Rena Kaufman said she met Linda March when the two were just teenagers growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

"I thought we would all get old together,” said an emotional Kaufman. “You know, we lasted this long together, I thought we would go on for many more decades.”


What You Need To Know

  • Linda March, 58, is among the more than 100 missing residents of the condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida

  • March moved to Champlain Towers from the Upper West Side a few months ago

  • Friends say she will be remembered for her great sense of humor

Fifty-eight year old March is among the missing at the site of the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.

Friends told NY1 March moved from the Upper West Side to Surfside, Florida a few months ago after a tough battle with COVID-19, and that she lived in Miami before and was excited to return.

She rented Penthouse 4, the unit that can be seen in footage with an office chair and bunk beds hanging from the side of the collapsed residential building.

"I was in shock, what are the chances?” explained Kaufman.

March, an attorney by trade, lived alone in the apartment.

She never had children of her own, but Kaufman said March loved kids, and had a special relationship with Julia, Kaufman's daughter. 

"Julia adored her. She would sit there, spellbound, listening to Linda talk and have fun with her. I don't know who had more fun, Linda or Julia,” Kaufman said.

According to friends, March had been complaining about issues with the foundation and ongoing construction at Champlain Towers.

"She was looking to move out, she was trying to get out as quickly as she could,” said Kaufman.

Kaufman said March was loved by so many.

Last week, a group of friends held a virtual get together to honor March. 

Kaufman said she will be remembered by her sense of humor, which some friends relate to that of Joan Rivers: quick, blunt and hysterical. 

"When we were sharing heart aches, we would be crying on each other's shoulders. She would just say something funny,” Kaufman explained. “As bad as the situation might have been, we would just be laughing and laughing. With Linda, there was always laughter."

Friends said they are hoping and praying rescue crews find her body soon.  

"For me personally, the thought that I will never see her again is very hard,” said Kaufman as she fought back tears.