NEW YORK — Rabbi Motti Seligson offered condolences Thursday to those affected by the building collapse in Miami.

“It’s just the middle of the night, sleeping in their homes,” Seligson said. “For something like this to happen, it’s just so tragic and so sad.”

What You Need To Know

  • A condominium complex in Surfside collapsed

  • Many residents unaccounted for Thursday

  • There is a strong Jewish community in Miami-Dade County, which has strong ties to New York City

He says the tragedy hits home, miles away in New York.

“The Surfside and the Belle Harbor area have a very strong Jewish community,” Seligson said. “They have deep ties here to New York. Many people from the community here travel there either for vacation, many people moved there during COVID. There are a lot of Jewish institutions and kosher shops.”

The collapse happened at a condominium complex around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. There is one confirmed fatality as of this writing and still so many unaccounted for. Miami fire officials said 130 units were affected.

“I was in touch earlier today with Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, who founded the community of Surfside, and he was telling me about being there on the site, talking to family of victims and loved ones and friends who are just trying to get some word on the state of their loved ones,” Seligson said. “He’s been counseling them and talking to them and trying to instill a sense of hope.”

“There’s a lot of Jewish people who live in that area,” Brooklyn resident Atari Roston said. “It kind of feels like a lot of tragedies keep on happening.”

This comes after two deadly incidents in Israel: A deadly stampede at a religious festival killed at least 45 people, and a bleacher collapsed at a synagogue, killing two people.

“It hurts. You just can’t cope with dealing with so many families in pain, especially now there are many New Yorkers,” community activist Isaac Abraham said. “There’s always a connection between Israel, Florida and New York, and in this case you see it in the building collapse.”

Seligson says there are ways New Yorkers can help.

“What we could do is share our prayers and bring a little more light into the world by doing a good deed, by helping someone else, and bringing more kindness into the world,” Seligson said. “That’s how we can respond here in New York.”

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