Gabriel Siguencia, one of the construction workers killed in Wednesday’s Brooklyn building collapse, was remembered Saturday night as a “loving, very cheerful man” who hoped to marry the mother of his 3-year-old son.
About 300 people gathered in Corona, Queens, to honor Siguencia, 22. He was among three construction workers and five other victims killed when a three-story building collapsed into an adjoining vacant lot Wednesday afternoon.
“He was a very loving, very cheerful man, just as you see him in the video,” his grieving father, Luis Siguencia, told reporters in Spanish during the memorial at Alianza Ecuatoriana Internacional, a nonprofit organization serving Ecuadorian and Latin American immigrants.
“He was always smiling. He had so much love to give. He still had so many years ahead of him.”
Siguencia, who lived in the Bronx, arrived in the United States legally less than two years ago from Ecuador. His girlfriend and young son remain there. He had been working for the construction company for only a week when he died.
“He was saving money so he could get married, have his son baptized and bring them here,” his devastated father said. “He didn’t want them to go through the same process I went through when I came here.”
“He didn’t want to leave his son behind or have him grow up alone. That’s why he was working.”
Luis had seen his son just one day before the collapse. He recalled Gabriel affectionately urging him not to work the following day because he was not feeling well.
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“He told me, ‘Dad, take care of yourself. Go home and rest. Don’t work tomorrow — you need to take care of your health,’” Luis recalled.
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Gabriel then hugged his father, kissed him on the cheek and asked, “‘Dad, I love you. Go home and rest. Do you want me to take you? Are you sure you can drive?’”
“Yes, son, I’m fine,” Luis remembered replying Tuesday. “Those are the last words I remember from him.”
Siguencia was working at a construction site next to 2625 Bedford Avenue when the neighboring building collapsed into a mound of debris. His family is now seeking answers about why he was working at that location.
“They weren’t supposed to be working on that building. It appears the building had numerous violations, and we’re very confused about why construction was continuing,” his stepsister, Kayla Chamborazado, previously told The Post.
His father, who also lives in the Bronx, is calling for accountability.
“I want the city and the companies held responsible for my son’s death,” Luis said. “I am asking for justice for my son and for everyone who was working at that construction site.”
Gabriel’s heartbroken mother, Maria Yupa, said, “First and foremost, I ask God to give me the strength to keep going.”
“I also urge the authorities to make sure justice is served for my son’s death,” she said. “My son was killed.”
