The Nigerian-born landlord of a Brooklyn apartment building that collapsed and killed eight people has a documented history of neglecting his properties and owes more than $450,000 in fines, unpaid taxes and water bills, according to New York City officials.
Olufemi Falade was named on Saturday by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams as the registered head officer of 1321 Flatbush Avenue, the three-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, plunging into an adjoining construction site where excavation work was underway.
Falade has appeared on the Public Advocate’s annual Worst Landlord Watchlist six times in the last decade, most recently in 2024. Past rankings include 2024 (95th), 2022 (100th), 2021 (68th), 2020 (50th), 2019 (66th) and 2017 (93rd).
“The Worst Landlords in our city routinely put profit over people, and negligence can put lives at risk,” Williams said in the statement. “While we don’t yet know exactly what caused the collapse that claimed the lives of our neighbours and devastated our city, Olufemi Falade has a documented record of failing to maintain properties. It is essential that any negligence which may have contributed be identified, everyone responsible held accountable, and preventative action taken to save lives in the future.”
According to the New York Post, Falade owes $170,000 in fines issued by the Department of Buildings in 2019 for improperly displayed signs, $114,945 in unpaid water bills accumulated over several years, and $113,526 in property taxes dating to 2021.
The report also stated that he owes the Internal Revenue Service another $49,269 for unpaid personal federal income taxes, according to a 2010 lien, and New York State another $4,316 in personal income taxes.
The building, which is 96 years old, was purchased by Falade in 1999 for an undisclosed price under the entity Femi Realty Corp. In November 2024, he transferred the building’s ownership to another entity he controls, Isolag Realty Corp, signing off on the deed as both the seller and buyer with no money exchanged.
The collapsed building had 98 open violations with the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development before it collapsed, including violations for a leaky roof, defective doors, bedbug infestations and exposed wiring, according to HPD records. The leaky roof violations date as far back as 1976 and continued being issued through earlier this year.
Falade was also sentenced to 12 days in jail in 2006 and fined $50,000 for civil contempt for failing to fix more than 1,800 violations, including vermin infestations, exposed wires and leaking pipes, at 12 Brooklyn buildings he owned at the time.
Shifting properties between shell companies to evade fines and taxes is common among rogue landlords, but legal experts say it does not absolve them of debt.
The city’s Department of Buildings is leading an investigation into the collapse, examining every aspect of the building and all construction work.
