A chilling home surveillance video captured the exact moment a three-story Flatbush apartment building crumpled into an adjacent construction pit Wednesday afternoon, sending a mother and her two young sons plunging into chaos as walls and ceilings gave way in a cascade of dust and debris.
The footage, recorded inside a third-floor unit at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, shows a 9-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sibling playing amid toys and household items when the structure suddenly failed. The older child is seen moving about the room as the toddler sits on a rug; moments later, a woman enters screaming as the building begins to collapse. A candle shakes and slides across a table before a wall caves in, flooding the space with daylight and rubble. The video cuts off amid the destruction.
The family survived, barely. Father Anderson Velez was in the Bronx on a painting job when his wife called in a panic, begging rescuers to pull their sons from the wreckage. All three lived, but the 9-year-old underwent skull surgery and remained in intensive care Thursday, while his mother suffered serious injuries to her ribs, spine, and collarbone. The toddler, covered head to toe in dirt, escaped with scrapes after shifting slightly away from the failing wall, a move his father credits with saving his life. The family had only recently moved into the $1,500-a-month apartment after leaving a homeless shelter.
They knew the two children who died one floor below: 9-year-old Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez and her 10-year-old cousin, Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, both Colombian nationals. Nicole’s mother is believed to be among the injured. Colombian consular officials confirmed the pair and one adult among the dead.
The full death toll stands at eight: six adults and the two children. Among them were Ecuadorian construction workers José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, who leaves a 4-year-old son and a pregnant wife, and 22-year-old Gabriel Siguencia, a recent arrival working as a carpenter at the neighboring site. Also killed were residents Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; Edgar Sapon, 26; and cousins Ndiaye Mamadou, 31, and Barry Mamadou, 23, from Guinea, whose pregnant roommate was pulled alive from the rubble.
Eighteen others were injured, including four firefighters. Most were stable by Thursday, with one person remaining in critical condition. FDNY crews, more than 250 strong, concluded a nearly 24-hour search Thursday afternoon after determining no additional victims remained.
The near-century-old mixed-use building, a ground-floor commercial space with apartments above, slid into an open excavation at 2625 Bedford Avenue around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The adjacent site had active permits for foundation work, with plans for a larger mixed-use development. City records show the collapsed building carried 98 open housing violations, ranging from leaks and electrical issues to missing smoke detectors. Its owner, Isolag Realty Corp. (linked to Olufemi Falade), has a long history of neglect; Falade served 12 days in jail in 2006 for failing to address hundreds of violations across other properties.
Investigators are examining whether excavation next door undermined the structure. A Department of Buildings notice briefly attributed the collapse to “unsafe construction operations” at the Bedford Avenue site before the language was removed. The neighboring project had previously violated a stop-work order during demolition earlier this year, drawing fines. An anonymous tip after the collapse alleged excessive excavation near the foundation. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ordered safety sweeps of roughly 100 other sites citywide tied to five entities involved in the project, with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office joining the probe. He pledged full accountability.
“This has been a very dark evening and morning for our city,” Mamdani said. “We are mourning too many people who we loved.”
Vacate orders now cover several neighboring buildings as the investigation continues. For the families left behind, a pregnant widow, injured parents, and cousins lost in an instant, the search for answers has only begun.
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