The lives of Anderson Velez and his family were upended on Wednesday when a multi-use building in Brooklyn collapsed, trapping his wife and two sons inside. Velez, who was not present at the time, received a video that captured the terrifying moment the structure failed. The footage showed his wife, Joanna, and their children inside their third-floor apartment as the walls broke open and the building crashed down.
The incident resulted in significant casualties, with several individuals ranging in age from 9 to 31 among the victims, including two children. In total, 18 people were injured. Joanna Velez remains hospitalized, as does their 9-year-old son, Pablo Alvarez, who is recovering from surgery to treat a severe head injury. Their 2-year-old son, Joseph Alvarez, survived the collapse with only minor injuries.
Velez described his initial fear upon learning of the disaster, stating that he believed his children had lost their lives. The building in which the family resided collapsed into an adjacent construction site. The force of the collapse was substantial enough to also tear off the side of a neighboring structure.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office has launched a criminal investigation to determine the cause of the collapse and to identify those responsible. The inquiry comes after records from the New York City Department of Buildings revealed that the collapsed building had 98 open violations prior to the incident.
Complicating the situation, the same city agency had ordered a contractor to halt demolition work at the adjacent construction site earlier this year. When the contractor continued the work despite the stop-work order, a violation was issued in April. The buildings department later stated that the issue was addressed in May, and the stop-work order was lifted.
The contractor involved, Townhouse Builders, has a history of legal disputes, having been sued at least 67 times since 2012 according to court records reviewed by CBS News. City Council member Farah Louis addressed the incident at a news conference on Friday, emphasizing that structures do not typically fail without underlying systemic issues. She noted the concerning proximity of a building with nearly 100 open violations to an excavation site that had previously been cited for ignoring a stop-work order.
Anderson Velez believes that the construction activities at the neighboring site were a direct cause of the collapse. He stated that the building had no reason to fall on its own. Reflecting on the surveillance video of the event, Velez said that he still watches the footage and tears come to his eyes.
CBS News has reached out to the owner of the collapsed building to request a comment regarding the incident and the ongoing investigation, but has not yet received a response. The search for accountability continues as the family and officials work to understand exactly how the structure failed.
