At a time when most Hobokenites are enjoying the final dream cycle of their REM sleep, Chief of Police Ken Ferrante is already out the door. It’s just before dawn, and the New York City skyline is still just a silhouette in the distance. He doesn’t have to be at headquarters until 8 a.m., but Ferrante, 42, is already working on his first task of the day: getting to the gym. In his case, the New York Sports Club at 59 Newark.
“It gets the energy going,” says Ferrante. “I’m thinking as I’m on a treadmill. I’m thinking as I’m jumping rope. And when I’m lifting it’s to burn the stress and get the mind cleared for the rest of the day.”
He began working out at age 13 as a freshman playing football at St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City. There he won the 1989 State Championship as a senior linebacker and returned to coach for 12 seasons. He continued working out at the gym to prepare for the police academy. The ritual promotes physical and mental health.
“My goal is an hour, four times a week, just to work on calorie burning, stress burning, and I’ll be thinking also,” he says. “I like to plan things out. It’s great when I go on my runs. The whole time I’ll have music on and be planning my day for work.”
A grueling schedule is de rigueur for a police chief of a mile-square city with a population of more than 50,000. Being fit is vital in making wise decisions and enduring long hours.
“I had back-to-back 90-hour weeks in February when we had a lot of crazy situations happening in the city. So, you’re starting your day at six, seven in the morning and going past midnight. You can’t do that without working out and eating right. If I’m going to keep myself working with high energy as I do, I need to stay in shape.”
Law Man
Now in his second year as police chief, Ferrante admits that his sophomore year has already been much more hectic than his freshman year.
“I’ve probably had as many newsworthy situations in 2016, in just two and half months, which probably matches all of what I had last year,” he says.
Due to a possible transit strike that would have left 160,000 commuters stranded; the annual LepreCon Pub Crawl, which attracts hundreds of revelers; and a water main break that left the city without water, Ferrante has had to be on duty nearly every weekend thus far.
Working around the clock leaves little free time, so maintaining a healthy diet is difficult.
“With this position I should be the thinnest person in Hoboken,” he says. “The day is so busy it’s rare I get lunch. If I get lunch once during the week, it’s like, ‘Oh wow! I got to have lunch today,’ which isn’t good. So I live on Clif Bars during lunchtime that I keep in the office.”
Ferrante encourages his entire department to stay in shape. “There’s a physical component, especially being a young officer out in the street as a patrol officer. In a town that has 117 liquor establishments, you’re going to have bar fights and those types of situations where the better in shape you are and if you know how to use your body, the less mistakes you’re going to make,” Ferrante says.
Iron Man
At the gym, Ferrante is calculated and regimented, which he attributes to his athletic background. He wears a heart-rate monitor to track his pulse and plans his exercises the night before. Typically, he begins with weightlifting for strength training, 20 minutes of running on the treadmill for cardiovascular training, 15 minutes of jumping rope, and then a few core exercises such as sit-ups or push-ups, and finishes with 15 minutes of stretching to relax the muscles and prevent injury.
He did many of these exercises for strength training in football. He uses coaching techniques at the police department to keep his squad focused and united.
“A lot of the structure that I learned both playing and coaching, I bring to the work here,” he says. “I try to get that team mindset when my officers go out into the street, especially for a big day like LepreCon. You can’t be an individual on that day. You’ll get yourself hurt. It’s about watching out for each other, and it’s great to build that camaraderie, too. So I use a lot of the things I learned from football at work, and it’s worked great.”
With only 24 hours in a day, it amazing that Ferrante can find time to sleep.
“I’ve always been fortunate that I didn’t need a lot of sleep,” he says. “I’ve always been a good sleeper. I get my six hours, and I’m ready to rock and roll.”—07030