The Department of Buildings said construction work at a Marine Park business that led to a partial roof collapse and killed a worker, was being done illegally.

It happened around 8:45 a.m. at a 3223 Quentin Road at the shuttered T Steakhouse.

The FDNY said three workers were inside the building putting in a refrigeration unit, when a large concrete slab from the roof gave out. Officials described it as a 5-inch thick slab, about 10 x 12 feet in size.

One worker got pinned underneath.

Firefighters were able to rescue him by using airbags and other heavy equipment, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

A DOB spokesperson told News 12 there no permits issued for the construction work being done, and that the building owner was not on site or reachable when they inspected the property following the incident.

DOB inspectors issued a full vacate order and a full stop work order for the property. Multiple violations from the DOB and the FDNY were issued.

A woman working at a laundromat next door said she heard a terrifying moment.

"I heard screaming, like real loud, and then it just went quiet," she said. "That's when I knew something bad happened."

A neighbor said the building has been empty for months and that they didn't know it was under renovation.

"It was empty," one woman told News 12. "Maybe they sold it to someone else. But nobody knew work was happening."

The DOB spokesperson said utilities for the property have been shut off by providers.