By Escarlin Pozo
El Inmobiliario
SANTO DOMINGO.-Fifteen days after the tragedy of April 8, which occurred at the Jet Set nightclub, the manager of the nightclub, Antonio Espaillat, made his first appearance on the television program "El Día", where he was interviewed by journalist Edith Febles.
Espaillat recounted that the club represented "his family's life," especially for him, as it was part of his childhood, after his mother started the club when he was six years old.
During the interview, he indicated that the nightclub, which also functioned as a restaurant, found itself needing to leave the premises where it had operated since 1973, after 21 years of operation.
This move was due to the company that owned the premises requesting the return of the rented space. Their first thought was that they needed to relocate within the same area to maintain their loyalty to the clientele they had built up over so many years.
He and his mother, founders of the nightclub, established a new venue in 1994 located in the El Portal sector in Santo Domingo, National District.
“Since we founded it in that location 30 years ago, we had a plasterboard ceiling. And the plasterboard panels were always falling down. That is, they had a ceiling covering the roof,” Antonio explained, speaking about the condition of the ceiling in the new location they had occupied.
In that regard, he maintained that this was the reason why one could observe "white plaster dust" falling in the amusement center.
Espaillat specified that the premises, a former cinema, already had water leakage problems from the very moment it was acquired.
“The air conditioners would condense, the drains would get clogged, normal air conditioning issues that we didn't notice because the plaster ceilings don't bulge,” he said.
The manager of Jet Set explained that the building never underwent major structural modifications and that the only thing they did was level the floor, since it was previously inclined like a theater.
In detail, he indicated that it only underwent internal adaptations in 2000 and 2015, making changes to upholstery, carpets, furniture and decoration.
The businessman maintained that the Jet Set never underwent a formal structural evaluation by engineers and that there was no inspection by the Dominican state either.
"What they always were were issues related to firefighters, issues related to city councils, issues related to garbage, but never anything related to structural or building issues," he stated.
About the tragedy
In the early hours of April 8, the roof of the Jet Set Hotel collapsed completely, leaving a total of 232 dead, including merengue singer Rubby Pérez, known as "The highest voice in merengue.".
Following the tragedy, which plunged the country into mourning for six days, more than 180 people were injured.
