Dear Editor:
Have you ever been so sick to your stomach from bad news? Imagine being told that a wife/mother/grandmother was in a physical fight with a group of intoxicated men and women in her lobby during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. What a disgrace.
A friend of mine asked me if I planned to take my 9-month-old son to the parade. My response was no. No because it is too dangerous. How unfortunate that my husband, my son, & I can’t share the tradition that I shared with my parents growing up. That’s right, I grew up in Hoboken, I’m Irish, and I refuse to attend the parade. Are you surprised? If you’re an outsider you probably are. But, if you know how it used to be then you aren’t one bit at all surprised.
Did you ever try to call the police for help on the day of the parade? Well, I know someone who did and she sat in her lobby bleeding until her husband found an officer in the street.
What about the local lottery store owner? He was miserable working on that day but couldn’t afford to close his doors. He was flashed by a group of “young professional women” at 10am. Don’t they have any respect for themselves?
If the city officials cannot control the drunken fools, why do we continue to entertain them?
A change has to be made. I’m sick of carefully stepping in my hallway to keep from slipping on the spilled beer. I’m sick of my niece and nephew having to step over vomit and urine in the hallway of their rental building. The actions of these immature drunks are putting the rest of us in harm’s way.
Mayor Roberts and City Council, what do you plan to do to change this? Will I be able to take my son to the parade next year without being afraid?
A Concerned Hoboken Resident & Mother