BROOKLYN, N.Y. — City leaders on Friday read aloud the names of the eight people killed when an apartment building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn, N.Y., came down, as investigators began working to learn why one of the deadliest residential collapses in recent city memory happened.
Eighteen other people were hurt. Most are in stable condition, though one resident remains in critical condition. Among the dead were two children, a 9-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy who were cousins. A woman who is six months pregnant was carried out of the debris by rescuers and is hospitalized with serious injuries, but she and her baby survived.
Many residents were home Wednesday because of the Veterans Day holiday. A 9-year-old boy from a third-floor unit suffered a serious head injury and needed surgery; by Friday he was alert and speaking from his hospital bed. His 2-year-old brother was pulled from the wreckage by a worker from the construction site next door and came away with only minor injuries. That family had moved in about a week and a half before the collapse.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin shared the victims’ names at a news conference held at a shelter for displaced residents. Councilmember Farah Louis said city records show the building had close to 100 open violations and stood beside an excavation site that had been cited for ignoring a stop-work order. Attorney General Letitia James said her office is ready to help as the investigations move forward.
The mayor’s office has opened an emergency relief fund for people affected by the collapse, and the Flatbush YMCA is accepting gift cards and checks. Other community groups are also gathering donations for families who lost their homes.
Section: More New York NY crime news
Filed under: New York NY Public Safety News
