Eighteen Arrested on LepreCon, Summonses and Calls for Service Down Since Last Year
The crowds were mostly concentrated downtown this year, officials have said.
Hoboken Police arrested 18 people on Saturday during the annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations, the same as during last year's LepreCon.
The city issued 82 summonses on Saturday, according to numbers provided by City Spokesman Juan Melli. Last year, 92 summonses were issued.
The Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps went on 49 LepreCon related runs between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturday, said HVAC President Thomas Molta. All 70 members of the ambulance corps worked on Saturday at some point in the day, Molta said, and a total of seven ambulances — four from Hoboken and three with the help of Moonachie, Ridgefield Park and McCabe — were in service.
While he didn't have the number of calls for service after 11 p.m. yet, Molta said the total would probably be close to 60.
Last year the HVAC responded to a total of 65 calls. In 2011 — the last year with a parade — the ambulance corps responded to 139 calls.
While the event seemed about the same as last year, Molta said the revelers seemed to get a later start this time around.
"It was a later crowd," Molta said. "Last year it started early in the morning."
Last year, Molta said, things were back to normal around 8 p.m. This year, that wasn't true and the majority of the calls came in after dark.
Both police and Molta agreed that the event was easier contained than in previous years. First Street, Hudson Place and downtown Washington Street was full of green-colored, seemingly intoxicated bar goers on Saturday, while uptown and the west side of town were much quieter than in previous years.
"It was really only between the PATH and Sixth Street," Molta said. The fact that the area was concentrated meant that ambulances could respond quicker.
The majority of the calls involved intoxicated individuals who were "drop down drunk," Molta said.
The same trend was seen with the arrests on Saturday. The majority of the incidents happened in the late afternoon, evening and night, according to police reports and the Hoboken Police Department's arrest log.
Some house parties were broken up on Saturday, but fewer than last year, police said.
Incidents throughout the day included intoxicated people resisting arrest, damage to private property, criminal mischief, obstruction of law and simple assaults.
The arrests related to LepreCon on Saturday almost all involved visitors from other towns, most of the people arrested were male and in their mid-twenties, according to the police reports.
The Fire Department checked bars and cited three establishments for overcrowding: The Madison, Tutta Pasta and The Village Pourhouse, according to the city.
j
2:55 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
The Patch really needs to figure out the definition of "breaking" news.
Bob
4:37 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
While that may sound great about the numbers how about the cost to the city with the extra police from out of town and the overtime of our local police, not to mention the cost of the Mr Johns. Bring back the parade, if the cost is going to be the same.
DaHorsey, SmartyJones of MSV
9:37 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
We did get a butt naked woman at this year's Lepercon. Pix, story:
http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2013/03/sign-of-times-lepercon-craziness-how.html
Extra police, no, not so much. It was lowered from 2012.
FAP
4:37 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
J, you gets what you pays for.
Rockin Out With My
5:11 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
^ fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap
Steve Sternberg
4:37 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
I think rather than focus on the few arrests that took place, perhaps an article on the new trend of having charity bake sales throughout Hoboken (began by my son last year), would be a more uplifting (and newsworthy) take on Lepre-Con. He raised $1,000 in 5 hours, selling cupcakes and brownies for $2 apiece. All yuou need do is look at my blog on this site for some of the details.
PeoplePlease
3:06 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
THUS MY POINT!! This day can be good for Hoboken.
Steve, unfortunately, our mayor is far from a business woman. It is evident through her back to back "Year of The Park" theme, when the rest of NJ and NYC are pushing business recovery.
Hoboken did its best by trying to play the "feel good card", posting a few pictures of the bake sales. But the majority of us in Hoboken know that our Mayor has no handle on how to foster and grow small business in our town.
Congrats to your son for showing her the way.
Thomas Forrest Ritter
10:08 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Steve, it is advisable to do your PR outreach to the local press BEFORE you have your bake-sale next time. I'm not sure they should replace this article with something about your son. Many people care how the events of Saturday were to affect crime rates. It is an ongoing discussion among residents.
I have no idea what PeoplePlease is rambling about. But thanks for that. "Our mayor is far from a businesswoman." Why? Because she has not gone to prison like our last mayor? Or like Mayor/Felon "Fat Tony" Anthony Russo, who still owes the city stolen money. Or his wife who skimmed $5 a tow for years. Or Michael Russo who accepted a bribe on video. Or Beth Mason who literally refuses to show up and do her job until a judge orders her to act like a lady. I suppose that is the business you are in. People, please!
HobokenTownie
1:01 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Me Me Me Me - I am going to talk about my son blocking a sidewalk, obstructing it and preventing pedestrians from passing. Did you get the permission of all your neighbors before you decided to set up shop in front of your building? If not, seems somewhat obnoxious.
lemny bute
9:37 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
what did he raise $1,000 for Steve?
cassandra
9:37 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Just received a notice from the city pushing its Irish festival. Don't you think we should have Black, Italian, Jewish and Puerto Rican festivals too? What about other cultures?. Sounds discriminatory to me. The notice read;
Community: City of Hoboken Invites Community to 2nd Annual Irish Cultural Festival - March 13, 3-10pm, Sinatra Park
puzzledone
12:42 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Are you really that cynical?
