Dear Neighbors:
I just wanted to give you a quick update on the meeting we had with Sergeant Marnell and Lieutenant Ferrante during our Neapolitan Condominium Association meeting that was held on Monday, April 6, 2009.
After the previous Neighborhood Safety Meeting at the Hoboken Police Headquarters in January there was actually a crime committed that same night at the 2nd St. Light Rail. After that January meeting the Hoboken police put together a task force to address crime in our area, pulling in resources from Hoboken Community Policing, Anti-Vice Bureau, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Municipal Task Force, New Jersey Transit, Narcotics Officers and Hoboken uniformed officers.
These resources included uniformed officers but often they used undercover officers so that they can actually catch perpetrators and not just disperse them. They noticed a pattern of activity that occurred mostly on Thursday and Friday nights and concentrated their efforts on those days, monitoring suspicious individuals coming off the light rail. They made multiple arrests over the past couple months, nearly always teenagers from Jersey City. The good news is that this extra attention appears to have worked as there has not been a violent crime reported in our area since our last meeting back in January.
Although the increased monitoring of our area has tapered off, Sergeant Marnell and Lieutenant Ferrante have assured us that there are foot officers, one to two men in vehicles and other officers in the area working throughout the day and night. Also, there are total 70 cameras throughout the city and there are a few in our area the location of which Sergeant Marnell couldn’t disclose for security reasons.
We were also told that the lighting in the area will also be improved (on 2nd Street Light rail to Jackson and 2nd to 6th Street on Jackson) and they are working with PSE&G to get that done. Estimated completion of this work will be end of next Month.
Sergeant Marnell and Lieutenant Ferrante will be more than happy to meet with any community/group or individual to discuss any concerns you may have regarding safety, and have also offered to perform security reviews of our building. They also stated that any suspicious activities should be reported to Hoboken Police Department immediately.
Again, I want to thank Sergeant Marnell and Lieutenant Ferrante who took the time and speaking with our Association on a short notice. I also want to thank Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer for her support.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Thank for listening.
Frances Jennings