BROOKLYN – The owner of the Brooklyn apartment building that collapsed Wednesday, killing eight people, has appeared on the annual list of New York City’s worst landlords six times over the past decade, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams announced Saturday.
What we know:
According to the Public Defender’s Office, Olufemi Falade is registered with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) as the general manager of 1321 Flatbush Ave.
Williams’ office said Falade has made six appearances on the Worst Owners list over the past 10 years, ranking as high as 50th in 2020. His past rankings on the list include:
2024: n°95
2022: n°100
2021: No. 68
2020: n°50
2019: No. 66
2017: No. 93
The watch list ranks private landlords based on the average monthly number of open HPD housing code violations in their buildings.
What they say:
In a statement, Williams called for full accountability if negligence played a role in the deadly collapse.
“Our city’s worst landlords routinely put profit over people, and negligence can put lives at risk,” Williams said. “While we do not yet know exactly what caused the collapse that claimed the lives of our neighbors and devastated our town, Olufemi Falade has a documented history of failing to maintain his properties. It is essential that any negligence that may have contributed to this is identified, all those responsible are held accountable and preventive measures are taken to save lives in the future.”
The backstory:
The tragedy occurred in a three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush Wednesday afternoon. The collapse also caused damage to a nearby building.
Security video shows Brooklyn building collapsing in Flatbush
Footage from the ring camera captured the moment a building suddenly collapsed in Flatbush, Brooklyn, killing eight people, including children, and injuring 18 others. Search and rescue efforts ended and everyone was accounted for. Department of Buildings and law enforcement investigators are currently examining whether excavations at an adjacent construction site triggered the collapse. FOX 5 NY’s Nikki Hauser reports.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that six bodies had been found in the rubble and two other victims were pronounced dead at a local hospital. Among the eight victims are six adults and two children.
Two of the deceased victims were workers at the adjacent construction site at 2625 Bedford Avenue.
Mamdani said 18 people were injured, including four firefighters, and one person remains in critical condition. The FDNY said seven of those injured were children. One of the victims rescued from the rubble is a pregnant woman.
What we don’t know:
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the collapse of the building at 1321 Flatbush Ave.
The source : This article was compiled using information from the New York City Public Defender’s Office and previous reporting from FOX 5 NY.
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