Newly released video from inside a Brooklyn apartment shows the horrifying seconds when the building gave way earlier this week, leaving eight people dead and nearly 20 others injured.
The three-story building in Flatbush collapsed Wednesday, triggering a large-scale emergency response.
Footage recorded inside the third-floor home of resident Anderson Velez captures the structure beginning to fail as a living room wall suddenly crumbles.
First responders work the scene after a building collapsed in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday, killing eight people. (Ryan Murphy/AP Photo)
Gothamist reported that Velez’s 9-year-old son appears in the video holding a baby bottle and taking a gallon of milk from the refrigerator while a 2-year-old child plays nearby. Seconds later, Velez’s wife rushes through a doorway screaming. The boy runs toward her as the apartment walls begin collapsing around them.
“I am still in shock,” Velez told the outlet. “The truth is, I’m trying to be strong for my son, but I feel terrible.”
Emergency crews worked for hours through the debris before confirming that eight people had died.
“I am heartbroken that eight New Yorkers have now lost their lives and at least 17 have been injured, including three firefighters,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a post on X.
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An excavator removes rubble from the site of the Brooklyn building collapse on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (James Cirrone for News Outlet)
“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude,” Mamdani added. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today.”
The owner of the neighboring property is also facing questions about earlier construction violations. News Outlet previously reported that a contractor continued work despite a city-issued stop-work order in March.
New York City Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said excavation was taking place at the adjacent Bedford Avenue property when the collapse occurred.
“The type of work they were conducting was excavation work on that job site,” Tigani said. “That was what they were working on today.”
First responders assist at the scene of a collapsed building in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 11, 2026. (kena betancur/AFP via Getty Images)
“They have an approved plan for a three-story building, but they currently have plans seeking approval for a nine-story building, which has not yet been approved,” Tigani said. “At this point, all we know is that excavation work was underway in that portion of the construction site.”
