Happy Land Fire
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The Happy Land Fire killed 87 people trapped in an unlicensed social club called "Happy Land" in New York City, on March 25, 1990. Most of the victims were ethnic Hondurans celebrating Carnival.
The fire was lit by an unemployed Cuban refugee, Julio Gonzalez. That evening he had argued with his girlfriend at the club and was ejected by the bouncer. He was heard to scream drunken threats. He returned to the establishment with a plastic container of gasoline which he spread on the only staircase into the club.
The fire exits had been blocked to prevent people from entering without paying the cover charge. In the panic that ensued, a few people did in fact escape by breaking a metal gate over one door.
Gonzalez then returned home, took off his gasoline-soaked clothes and fell asleep. He was arrested a few hours later. Once advised of his rights, he talked freely of how he caused the fire. A medical examination found him to be sane.
Before the blaze, Happy Land was ordered closed for building code violations in November of 1988. Violations included no fire exits, alarms or sprinkler system. No follow-up by the fire department was documented.
Found guilty on August 19, 1991, of 87 counts of arson and 87 counts of murder, Gonzales was sentenced to 174 twenty-five year sentences, to be served concurrently. It was the longest prison term ever imposed in the state of New York. He will be eligible for parole in March 2015.
The building that housed Happyland was owned in part by Jay Weiss, husband of actress Kathleen Turner. New York Magazine quoted Turner saying, "the fire was unfortunate but could have happened at a McDonald's."
The street outside the former Happy Land social club (on the corner of Southern Boulevard and East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx) has been renamed "The Plaza of the Eighty-Seven" as a means of memorializing the victims. Five of the victims were students at nearby Theodore Roosevelt High School, which held a memorial service for the victims in April 1990.
