Marisol Zenon

The Pinter Hotel Fire

Marisol Zenon holds a sign that lists the names of all of the family members she lost during a devastating arson fire at The Pinter Hotel in 1982.

Marisol Zenon was born in Weehawken and raised in Union City, New Jersey. Her parents, Josefina Perez and Sergio Zenon migrated to Union City from Humacao and Arecibo, Puerto Rico. 7 of Marisol’s family members from her mother’s side were killed in the arson fire at the Pinter Hotel in 1982. In her oral history Marisol describes what she witnessed in the aftermath of the fire, the effects of PTSD as related to the smell of smoke, the haunting memories of viewing her dead relatives, and her frustrations in lack of accountability for her family’s deaths, lack of care by law enforcement, and the deliberate silencing of her personal efforts to tell her family’s story.

They came here to make a life because in Puerto Rico, they were poor, very poor. And they're trying to make a life and you come and you burn them out because you wanna make condos.

Marisol Zenon

Although Marisol would travel to Hoboken throughout the years to visit family and friends this was the first time she had ever returned to the building stating that she would always avoid it.

Hilda Perez, Marisol's aunt, died in the Pinter Hotel fire.

I just kept on and somebody I must have ruffled up some feathers and people didn't like it, but I don't care. I really don't care. I feel like they died in vain, and it was like, como uno perro, se murió y se jodió, just keep it moving.

Marisol Zenon

Marisol Zenon speaks with a relative to verify the spelling of her family’s names who perished in the Pinter Hotel fire, 2021.

In the months that I had been speaking with Marisol she was insistent on verifying the spelling of the names of her family who died in the fire. She shared that she had trouble seeing their faces and that every time we spoke she would see the image of her family in their coffins. The coffins, gradually getting smaller and smaller. A specific image that would come to mind was the image of her aunt’s feet as she lay in her coffin.

Marisol Zenon’s Story

Recorded on November 27, 2021; Transcribed and edited by Christopher Lopez

Keywords: 

Traumatic | neglect | accountability | blogging | silencing | erasure | Puerto Rico | poverty | condos | witness | slaughter | generational trauma | lack of closure

Marisol: But this over here in Hoboken, that was traumatic. I was only 11 years old. And just going down the hill on 16th Street, because we went, you saw where you picked us up. The pastor took us straight and then we went down the hill. So when we’re going down the hill, we’re already smelling the fire. We’re driving down in the van, and I’m just like, what’s going on? I didn’t have no clue what was going on because I was going down the hill. I see where her building is at and the fire department and everything, and the smell of smoke. When we get to the hospital, they sit us down, and they start saying the names. Hilda Perez, Olga, and they start saying all their names. I remember everything like it was today. And when I had said my story, I told the lady, I said, it’s vivid to me like if it was today. I can remember seeing her face.She was the only one that well, look, the caskets started this small and then it started bigger, and then the 9 year old, which was bigger, then it was my other cousins, and it was like this.The funeral was like an L full of caskets. I tell you, that it’s no lie that I wish that, you know, everything would be recorded. How many times I called that police station in Hoboken, and they didn’t wanna hear my mouth. I think I was probably 15, 16. Yo llamaba de cada semana, every3 weeks I would call. You have anything yet for the Pinter Hotel fire? Who did that? Nothing.The case is closed. They don’t have anybody. So years later, 30 years old, I’m still calling and my girl’s father saying deja eso, and I’m like, no. Somebody’s responsible for what happened.And that’s when I started blogging and talking on it and that’s and my sister talked too on there, and they wanted to shut us up. Didn’t want nobody to talk about it. You go look for that, you’re not gonna find it. Somebody wrote me and said to stop talking about it and, honestly, he goes do not mention because you can get yourself in trouble. There’s still stuff going on in Hoboken you don’t know about. My sister said stop this. Igo, I don’t care. They erased all my stuff that I had. Everything that I had wrote because I was talking about the fire, about the mayor, about me calling, making calls, and nobody there’s no answer. Like, I just kept on and somebody I must have ruffled up some feathers and people didn’t like it, but I don’t care. I really don’t care. I feel like they died in vain, and it was like, como uno perro, se murió y se jodió, just keep it moving. They’re not worth nothing. Like, no, they came here to make a life because in PuertoRico, they were poor, very poor. And they’re trying to make a life and you come and you burn them out because you wanna make condos. All these people don’t have no idea of all the death that is roaming around Hoboken. It’s like, no care in the world. What they did and the aftereffects because you’re not just killing these people and murdered them. You have people who had to witness all these, it was like a slaughter thing. You know what I’m saying? Like, that’s the best way that I could describe it. It’s like a slaughter thing. You killed them, and you don’t think that had a ripple effect. All kids of all ages, it affected because people survived. People didn’t survive. I mean, those survivors were small to teenagers, to adults, to old people. So everybody in every age got affected by this. It’s just they never said, hey, the city of Hoboken, let’s gather together and, make de eso (something) for the people who went through this. Nothing. Nothing.It’s just, like, done. I wish that I could send, that I can go back on my emails and find that email that they sent me. They told me do not speak about this anymore.

Marisol stares up at the top floor where her family was said to have died
and in their last moments of desperation had thrown their children from the windows.