yet another line of storms currently making its way toward the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border.
Drier weather won’t arrive until Friday night or even Saturday morning.
Track the storm in the CNN Weather app
Ecuadorian national among dead, consulate says
An Ecuadorian national is among the eight people who died in the building collapse, Ecuador’s consulate in New York announced Thursday.
José Luis Caguana Cosquillo was identified as one of those killed in the collapse, the consulate said in a statement posted to social media.
“We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and we stand with them in profound solidarity in these moments of grief,” the consulate said.
The consulate said it is in contact with his family and loved ones, and is providing consular support and assistance.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said those killed in the collapse included immigrant New Yorkers.
