HOBOKEN — Every year, one of the biggest events to see and be seen at is the outdoor birthday bash thrown by a Hoboken politician for himself. Frank Raia gets permission to set up in a waterfront park, hires entertainers, and provides free food for all who come by. The politicians, not to mention members of the general public, turn out in droves to schmooze and trade news.
But is this event really deserving of a place on the official city website, more specifically, the calendar of City Council meetings and events?
Raia, a developer of low-income and market rate housing, has lost a few council elections and served briefly for several months in the 1980s. Most recently he served as Board of Education president.
The event typically draws more than 1,000 people from all walks of life. Check out his birthday listed on the official City Council meeting calendar. If this counts as a general city concert in the park that Raia happens to be sponsoring, maybe they can make the case…still, this event is billed in Raia’s flyers around town as “Frank ‘Pupie’ Raia’s 9th annual 50th birthday bash.”
By the way, the party is being held at Frank Sinatra Park on Thursday, July 8, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Live entertainment is provided by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, as well as “the sounds of Sir Rod Stewart.”
The next City Council meeting is the following week.
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