A three-story mixed-use building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue collapsed into an adjacent construction pit at the corner of Flatbush and Bedford avenues shortly after 4 p.m. on November 11, 2026, killing two people and injuring 17 others.
Emergency personnel treated 19 patients at the scene, including seven children. Four of the injured remain in critical condition, 12 are in stable condition, and one firefighter suffered minor injuries, according to Fire Department of the City of New York Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. One of the deceased victims was reported by his brother to be Jose Luis Caguana, a 26-year-old construction laborer.
The initial 911 call was logged at 4:01 p.m., drawing an on-scene response within one minute. Approximately 250 firefighters and medical personnel responded, deploying search dogs, drones, vacuum trucks, and buckets to navigate the debris. "This has been an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation, with precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface," New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. It is not yet known how many people were inside the building or pit at the time of the collapse, and the total count of missing individuals remains unconfirmed.
Permit History and Displaced Residents
The collapse sheared off an outer wall of the adjacent three-story building at 1323 Flatbush Avenue, exposing residential apartments while the structure remained standing. The neighboring excavation site at 2625 Bedford Avenue held municipal approval for a three-story building, while plans for a nine-story mixed-use project had not received approval. Department of Buildings records show a demolition contractor at the site was cited in April for defying a stop-work order and paid a $10,000 fine in October to resolve the infraction.
The official cause of the collapse remains under investigation. The American Red Cross and emergency officials opened a reception center at the Flatbush YMCA, registering six households totaling 11 adults and two children for emergency aid.
