Last weekend’s weather forecasts called for a “historic” storm—a phrase all too familiar in Hoboken, where Hurricane Sandy still dictates funding objectives and political fortunes. In response, Mayor Dawn Zimmer pulled out all the stops. Five snow pieces were rented to supplement Hoboken’s fleet of plows and salt spreaders, 40 to 50 police officers were on duty at a time, and all vehicular travel in the city was banned from 9 p.m. on Monday Jan. 26 until 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
The state had banned nonessential vehicles from the roads late Monday night, and NJ Transit and PATH service were suspended, so Hoboken was locked down cold going into the storm.
In the end, of course, the gust turned out to be a bust. After projections of up to 36 inches of snow in Hoboken, the city received only 7.5 inches, according to preliminary totals from the National Weather Service (NWS). Similarly, a storm surge of 2.5 to 3.5 feet projected by the NWS for New York Bay never materialized.
Which is not to say the storm had no effect—Monday’s snowfall still topped any individual storm event last year, and much of that snow still sits in the ground, preserved by freezing temperatures. Hudson County’s annual homeless census, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed until Feb. 4. Businesses also lost a day of economic activity.
Zimmer said Wednesday that she had no regrets about taking extra precautions like the travel ban.
“You have to go with what is predicted and be ready for the worst.”—Dawn Zimmer
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Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante concurred, saying a full-court press “was definitely the way to go.”
For Ferrante, the proof was in the results—no car accidents in Hoboken throughout the entire storm, and only two minor slip-and-fall injuries on Tuesday morning.
Comprehensive response
Zimmer said she was proud of the preparations she took in coordination with various first responder groups. Sixteen people took advantage of the warming center set up by the Hoboken Community Emergency Response Team at the Wallace School on Monday night.
On Sunday, Ferrante decided to boost his department’s on-the-ground presence by instituting 16-hour shifts for all officers on duty. The Hoboken Parking Utility rented six SUVs from Enterprise Rent-A-Car to accommodate the extra men, and for officers who reside outside of Hoboken, Stevens Institute of Technology made Walker Gymnasium available as a place of rest.
Ferrante was one of the strongest advocates for a travel ban at an emergency planning meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday, when forecasts still projected 1 to 4 inches of snow per hour leading into Tuesday.
The state’s 11 p.m. travel ban kicked in two hours after Hoboken’s.
Although police were empowered to issue summons to any vehicle out on the streets during the travel ban, Ferrante said his officers only gave warnings to drivers. “With [the ban] in place, we were able to stop people and tell them, ‘Where are you going? You shouldn’t be on the road…’ ” He said the police didn’t find anyone “cruising around town trying to take in the storm,” which might have garnered a summons.
Clearing the roads
Zimmer thanked Hoboken residents for cooperating with the city’s snow-related restrictions. Drivers were told to move their vehicles off of snow emergency routes, such as Washington Street, on Sunday evening.
According to city spokesman Juan Melli, only 60 cars had to be towed from those routes.
Many property owners also cleaned their sidewalks within six hours after the end of the storm, as is required by city ordinance. Still, city inspectors gave out around 50 tickets for unshoveled sidewalks on Tuesday.
The major challenge now is getting the remaining snow out of the streets. Alternate side parking rules resumed on Wednesday, and for the next week, parking lanes will be plowed rather than swept on their designated days.
“We really ask people to please cooperate and work with us,” said Zimmer. “We want to clean up the city as much as possible.”
Melli said the city reached out to every parking permit holder in the city via robo-call or email to remind them to obey alternate side rules after a snowstorm. “I do not want to ticket people; I just want people to move [their cars],” said Zimmer.
Still, 206 people were issued tickets for not obeying alternate side rules on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, as of this writing, the National Weather Service was predicting more snow for this coming Monday.
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.