The Sala Capitular del Ayuntamiento del Distrito Nacional (AND) ordered that works to expand the number of rooms at the Hostal Nicolás de Ovando in the Colonial City be suspended. A commission of the municipality revealed that the engineers carrying out the expansion have affected the original structure of that important period construction. Miguel Sandoval, speaking for the municipality, said that the builders should definitely stop the use of mechanical shovels for excavations. They urged that excavations be done manually or with much smaller equipment to avoid damages to fragile structures that are of historical importance. The works being carried out by Accor in the area have been opposed by the Dominican Committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (Icomos) and by Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, as per the news report. The Sala Capitular authorized the department of urban planning of the municipality to request the restoration and construction plans. The Hostal Nicolás de Ovando is one of the first houses built by the Spaniards upon their arrival to the island in the 16th Century. The opening of the hotel also faces a legal suit by the former operators, Dimargo, that has received a Supreme Court sentence in its favor. (17 November 2000)
