The owner of the Brooklyn building that collapsed, killing eight people, had reportedly appeared three times on New York City’s annual worst landlords list.
Olufemi Falade, who owns the three-storey building in Flatbush, was featured on the list compiled by the city’s Public Advocate, according to reports.
Falade is also alleged to have accumulated $170,000 in unpaid fines, $114,945 in water bills and $113,526 in property taxes.
At the time of the Brooklyn building collapse, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development recorded 98 open violations at the property.
In 2006, Falade was sentenced to 12 days in jail and ordered to pay a further $50,000 for civil contempt after failing to resolve more than 1,800 violations.
The three-storey structure came down on Wednesday into an adjacent construction site. The cause of the collapse remains under investigation.
Videos released since the incident appear to show the moment the collapse began from inside the building.
