Inquiry Into Brooklyn Building Collapse Expands as Families Demand Answers

The outcry over a deadly building collapse in Brooklyn this week has zeroed in on possible systemic failures as city officials examined other building sites connected to the companies in charge of a neighboring construction site.

The building, at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, crashed down into a pit where construction crews were excavating next door on Wednesday afternoon. Eight people were killed, including two children, and 18 others were injured.

On Friday, at an unrelated news conference with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the buildings commissioner said the city had hired an engineering firm to produce an independent report on what happened.

The commissioner, Ahmed Tigani, also said the city was looking into 160 building sites connected to the companies in charge of the project, without specifying which ones. Mr. Mamdani reiterated his message since the collapse that “if we find anyone that has violated the law, we will hold them fully accountable.”

At the same time, other city officials and affected families were holding their own news conference, demanding answers and accountability.

“Since Wednesday afternoon, our community has been living through a nightmare,” said Farah Louis, the City Council member representing the district where the collapse happened. Her voice cracked as she noted that children had died — cousins, ages 9 and 10 — and said that she had spoken to a man whose pregnant wife was pulled from the rubble. “It’s a painful reminder that these families lost everything,” she said.