Brooklyn building collapse Flatbush Bedford Avenue, Digi Mart USA News (Brooklyn, New York City): At least one person is dead and at least 12 others were injured in a November 11 building collapse in Brooklyn adjacent to a construction site where excavation and support-of-excavation work had been permitted for a mixed-use development, according to Engineering News-Record (ENR).
New York City firefighters responded at 4:01 p.m. to 2625 Bedford Avenue in the borough’s Flatbush neighborhood after reports of people being trapped.
Among the injured were several construction workers, and firefighters were still trying to determine how many workers were on the site, ABC News reported, citing the New York City Fire Department.
The cause of the collapse of the three-story, occupied building was not immediately known. The collapsed building also tore down a wall of an adjacent building.
New York City Buildings Department records reviewed by ENR show the property was being redeveloped after a one-story building at the site was demolished earlier this year. The department issued earthwork and support-of-excavation permits for the new development on September 9, with Townhouse Builders listed as contractor on both permits.
The support-of-excavation filing allows excavation to 14 feet below grade. Jieming Wang, a professional engineer with LMW Engineering Group LLC of Linden, New Jersey, is listed as engineer on the filing.
The filing identifies tangent or secant piles, shoring and bracing, and soldier piles with wood lagging among the excavation-support methods included in the work. The department also required special inspection of excavation sheeting, shoring and bracing.
Current department filing information reviewed by ENR describes the planned development as a nine-story-plus-cellar mixed-use building totaling 71,388 square feet with 64 residential units. Earlier public records described a smaller three-story development at the property.
As of the evening of November 11, city officials had not identified a cause or said whether excavation or support-of-excavation work at the site played any role in the collapse. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
