Happy Land fire
| Happy Land fire | |
|---|---|
Investigation of the club on the day after the fire | |
| Location | 40°50′35″N 73°53′09″W / 40.8431125°N 73.8859465°W West Farms, The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Date | March 25, 1990 3 a.m. EDT |
| Target | Happy Land social club |
Attack type | Arson, mass murder |
| Deaths | 87 |
| Injured | 7 |
| Perpetrator | Julio González |
| Motive | Argument with ex-girlfriend |
The Happy Land fire was an act of arson that killed 87 people on March 25, 1990, in the Bronx in New York City, United States. The 87 victims were trapped in the unlicensed Happy Land social club, located at 1959 Southern Boulevard in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Most victims were young Hondurans celebrating Carnival, many of them part of the Garifuna American community. Cuban refugee Julio González, whose former girlfriend was employed at the club, was arrested soon afterward and ultimately convicted of arson and murder.
The fire was the deadliest in New York City since the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which coincidentally occurred on the same day in 1911, and the deadliest in American territory since the Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico in 1986 and the Winecoff Hotel fire in 1946.