Victims Describe the Moment Their Brooklyn Building Collapsed

NEW YORK CITY—With tears streaming down their faces, local politicians and victims of the collapse of a building on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn shared their experiences at a press conference on Nov. 13.

The apartment building collapsed on Nov. 11 and killed eight people and left 18 injured.

Mamadou Mouctar Balde, whose pregnant wife was rescued from the rubble by first responders, said in French that he had left five minutes before the collapse to go to the grocery store. His cousins Barry Mamadou, 23, and Ndiaye Mamadou, 31, were at his home with his wife. Both died when the building suddenly collapsed.

He said his wife, who is six months pregnant, and their unborn child are both doing well. Balde and his deceased cousins are originally from the West African nation of Guinea.

The uncle of the two young men who died, Mamadou Aliou Diallo, also spoke, saying the family is very sad, and their hearts are broken. The family said they hope that if any negligence was involved in what happened at the site, that the city will support them to see that justice is served.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said the most urgent matter is to get visas for the parents of the two young men so they can attend the funeral. She also warned that people should be cautious of scammers and that the Office of the Mayor and the Borough President would organize donation drives to assist victims who lost loved ones or their homes.

Overcome by tears, Council Member Farah Louis said the community had been living through a nightmare.

“It’s a painful reminder that these families … lost everything,” she said. “To everyone and every family member displaced, from 1321 to 1327 Flatbush Avenue to every family member displaced, we are praying for you and we stand by.”

Ciahola Lawrence, who lives adjacent to the building that collapsed, said she had taken the day off work because she was not feeling well. She was just getting settled for a nap when she heard a loud noise.

Lawrence said her light was off and she tended to ignore loud noises because she had gotten accustomed to the constant sound of construction at the adjacent site, but something told her to open her eyes.

When she did, “it was just light everywhere,” she said.

The wall of her room had collapsed into the construction site along with the building next door.

Her husband James Alexander Williams was just arriving at work when the collapse happened. Lawrence desperately called him, and when she finally reached him over video call, he saw her staring at him in a state of shock.

“I said, ‘My love, what’s going on?’”

He said she turned the camera around, away from her face and as soon as he saw what had happened he dropped everything and raced home, through red lights and one-ways roads, to get to her.

Lawrence said as she was being evacuated, she saw her neighbors being carried out on stretchers.

“They were already dead. It’s crazy. What happened? We didn’t deserve this,” said Lawrence, who was still very emotional from the incident.

Williams said they have nothing left, just the clothes they were wearing when the building collapsed.

No one is permitted to enter the building as the Department of Buildings secures the site for an independent investigation into the cause of the collapse. The city has issued vacate orders for the neighboring three buildings at 1323, 1325, and 1327 Flatbush Ave. Residents of most of the other nearby buildings have been allowed to return home.

Two of the people who died when the building collapsed were construction workers working at the site. The two young Ecuadorian workers—Gabriel Siguencia, 22, and Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26—were represented by Walther Sinche of the International Ecuadorian Alliance.

Sinche said the families of the young men were still in shock.

“I hope the city, on behalf of the family, will do more to protect our construction workers,” he said.

Zariah Coleman, 13, who lived in an adjacent building, also spoke at the press conference about attempting to go back to locate her cat and being unable to do so.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Nov. 13 that the six entities associated with the construction site next to the building that collapsed have more than 160 open construction sites throughout the city. The Department of Buildings is conducting a thorough review of those sites and has not yet announced any violations or citations.

Those who died in the collapse of the building include: Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9; Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10; Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26; Barry Mamadou, 23; Ndiaye Mamadou, 31; Edgar Sapon, 26; and Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31.