HOBOKEN AND BEYOND — Total arrests were down during this year’s day of partying in Hoboken on the first Saturday in March.
There was no St. Patrick’s Parade this year as there traditionally is on that day, although there was one group of people promoting a bar crawl called LepreCon. Visitors to town came in to visit the bars (whether registered for the bar crawl or not) and the many house parties.
Despite the gloomy weather on Saturday, there were lines at bars around town before 11 a.m. Some bars opened as early as 9.
Total calls for service this year were 394, down from 482 last year, according to City Hall. Arrests were down from 34 to 18.
After last year’s rowdy day, the city took measures in advance to get the word out that visitors could face fines as steep as $2,000 for quality of life violations.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer said on Monday, “With most bars delaying their opening and without a parade serving as a focal point, visitors arrived in waves, but they were concentrated primarily in our downtown area, and our police were able to focus resources and maintain control. Arrests were down 47%, ambulance calls were down 61%, and city ordinance violations were down 69%. I thank the Hoboken Police and Fire Departments, EMS, OEM, CERT, and the public safety agencies from Hudson County and neighboring towns for their tremendous work keeping our community safe. I thank our Environmental Services team for cleaning up our streets and sidewalks and the bars and restaurants who voluntarily delayed their opening this year. I welcome all constructive ideas from the community on how we can improve further next year.”
Statistics from City Hall:
2011
2012
Arrests
34
18
Ambulance calls
136
53
City ordinance violations
296
92
-Open Container
115
19
-Urinating in Public
59
8
-Disorderly House Party
40
22
-Drinking in Public
32
16
-Disorderly Conduct
26
11
-Disturbing the Peace
NA
8
-Possession of Alcohol by a Minor
6
0
-Public Intoxication
4
1
-Criminal Mischief
1
2
-Other
13
5
Title 39 (Motor vehicle & traffic) violations
80
68
Total calls for service
482
394