The Hoboken Italian Festival was September 6th-9th last year. St. Ann's festival which is a bit of a Catholic thing is kinda a thing around here too. As for Jewish, I believe that USH closes down the street on Simchas Torah. For Puerto Rican, there's a parade in NYC, I don't believe we have one in Hoboken, but there is a big one in NYC. Black History month: http://www.netsdaily.com/2013/2/25/4029086/tyshawn-taylor-honored-by-hoboken-for-service-to-citys-youth
QJ201
12:42 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Then why don't you start a committee to hold those festivals smart ass
demosthenes
12:42 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
We have several Italian and Hispanic festivals as I'm sure you know. Perhaps you are right that we should have an African American and a Jewish one as well. I certainly would love to attend.
Maybe you should come to the Mayor's office hours next time and make that suggestion. Or better yet - I'm sure she'll be at the Irish Festival. Maybe you could make the suggestion to her then.
Or maybe we should get rid of all the fun festivals and just have a parade and drunkfest for each culture celebrating the ability of the bars to exploit all cultures by profiting from each at the expense of our residents.
Scott M. Siegel
2:02 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
We do have 2 Italian festivals, there is also a Puerto Rican Festival on Pier A and the Hoboken Synagogue on Park closes the street for Purim every year. There is also a Health Fair every year at the Housing Authority. Hoboken also has a Frank Raia party and 2 Arts and Music Festivals every year. We have 75,000 visitors annually for something known as the July 4th, an annual spaghetti dinner and several wonderful block parties. The Red Bulls offer a program at Pier A for special needs children. The Hoboken Historical Museum has garlic and tomato festivals as well as a Ragamuffin and a pet parade. Under Mayor Zimmer we have added cultural concerts like the NJ Symphony and Mumford and Sons.Throw a party for yourself Cassandra, I'm sure your Old Guard friends will show up.
Steve Sternberg
12:42 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
He raised $1000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Scott M. Siegel
2:02 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Give him my congratulations Steve.
David A. Liebler
12:42 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Claire.....How much did it cost the city for the extra police?
How much did it cost for the porto potties?
How much revenue will come in for $2000 tickets?
How much did the hospitality community contribute?
HudsonStreet
2:02 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
How much additional profits did the bar owners make ?
PeoplePlease
3:25 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Commie! Commie! ^^^^
Mr.budget
9:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Scott, you no longer live here, give it up buddy
PeoplePlease
3:25 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Parades and "Drunk Fests" are they ways Irish-American's celebrate St Patrick's Day. It is a celebration of being Irish...thus the parades and libations. In Ireland it is celebrated more as a religious observance, however the last time I was in Dublin...the city was gearing up for a few March 17 parades and street fairs.
Google any decent sized town in Ireland and you will see that they hold a parade.
Here is one I attended...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEBGULAUVE0
So before anyone who is a "Hipster Irishman" speaks about parades and drinking being derogatory to St Patrick's Day...do some research and get over your paddy self.
KenOn10
1:01 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Scott,
I'm not buying that spin, no matter how many times it is spun.
The mayor "asked" for the parade to be on Wednesday night, but it was hardly a request, and her action effectively canceled the parade. Wednesday night is inconvenient for participants and attendees alike. It's after dark and it's colder. Nobody wants this.... except the people that want no parade.
Scott M. Siegel
7:50 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Ken I know no one who is against a beautiful and festive parade. I do know many people that oppose the drunken debauchery that occurs before and after. The Mayor proposed a reasonable alternative. I'm sure if the parade committee offered their reasonable alternative dialog may have provided a solution. But, by saying no the committee doomed the parade.
KenOn10
12:43 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Scott,
The mayor insisted on Wednesday night and that is NOT a reasonable alternative. Do you know of any other weeknight parade in early March?
As for non-public negotiations, I don't care to speculate on what might or might not have happened. Your surety on the subject is not convincing.
The truth is the parade is gone because of the mayor's actions. your denials are just political games, no more believable than Councilman $40 "supporting" the parade.
CCL
4:36 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Here's a letter to the Editor from NJ.com
Dear Editor,
Amidst Lepre-Con, I just jogged the length and back of
Hoboken encountering perhaps a thousand of the green-clad, rowdy, drunk,
foul-mouthed, pub-crawling young people, littering the sidewalks with beer
cans and bottles. Evidently, this behavior is acceptable to Mayor Dawn
Zimmer. But the good, Catholic families and their friends cannot march on
Washington Street on a Saturday or Sunday to celebrate St. Patrick for the
second year in a row. There is a solution. The six vehicle entrances,
ferry, light rail and PATH to Hoboken are easily controlled. Let's deploy
all the public safety personnel at these locations and turn back any one wearing
something green. And if they somehow get through, corral them and send
them out of town. Then, we can hold the St. Patrick's Parade with no
problems. It's odd how Zimmer can ban the peaceful parade and allow
the raucous one.
puzzledone
9:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Not only is this thinly veiled attack ad stupid and completely unfeasible, (and I think probably illegal to not allow people into a town for wearing green), why shouldn't he call out to the bar owners to do what they can to stop the debauchery to allow the parade to go on undisturbed?
