The Collyer brothers died in their inherited Harlem house under more than 100 tons of hoarded goods, and 56 people claimed the estate

Herman Collyer, a Manhattan gynecologist, and Susie Collyer, a former opera singer, were first cousins. In 1909 they moved with their sons, Homer and Langley, into a four-storey brownstone at Fifth Avenue and 128th Street. The parents separated around 1919. Susie died in 1929 and left the house to her sons. The brothers lived there alone and filled it. On 21 March 1947, after an anonymous report of a smell, police spent about five hours cutting through debris to reach Homer. He had died of starvation and heart disease. Langley was missing. On 8 April his body was found about ten feet from Homer's, under debris from one of his own booby traps; he had died around 9 March. Near Homer police found 34 bank passbooks totalling $3,007. Crews removed more than 120 tons, including more than 25,000 books and 14 pianos. The house was declared a fire hazard and razed in July 1947. The estate was valued at $91,000, of which $20,000 was personal property. Fifty-six people, mostly cousins, filed claims. A Pittsburgh woman who said she was their lost sister was dismissed because she had no birth certificate. In October 1952 the court ruled that 23 claimants would share the estate equally. The goods sold at auction for about $2,000. Since the 1960s the lot has been Collyer Brothers Park.