A building collapse in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Wednesday killed eight people and injured 18 others, with rescue crews continuing to work into Thursday afternoon to find any remaining victims in the debris.
The 96-year-old multifamily building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue collapsed onto an adjacent construction site at 2625 Bedford Avenue, where a one-story commercial building stood before demolition proceeded this year to make way for a nine-story development, despite a stop-work order.
The city’s Department of Buildings has launched a sweep of 100 other sites across the city associated with the five entities involved with the construction site, Commissioner Ahmed Tigani and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced at a Thursday press conference. DOB launched a similar sweep of office-to-residential conversions in the wake of the partial collapse of the former Pfizer building in July.
The collapse is putting a spotlight on two properties and a slew of associated violations, lawsuits and past infractions associated with the entities behind them. Here’s what we know about the history of the two sites before tragedy struck.
The mayor emphasized plans to hold any entity responsible for the Flatbush collapse fully accountable and noted the Brooklyn District Attorney’s involvement in the investigation on Thursday.
“We have seen corners get cut left and right,” Steven Sladkus, founding partner at Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP, said. “Does [DOB] have the resources to go to similar situations as this? No way. I’m sure there are ten times more of these situations than big Pfizer buildings getting converted.”
Public filings show that the owners of both properties, along with some of the entities on the job site, have a history of violations or legal actions.
Before the collapse
The apartment building located at 1321 Flatbush Avenue had 98 open violations with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development before it collapsed on Wednesday. Infractions include defective doors, a leaky roof, bedbug infestations and exposed wiring.
Inspection images taken prior to demolition of the neighboring one-story building show a cracking facade on the side of 1321 Flatbush Avenue, adjacent to the construction site. The report, endorsed by Quiver Monitoring engineer Sepehr Rezaeimalek, notes “poor” conditions on the building’s north-facing facade.
The owner of 1321 Flatbush Avenue also has a history of violations across his other properties. Olufemi Falade, whose company Isolag Realty Corp currently holds the deed, was sentenced to 12 days in jail in 2006 for infractions including vermin and electrical issues across his Brooklyn buildings.
Falade has seen multiple tax liens sold on his properties over the years, appearing multiple times on the public advocate’s worst landlord list.
Another multifamily building he owns at 1186 Nostrand Avenue once averaged 75.5 violations per unit, compared to the borough-wide average for buildings with four or more liens sold over a five-year period, according to a 2020 CUNY study. That study also reflects 1321 Flatbush Avenue’s persistently high violation count, at 21 per unit. The citywide average for the same subset of properties over that period was just .7 violations per unit.
Demolished in a hurry
Entities active on the job site at the adjacent 2625 Bedford Avenue had been issued violations or named in unrelated lawsuits before the apartment building next door collapsed.
Contractor N Tech Design of America disregarded a DOB stop-work order issued in March for the job site, with agency inspectors finding in April that demolition continued in violation of instructions to halt the month prior, prompting a $10,000 Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings penalty.
Before that, N Tech Design had received a $2,500 OATH penalty for an initial violation citing a lack of overhead protection on the job site or adjacent properties. The contracting firm still had thousands in unpaid DOB penalties across other construction sites as of Nov. 12, according to city data.
“Not to automatically assume liability or guilt on behalf of the developer who’s excavating, but if there’s a history of violations or a stop work order, there’s an old saying, ‘where there’s smoke there’s fire,’” Sladkus said. “From the point of view of the tenants in the collapsed building or whoever’s family members died … there are going to be a lot of civil lawsuits about this, and quite frankly, I might even see criminal liability possibly being imposed.”
Three names seem to be associated with 2625 Bedford Avenue. Robert Fischman of W6 Facility X is listed as the owner of the property on permitting applications, and Judy Swimer and Faigy Fischman are listed as the owners of two LLCs that bought the property for $4 million in 2024. Robert Fischman sent notices to adjacent building owners that there would be “excavation or demolition” on the neighboring site, assuring them “all precautions will be taken to protect all properties adjacent,” even though demolition was already underway by the time his letters were postmarked on June 11, according to a DOB violation filing.
Jeiming Wang of LMW Engineering Group filed excavation plans to install shoring, along with seismic monitoring devices and crack gauges on neighboring buildings. MD Islam of RI Consulting Services served as special inspector on the project.
Mordchai Waisbrod of Townhouse Builders had received a DOB permit in September to set up shoring at the excavation site to support the adjacent building prior to the collapse. Townhouse Builders has been sued several times, including in 2024 by construction worker Gustavo Nunez, who claimed he was injured by falling construction debris on a nearby project at 672 Parkside Avenue in Flatbush.
Berkoff Supply, owned by Robert Fischman, landed in hot water for allegedly selling building materials at inflated prices. Omni New York, along with subsidiaries Reliant Realty Services and Renewal Construction, sued Berkoff in 2018, alleging that items like stair treads were marked up by as much as 66 percent.
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