Happy Land fire
Happy Land fire | |
---|---|
EDT | |
Target | Happy Land social club |
Attack type | Arson, mass murder |
Deaths | 87 |
Injured | 6 |
Perpetrator | Julio González |
Motive | Argument with ex-girlfriend |
The Happy Land fire was an act of
The fire was the deadliest in New York City since the
Background
The building that housed Happy Land club was managed by Jay Weiss, the primary leaseholder, and Morris Jaffe. In 1987, Weiss and Jaffe's company, Little Peach Realty Inc., had leased the building space for seven years to the club owner, Elias Colon, who died in the fire.[3][4] An eviction trial against Colon had been scheduled to start on March 28, 1990, three days after the fire.[3]
Before the blaze, Happy Land was ordered to close for
Julio González served three years in prison in
Six weeks before the fire, he split up with his girlfriend, Lydia Feliciano. Before that, González had lost his job at a lamp factory in Queens.[7] At the time of the fire, he was two weeks behind on the rent of his room, and the owner of the boarding house where he was staying said of him: "From what I know, he was down to his last hope."[7]
Incident
The evening of the fire, González had argued with his former girlfriend, Feliciano, who was a
He also reportedly shouted, "I'll be coming back." Feliciano tried to warn others, worried that González was going to do something.González went to an Amoco gas station, then returned to the establishment with a plastic container with $1.00 worth of gasoline.[2][6] He spread the fuel at the base of a staircase, the only access into the club, and then ignited the gasoline.[8]
Eighty-seven people died in the resulting fire. Nineteen bodies were found downstairs; the others upstairs. Six bodies were found within several feet of the front door.
Initial reports indicated that only three people survived the blaze, After setting the fire, González returned home, removed his gasoline-soaked clothes and fell asleep. González was charged with 174 counts of murder, two for each victim, and was found guilty on 87 counts of arson and 87 counts of murder on August 19, 1991. For each count, he received the maximum sentence of 25 years to life. He was eligible for parole during March 2015 as New York law states that the sentences for multiple murders occurring during one act must be served concurrently, rather than consecutively.[14][15]
González was denied parole in March 2015.[16] He would have been eligible to apply for parole again in November 2016,[16] but he died in prison of a heart attack on September 13, 2016, at the age of 61.[17]
First degree arsonCriminal penalty 25 years to life imprisonment Legal proceedings
Arsonist
Landlords and other parties
Although the Bronx District Attorney said they were not criminally responsible, the New York City Corporation Counsel filed misdemeanor charges in February 1991 against Alex DiLorenzo III, the building owner, and Jay Weiss, the primary leaseholder. These charges claimed that the owner and landlord were responsible for the building code violations caused by their tenant.[20] They both pleaded guilty in May 1992, agreeing to perform community service and paying $150,000 towards a community center for Hondurans in the Bronx.[21][22]
A $5 billion lawsuit was also filed by the victims and their families against the owner, landlord, city, and some building material manufacturers. That suit was settled in July 1995 for $15.8 million or $163,000 per victim. The lesser amount was due mostly to unrelated financial difficulties of the landlord.[23][24]
Legacy
The street outside the former Happy Land social club has been renamed "The Plaza of the Eighty-Seven" in memory of the victims.[25] Five of the victims were students at nearby Theodore Roosevelt High School, which had a memorial service for the victims in April 1990.[26] A memorial was erected directly across the street from the former establishment with the names of all 87 victims inscribed on it.[27]
The plot of the
Additionally, the band Duran Duran wrote the song "Sin of the City", which appeared on the band's 1993 self-titled album, about the fire.[28] The song "Happyland" on Joe Jackson's album Night and Day II, released in 2000, was also inspired by this event.[29] In the Jay-Z song "You, Me, Him and Her" he raps "The fire I spit burnt down Happy Land/ Social club, we unapproachable thugs."[30]
In the aftermath of
See also
- List of accidents and disasters by death toll
- List of disasters in the United States by death toll
- List of fires
- List of building or structure fires
- List of nightclub fires
- Blue Bird Café fire, 1972 fire in Montreal also started by ejected patrons lighting gasoline on stairs that served as the only way in or out
- Denmark Place fire, 1980 fire at illegally operated London club patronized by Caribbean immigrants also started by an angry patron refused admission
- 2022 Bronx apartment fire, New York City's deadliest fire since this event.
References
- ^ New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e Diebel, Matthew (March 25, 2015). "Happy Land, Triangle Shirtwaist fires happened same day, 79 years apart". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ a b c Barbanel, Josh (March 27, 1990). "Fire in The Bronx; Tracing the Club's Owners". New York Times.
- ^ Bennet, James (April 21, 1992). "Judge to Start Weighing Charges That Owners Were at Fault in Happy Land Fire". New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ McKinley, James C. Jr. (March 26, 1990). "Fire in the Bronx; Happy Land Reopened and Flourished After Being Shut as a Hazard". New York Times.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- ^ a b c Maykuth, Andrew (March 27, 1990). "N.Y. fire suspect described as 'down to his last hope'". www.maykuth.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- ^ Celona, Larry; Marques, Stuart; et al. (March 17, 2015). "Fire kills 87 people at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx in 1990". Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Fire kills 87 people at the Happy Land Social Club in 1990". NY Daily News. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- ^ Francisco Avila, Jose. "The Garifunas and Happy Land Social Club Fire" (PDF). Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- Daily News.
- ^ TREADWELL, DAVID; GOLDMAN, JOHN J. (March 26, 1990). "Blaze Kills 87 in N.Y. Social Club : Fire: An employee's ex-boyfriend is arrested on arson and murder charges. Nightspot was operating illegally". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- ^ Julio González, DIN# 91-A-7544 Archived April 27, 2002, at the Wayback Machine via New York State Inmate Population Information Search
- ^ Bailey, Maria (March 25, 2016). "A look back at the fatal Happy Land fire 26 years later". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ a b Moore, Tina; Tracy, Thomas (March 18, 2015). "Happy Land mass murderer Julio Gonzalez denied parole". Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Annese, John (September 14, 2016). "Arsonist who torched 87 people at Happy Land club dead at 61". New York Daily News.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (November 16, 1990). "Prosecutor Clears Landlords In Fatal Social Club Arson". New York Times.
- ^ Logan, Andy (April 23, 1990). "Happy Land". The New Yorker.
- ^ "Misdemeanors Charged in Happy Land Fire". New York Times. February 2, 1991. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis (May 9, 1992). "Guilty Plea By Landlord In Fire Case". New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- OCLC 852158416.
- ^ Gonzalez, Juan (March 24, 1995). "Little Aid Seen In Club Arson". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (July 8, 1995). "Slide From Riches for Landlord in Happy Land Case". New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Russo, Gina. "A History of Deadly Fires and their Memorials". The Station Fire Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ "'Airtight case' against Happy Land arsonist in 1990". NY Daily News. March 17, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- ^ "Crotona Parkway Malls". Happy Land Memorial. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ Daw, Robbie. "Duran Duran's 'The Wedding Album' Turns 20: Backtracking". Idolator. SpinMedia. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
- ^ Nicoll, Gregory (December 2, 2000). "Steppin' out again". Creative Loafing. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ "JAY-Z (Ft. Amil, Beanie Sigel & Memphis Bleek) – You, Me, Him and Her".
- ^ "Oakland Fire Grim Reminder of Deadly Happy Land Blaze in 1990". NBC New York. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.