Construction Worker Dies After Partial Collapse of Borough Park Building

By Lloyd Mitchell and Emily Davenport, amNY

A construction worker was reportedly killed following a building collapse in Borough Park on Friday afternoon.

The call came in at 12:09 p.m. on February 2, directing FDNY units to the collapse at 1266 50th Street. FDNY confirmed in a press conference that three people were working in the basement of the building when the first floor collapsed in a “V” shape into the cellar area, pinning one of the workers.

Fire Department personnel pulled the victim from the rubble after digging through the unfinished dirt basement floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other reported injuries or structural damage to the surrounding buildings.

The scene has officially been turned over to the NYPD and the Department of Buildings. At this time, it is not clear what caused the floor to collapse.

According to DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo, DOB tried to access the building in December after complaints were made about the construction. After returning on January 4, DOB saw excavation being done and issued a stop-work order.

“The only work that should have been done at this site is to make the site safe,” said Oddo. “As you can see, that stop-work order was violated. There are absolutely no plans submitted to the Department of Buildings. So this fatality absolutely should not have happened.”

Oddo also confirmed that there was a piece of Bobcat equipment at the scene. DOB’s forensic engineering team will survey the damage at the scene and make sure this collapse didn’t affect the structural integrity of the surrounding buildings. Oddo also said that multiple fines could possibly be issued, noting that it would be a $12,000 fine for the initial work that was done without a permit and a $25,000 fine for violating the stop-work order.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in amNY. Click here to see the original story.

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