Brooklyn Flatbush Building Collapse: 2 Dead, 17 Hurt

Photo courtesy of FDNY

Two people are dead and 17 others were injured after a three-story building collapsed on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon, the FDNY said. Seven children are among those hurt, and four people were in critical condition Wednesday night, fire officials said at an evening briefing. Rescuers were still searching the rubble, and officials said they did not know how many people might remain in the collapse zone.

The featured image is an FDNY photo of the collapse site released Wednesday night.

The Lowdown

This is the kind of story where the numbers move by the hour, so treat every figure here as the latest official count, not the final one. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first post on Wednesday told New Yorkers to stay clear and promised updates as soon as they could be confirmed. By night the city was counting two dead and 17 injured, and the fire department was warning that the search would run for days. The question everyone in the neighborhood is asking is why a building with people inside fell into the lot next door. The city has not answered that yet. It says the Department of Buildings and law enforcement are investigating.

Key Takeaways

The FDNY got the call at 4:01 p.m. Wednesday for a collapse at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, near Bedford Avenue, in Flatbush.
Two people died and at least 17 were injured, including seven children and one firefighter with minor injuries; four were critical, officials said Wednesday night.
The three-story building, with a business on the ground floor and apartments above, fell into an excavation on the neighboring lot at 2625 Bedford Avenue.
Officials could not yet say how many people might still be trapped, and the FDNY expects to be on site for several days.
The cause is under investigation. Flatbush Avenue is closed from Clarendon Road to Bedford Avenue, and a reception center is open at the Flatbush YMCA, 1401 Flatbush Ave.

I joined @fdny and emergency crews at the scene of today's tragic building collapse on Flatbush Avenue. Two of our neighbors have lost their lives, and at least 17 others have been injured, including one firefighter.
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) November 11, 2026

Mayor Zohran Mamdani · X · Nov. 11, 2026, Wednesday night. View the original post.

The Full Story

A Response in Under a Minute

According to the FDNY, units arrived within a minute of the 4:01 p.m. call and started search-and-rescue right away. More than 250 fire and EMS personnel responded. Chief of Department John Esposito said a fire company already in the neighborhood got there in under a minute and pulled people from the adjacent building, CBS New York reported. Crews spent the evening digging by hand, cutting through walls and sending K-9 teams and drones over the pile.

At 4:01 p.m. Wednesday, the FDNY responded to 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn for a collapse of a three-story, multiple-dwelling building into an adjacent construction site. pic.twitter.com/zSZBzsRu0C
— FDNY (@FDNY) November 11, 2026

FDNY · X · Nov. 11, 2026, with photos from the site. View the original post.

The Latest Count

At the evening briefing, officials put the total at 19 patients: two dead, four in critical condition, 12 stable, and one firefighter with minor injuries, ABC7 New York reported. Seven of the patients are children. Officials did not release the ages or identities of the two people who died. “Multiple people from the building and the construction site were trapped,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said in the department’s statement. “This will be a prolonged operation.” She told reporters, per Gothamist: “We do not know how many people are still in the collapse zone.”

What Was Happening Next Door

Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said workers had been excavating on the adjacent lot earlier in the day. The Department of Buildings told reporters that the lot had approved plans for a three-story building, and that separate plans for a nine-story building had not been approved, NBC New York reported. CBS New York found that the city issued a violation in April to a demolition contractor at that lot for demolishing a building despite a stop-work order; the violation is now listed as resolved. Nobody has said whether the excavation caused the collapse. Mamdani said the Department of Buildings and law enforcement will lead the investigation, and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said it is working with them to see whether any criminal conduct contributed.

Where to Get Help

In a post Wednesday night, Mamdani said he had joined crews at the scene and thanked first responders “who arrived in under a minute.” New York City Emergency Management and the Red Cross opened a reception center for displaced residents at the Flatbush YMCA. Anyone who cannot reach someone who may have been affected can call 311, or 212-639-9675 from outside the city. Gov. Kathy Hochul offered the state’s support. We will update this story as officials release new figures. More news and culture is on our Zeitgeist page.