Dear Editor:
We moved to Hoboken in 1991, a young professional couple wanting to be near our jobs and NYC. We loved the energy of the city combined with the small town feel. Many of our friends were getting married and buying homes, and we found that Hoboken was lacking in a place to purchase gifts for these occasions. In 1993 we opened Battaglia’s Home, a place Hobokenites could walk to and find unique gifts for their home. Our personal lives and our business have evolved over the past twenty years. We got married, had two beautiful daughters, and bought a home in Hoboken. We met amazing people through recreational soccer, the Chamber of Commerce, local theater, the PTA, or even just hanging out in Church Square Park. Looking forward to the future of Hoboken, we moved our business to 1414 Willow Avenue, added furniture to our inventory, and have worked hard to help revitalize this part of town.
While many friends left Hoboken for the suburbs, we never even considered it. Hoboken is our home. Hurricane Sandy arrived last week doing tremendous damage to the first floor of our store. We arrived to find doors pushed off the hinges, floating furniture (both inside and outside our store), and other damages too numerous to list. The thought of the clean up was daunting, but we were determined to do what we could to get our business back up and running. This is where the amazing Hoboken community came to our rescue. Last weekend around 50 friends and neighbors came to our store and worked tirelessly to get it cleaned up. We cannot tell you how truly touched we were by the outpouring of help we received from the Hoboken community. We cannot list everyone’s name here, but we wanted to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who helped us in any way. Whether you pushed a squeegee, shoveled the snow off our sidewalk, brought us some food, or just gave us a hug when you saw us on the street, it meant a tremendous amount to our family. We feel incredibly lucky to be a part of such a wonderful community. The uninsured losses we have incurred will be difficult to overcome, but we are determined to try. We love Hoboken and will always remain loyal to this amazing community. Our store is back open, as are many businesses damaged during the storm. In this time of recovery we ask that you support Hoboken businesses so that we can return to being the vibrant town that brought us here twenty years ago.
With sincere gratitude,
Brian, Alyse, Sarah and Sophia Battaglia