Miffed Lover Charged in N.Y. Social Club Fire : Tragedy: Police say suspect facing multiple counts of murder and arson cried with remorse over deaths of 87 people.

Julio Gonzalez appeared early this morning in Bronx County Criminal Court on multiple counts of murder and arson stemming from the pre-dawn blaze Sunday at the Happy Land social club that killed 87 people.

He was ordered held without bail and placed in an isolated cell under a suicide watch in a Rikers Island jail, Police Sgt. Edward Burns said.

Gonzalez, 36, had been bounced from the club for quarreling with an ex-girlfriend. After warning, “I’ll be back,” he returned with a jug of gasoline, sprinkled the fuel on the floor and lit it, said Lt. James Malvey.

The woman involved had left earlier.

Meanwhile, authorities launched a crackdown on social clubs, drinking and dancing nightspots that proliferate in New York’s poor neighborhoods and often operate without proper licenses and safety features. Happy Land was operating despite a 1988 closure order that cited safety violations including improper exits.

Gonzalez cried with remorse under questioning, said Lt. Raymond O’Donnell, a police spokesman. “Basically, he’s saying he did it,” O’Donnell said.

Gonzalez was charged with two counts of arson, 87 counts of murder in the course of arson, 87 counts of murder by depraved indifference to human life and one count of attempted murder.

Gonzalez was described by his neighbors today as a quiet man who often offered to help them carry groceries or do other chores.

He lived in a sparse room with a bed, a clothes closet and a picture of Jesus on one wall.

“He’s neat, tidy and well-mannered,” said the building’s manager, Ray Davis. “He’s not loud or the type of guy you would notice in a crowd.”

Authorities early today inspected more than 200 social clubs across the city, finding most of them closed. Vacate orders were posted at 187 of them, and 52 safety violation notices were issued, said Sgt. Dick Vreeland, a police spokesman. In addition, five people were arrested for weapons possessions.

On Sunday, officials had said a review of city records showed at least 173 social clubs had been ordered to shut down in the past, and Mayor David Dinkins ordered officials to make sure they were closed.

Anxious Hondurans today flooded telephone lines seeking information about friends and relatives they feared were among the victims.

The Honduras government today expressed regret over the fire. Foreign Ministry spokesman Eugenio Castro said officials are “deeply moved by the deaths of many countrymen in New York.”