New Yorkers mourn Jet Set Nightclub collapse victims in Dominican Republic

INWOOD, Manhattan (WABC) -- Powerful voices helped push through the pain, but the emotions are still so raw.

Friends agonized over the loss of Manny Diaz -- one of more than 220 people who died in the Jet Set Nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
Diaz was a father.

"Two children who will only know the beautiful memories about him -- and when they look him up, they're going to see the tragedy of how he died," said his friend, Donna Garcia.

Hundreds packed a tent in Inwood on Friday night with tissues in hand, holding up photos of their loved ones and holding the Dominican flag high. Others stood in the rain and in solidarity.

"Anybody of Dominican descent knew somebody or are connected directly or indirectly to somebody that died in that horrible collapse. You know musicians were there, baseball players were there," said US Representative Adriano Espaillat.

So was Kathy Martinez's good friend, retired detective Emmanuel Gomez from the 49 Precinct, who she met through her brother, also a retired NYPD police officer. Her brother is now traveling to the Dominican Republic to retrieve Detective Gomez's body. The recovery effort ended Thursday after an extensive search.

Martinez says that Gomez was one of the few people who have been a friend in the past few years.

"And he gave me a lot of support -- moral support," she added.

Detective Gomez retired in February. He was enjoying life in the DR, and like so many others, exemplified the strong connection between the Dominican Republic and New York City -- home to the biggest population of Dominicans outside the DR, all of whom want to know how the freak accident happened.

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