N.Y. Police Close 23 Illegal Clubs
NEW YORK — Police slammed shut 23 more illegal social clubs early Sunday, hoping to prevent a repeat of the blaze that killed 87 people last week in the Bronx.
The crackdown came as the bodies of 48 victims of the Happy Land social club fire arrived in Honduras, the impoverished Central American country many had left in search of a better life in the United States.
A special police task force has issued vacate orders to a total of 346 illicit clubs since a sweep by the city began last Sunday, Officer Anthony Mazzola said.
The New York Times, citing police records, reported Sunday that 52 of the 1,255 clubs listed as “nuisance” establishments were in properties owned by the city, including two in Housing Authority projects. The records portray the city as the largest landlord of such clubs.
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