Dear Editor:
I am writing about the Hoboken St. Pat’s Parade Day, and how this event was handled by our Mayor. I think it is entirely inconsistent to say there was all of this effort regarding a “no tolerance” zone and these new big fines for public intoxication in order to bring some decorum into the event, while at the same time, the bars opened early and stayed open til their usual closing time. I have many bar owner friends in NY and NJ, so I mean no disrespect to the bars and their owners. However, it is entirely inconsistent for the Mayor to run around on every media front she can get to cover her and say there is a “no tolerance” position when she is having the bars open early and close late.
Admit what it was – an attempt by Hoboken to generate a lot of random revenue. It wasn’t what was marketed, which was something designed to cut down on public intoxication and noise to the folks who live in and pay taxes to Hoboken. If that were the goal, the bars would have possibly been granted the ability to open earlier, but they would have also been asked to close earlier as well. So, let’s call it as it is – just an opportunity to make some more money for a town that hasn’t been able to balance its budget for years, with a Mayor too afraid to really take the issue on and deal with the true problem.
Deanna Boll