BROOKLYN – November 13, 2026 -- Eight people are dead and 18 are injured, 26 casualties in all by our count, after a three-story building collapsed into an adjacent construction pit at Flatbush and Bedford Avenues. The first 911 call came at 4:01 p.m. Wednesday, according to the FDNY. Rescue operations ended Thursday afternoon, after crews found no more victims.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the dead are six adults, including two construction workers, and two children. The injured include four firefighters. One person is in critical condition, and Mamdani said most of those still in hospital are stable.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said separately that the victims include seven children. That conflicts with the mayor's count of two. Law enforcement sources identified a 9-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy among the dead.
Three buildings beside the site are under vacate orders
The orders cover 1323, 1325 and 1327 Flatbush Ave., the buildings closest to 1321 Flatbush Ave., where the collapsed building stood. The wall of another three-story building next to the site was also sheared off, exposing apartments.
Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors are carrying out structural stability checks on nearby buildings. A stop work order is in place at the neighboring construction site.
The DOB recorded violations at the Bedford Avenue site in March and April
In March, the DOB issued a stop-work order for the site at 2625 Bedford Ave. Inspectors had found demolition underway without adequate overhead protection for neighboring properties. An April follow-up found demolition had resumed despite the order, which led to another violation. The DOB lifted the order in May after the project team corrected all violations.
Officials said excavation was underway at a site approved for a three-story building. Plans for a nine-story, mixed-use building had not been approved. The DOB and law enforcement are investigating the cause, which has not been determined.
Mamdani says the DOB is sweeping about 100 related sites
Mamdani said five entities involved with the construction site are associated with about 100 other sites across New York City. "Our Department of Buildings is commencing sweeps of those sites today," he said Thursday.
About 250 firefighters and EMS personnel responded, according to the mayor. Crews searched for nearly 24 hours. The FDNY then turned the site over to the DOB and the NYPD.