Scott M. Siegel
9:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Mayor Zimmer NEVER banned the parade. She asked for it to occur on a different day. The parade committee said no, talk to them please.
Ojo Rojo
9:44 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Now this is an all around silly idea. Not only that but it is an idea that will guarantee the city gets sued and it will most likely lose. You can't closed down every entrance to town and deny entry to law abiding citizens b/c they are wearing green. This isn't the Soviet Union.
cassandra
9:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
True, there are other festivals in town; However the only ones that I get messages from the city inviting me to is the new Irish festival. I don't recall any of the ethnic festivals mentioned above having invitations from the city government.
Scott M. Siegel
9:39 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Funny I get 2 messages a year on the Art's and Music Festival and the Health Fair in addition to Irish event. I also get emailed Movies Under the Stars, Shakespeare plays, etc. The website is for Hoboken sponsored events, it is not meant to be a community bulletin board. Here's a link for you non city sponsored events. I find it quite useful:
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/
FrankieSaid
9:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
.
FrankieSaid
9:45 am on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
This Mayor is so backwards. The parade she needs to most concern herself with is that of the good, law-biding, tax paying residents of her city moving out.
Hoboken today is no where near as safe or nice as it has been in past years and that has nothing to do with Superstorm Sandy. It was in a decline long long before Sandy.
Scott M. Siegel
7:50 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Gotcha Ken. Find me one person in Hoboken who doesn't want a parade and I'll concede to you. Not gonna find it. Unlike you I think most people oppose rapes, vandalism, throwing objects at firemen, spitting on police and vomiting all over. That is the issue Ken.
KenOn10
4:37 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Scott, Oh please! My reply was to your statement that the mayor never banned the parade and that the parade committee was to blame. I consider that a bit dishonest, as the mayors actions caused the parade not to happen. You could say the parade committee canceled the Wednesday-after-dark parade... which was
probably a shame for the three people who were going to attend.
Unlike you, I think it is possible to have a parade and limit the accompanying bad behavior. In the daytime, on the weekend. Instead of trying some of the proposals that might work (on Sunday? on Pier A?, whatever) we have no parade.... and the drunks are still here. We threw out the baby and kept the bath!
This may be hard for you to fathom but I disagree with the mayor's decision this one time.
Scott M. Siegel
4:37 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Ken do you know any city that kept a parade going after 2 rapes?
Jabberwock
11:34 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Scott: I think you are sensationalizing. I was looking at some Hoboken data d that indicated 5 rapes were reported in Hoboken in 2012 - does that mean we should shut down the town? Obviously we don't want to create situations where violent crime of any sort is more likely to happen and there are plenty of reasons why people wanted the parade cancelled (I'm actually not one of them.) But, sensationalizing the reasons for the cancellation is a cheap tactic. By the way, if you want to know of a city that keeps a parade after 2 (or more) rapes are reported - just google New Orleans + rape and you'll have your answer.
Scott M. Siegel
11:34 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Ken Pier A give me a break. You cannot under the Constitution bans people from peaceful assembly to go where they wish to go. I already said I would favor trying a Sunday parade, if the committee offered it and the mayor said no, I would support the committee. They offered zero alternatives and that is why I blame them. A 5=6 pm parade would be done during daylight, remember daylight savings starts next week.
MadisonMonroe
11:34 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Mr. Siegel, do you realize you are accusing the Cunning family and their compatriots of condoning rape because they want to continue holding parades?
And would you please provide any information you have on the outcome of those two alleged sexual assaults that weekend? At the time, the Mayor said the city "will continue its communication with the Prosecutor's office to monitor developments in these cases." That was two years ago and I can't find any link to a story or press release from her office that details a trial, conviction or even an arrest or indictment. Care to share the information you have?
The New York Times wrote about Hoboken on 3/11/11: "Details about the reported sexual assaults were scant. In one instance, a woman did not want to proceed with an investigation although she “was alleging a sexual impropriety took place,” a prosecutor, Debra Simon, said in an interview. In the second case, a woman in her early 20s told investigators she was raped on Saturday afternoon, Ms. Simon said."
As to your specific question, there were 1,449 reported rapes in New York City last year, about half the number reported in 1990. Yet that city continues to hold its parade despite several reported rapes, on average, on parade day every year.
Rape is a serious charge to throw around. Mr. Siegel, you should be more careful before you spread your smears about good people who run an excellent parade.
Scott M. Siegel
5:23 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
In NYC there are crimes that occur every day. For example they had 414 murders and 1,353 shootings in 2012. How many did Hoboken have? I was not talking about a large city. Perhaps I should have been more specific. But I do believe that those who want to keep the parade on Saturday are in effect condoning extreme violence. You can't one without the other. Something different must to done and while I don't agree completely with Mayor Zimmer I do applaud her efforts to safeguard young women and our public safety personnel. I also condemn the parade committee as a whole (not personally) for being obstinate in the face of debauchery.
Mr.budget
12:34 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
I believe, those two so called rapes did not pan out to be