A riot broke out on the streets of Hoboken on May 1, 1851, when the “Short Boys,” a “nativist” gang from New York, interrupted a German club picnic at the Elysian Fields.
The Germans had come to Hoboken from New York to celebrate the May Day holiday. The skirmish was triggered when the Short Boys reportedly threw the Germans’ food and beer to the ground.
Such incidents in the mid-19th century tarnished the tranquil image of Hoboken as a quiet place for New Yorkers to unwind. It also fueled the push for stronger policing under a new city government.