April 15, 2025
‘We have a million Dominicans in New York. They believe in family. They believe in faith. They believe in public safety. They believe in children’
A clearly affected New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited the site of the catastrophic Jet Set nightclub collapse in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and paid tribute to the 225 who died in the incident.
Adams arrived at the site on Monday, April 14, and was caught by news cameras wiping away tears as he paid his respects to the victims.
Adams made the trip with Ydanis Rodriguez, the New York City Department of Transportation commissioner. Rodriguez translated for him as Adams began offering condolences to the affected community.
“[It’s] one thing to read about a tragedy, it’s one thing to see it on the news, but the impact of being here, and seeing the faces of the people we lost is something I had to do,” Adams said after a moment of silence. “We have a million Dominicans in New York. They believe in family. They believe in faith. They believe in public safety. They believe in children.”
Adams was invited to pay his respects in Santo Domingo due to New York’s large Dominican population. He attended the memorial and left a wreath.
“I’m leaving this wreath here as a symbol not only of my love, but of the love that this country, [and] New York, has for you,” Adams said.
Among the New Yorkers who died, according to the New York Post, was art dealer Elivira Malkic and her husband Kahim Boubazine. 24-year-old Passaic, New Jersey resident Jennifer Contreras, who was in Santo Domingo celebrating her birthday, was another tri-state area traveler who died.
The incident occurred when the nightclub’s cement roof collapsed around 1 a.m. as Rubby Pérez, a popular Merengue singer who was among the hundreds who died, performed.
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