HOBOKEN – Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Councilwoman Theresa Castellano hosted a meeting about the city’s noise issues often caused by bar-goers and construction throughout the city.
Approximately 50 residents came to the City Council chambers for the community meeting on Wednesday night, with many residents coming from the same concentrated downtown area.
Many residents at the hearing live on First Street, the home of many bars. Bar owners were also in attendance, but the comments were mostly made by residents.
Zimmer said the city is in the process of organizing a system where residents can call one number to report loud noise violations.
Ann Holtzman, the city’s zoning officer who was also present at the meeting, has been training city employees to enforce the city’s new zoning ordinance. Previously, the city would call county officials to handle alleged noise violations. Under the new system, various police officers and parking utility officers will be among those qualified to handle noise violation complaints.
Zimmer also said that they are working toward having 24/7 shifts for the city’s parking utility so they can support the police.
Many residents were critical of the job being done to handle noise violations, with some calling for more “boots on the ground” from the police force.
One resident who lives near 1st Street and Park Avenue said he lives in a building near a bar, and the children in the building don’t sleep at night because of the noise. Other suggestions included closing bars earlier in Hoboken. They currently close at 3 a.m. After 2 a.m. on the weekends, patrons are not allowed to enter an establishment, essentially creating a one-way door.
Zimmer said the city is also in the process of establishing an alert system through which residents who file complaints can follow up with a tracking number to see that the problem has been resolved. The city will also begin to pinpoint troublesome areas for noise by compiling data from complaints.
The meeting on Wednesday evening was attended by at least three television crews, which seemed to surprise Zimmer, as it was seemingly just another community meeting in the city of Hoboken.
For much more on this meeting, make sure to keep reading HudsonReporter.com, and pick up a copy of The Hoboken Reporter this weekend.
What would you do to solve noise issues in Hoboken? Comment below. – Ray Smith
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