Engineers criticize lack of bracing in city-approved excavation plans after Brooklyn collapse

A review of the Department of Buildings’ approved excavation plans for the site of Wednesday’s fatal apartment building collapse in Brooklyn showed that the documents did not require extra bracing to support the neighboring three-story structure. The plans called for a 45-degree angled cut into the soil to a depth of about 15 feet, while other surrounding buildings were required to have steel buttresses known as rakers.

The collapse killed eight people and injured 18. City records indicate the development team had previously ignored a stop-work order earlier in the year. Three structural engineers who examined the “support of excavation” plans said they were surprised the department approved the measures without additional structural support.

“That’s a recipe for disaster. You have to have shoring,” said Abi Agheyere, a structural engineer and professor at Drexel University.

Agheyere noted that the 94-year-old building rested on a rubble foundation and was described in a pre-construction plan by engineering firm Quiver League as having a façade in “poor condition with noticeable cracks.”

Chris Cerino, past president of the Structural Engineers Association of New York, said he would have expected additional bracing or underpinning to support the collapsed building’s foundation.

“I would have anticipated a different detail on that side of the site,” Cerino said in a text message.

Department of Buildings spokesperson Andrew Rudansky defended the approved design as “standard industry practice” and said similar excavation designs have been performed safely across the city for decades. He said the project engineer, Jieming Wang of LMW Engineering, is responsible for confirming plan safety before submission, and that the department completed a full plan exam that found the designs complied with city requirements.

Rudansky added that investigators are now reviewing the project’s geotechnical report, which evaluated soil and rock conditions before excavation began. The engineer who prepared that report, Michael Karantinidis of International Geotechnical/Structural Laboratories Inc., did not respond to a request for comment.

Records show that special inspector MD Islam was contracted to monitor excavation but requested to withdraw after the collapse. The Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order and initially attributed the collapse to “unsafe construction operations,” a comment later removed from its online portal.

The city’s Department of Investigation, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, and the Department of Buildings are jointly investigating the cause. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the inquiry now includes 160 properties involving six entities.

Another engineer, Eugene Gurevich of RAND Engineering & Architecture, said steel reinforcement is not always required if excavation does not undermine a foundation.

“As long as you’re not digging under the foundation, you don’t necessarily have to put up steel or additional measures,” Gurevich said.

Carpenter’s Union Executive Secretary-Treasurer Paul Capurso suggested crews may have dug deeper than needed for the originally approved three-story building, possibly to accommodate a later nine-story design.

“There is potential they could have changed their design on the fly,” Capurso said.