Dear Editor:
In response to the letter by Mr. Sean Hooks:
He writes about his “rights” being violated by the proposed changes in bar closing times. Well, as far as I know the closing time is set by laws passed by the city council; not by some inalienable constitutional “right.” Having lived in Hoboken for a year and a half, Mr. Hooks may not be aware that problems with drunken behavior are not new by any means. A number of years ago stories on drunken people fighting, shouting, and urinating in public in Hoboken were featured nationwide. Relatives of mine from as far away as Arizona saw police videos of drunken people in Hoboken, on CNN. And nine years ago there was an infamous race/spring festival during which the drinking got so out of hand–on a weekend afternoon, no less–that the police actually had to close down the bars in Hoboken for a few hours.
I’ve lived across the street from a bar in Hoboken for more than 10 years, and the people waiting to get inside at 1 or 2 am are anything but an “orderly line of citizens,” as Mr. Hooks suggests. These people have often been drinking heavily for several hours; this is not a handful of people lining up for morning coffee at Starbucks. And when walking to and from bars they can sometimes be found fighting, throwing up on the sidewalk, tossing around garbage bags, etc. To some people Hoboken is a bedroom community or bar-room community. To me it is a community, period. People live here, work here, own homes here, pay property taxes here, and raise children here. What about their “rights”?
If drunken people were urinating on the front porch of Mr. Hook’s childhood house, in his hometown–or in front of a home he owned–maybe he wouldn’t see such behavior as harmless fun. Mr. Hooks says that the quality of his life was fine until a few weeks ago. Well, lots of other people in this city have more of a stake in Hoboken than he does, and they obviously disagree with him.
Name Withheld