Dear Editor:
Having just read your cover story “‘Real Housewives of NJ’ kids take Hoboken” (Feb. 13 edition), my plea to these kids and the producers of these reality programs is: give Hoboken back to the hard working families who have rebuilt our great city. We don’t need any additional negative publicity. On the one hand, I was shocked reading this story, it’s disrespectful and belittles us, and on the other hand this may just be shock value to gain ratings for a worthless television program.
However, I think that the majority of our residents would be shocked and possibly turned off and disgusted along with me. Do we really need any additional shock value in Hoboken; haven’t we had our fair share in the past five years? We need to continuously build up, not knock down. Hoboken needs to be taken seriously; how about some respect for the city that now boosts approximately 50,000 residents strong and growing? The city of Hoboken, which has gotten a grip on its financial mess, regained control from the state appointed fiscal monitor, and a city that is winning the fight against corruption.
A few excerpts from the Feb. 13 story that may rub the residents the wrong way: “and Chris never when to college, so it’s like he’s a freshman at Hoboken U.” My answer to Chris: “it’s not St. Patty’s Day every weekend; this is not the Hoboken of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Hoboken is a city of hard working families with mortgages, who pay taxes, who are raising families, staying here and who care about their home.” Younger brother Chris “has mused that it’s his dream to own combination car wash/strip clubs” – not in Hoboken, as we are a respectable family city.
I’m not being a stuffed shirt, but rather I am part of the choir who wants to see our city continue down the right path. I am fine with letting the brothers Manzo do as they please as long as they are as respectful proactive residents of our city as their neighbors at 333 River have claimed the boys are of them.
Brian Wagner