Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade Date Not Yet Set

It's still uncertain on what day the annual Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade will be held this year.

While Mayor Dawn Zimmer has announced she thinks the parade day should be moved from Saturday to Wednesday, the parade committee has indicated it still wants to annual event on a Saturday.

In a letter to the committee's Chairwoman, Helen Cunning, Zimmer wrote she stands by her decision to move the parade.

The parade is planned and proposed by the committee, but the city has to approve the date in order for it to happen.

"I believe that the public safety concerns pose too much of a threat to our community," Zimmer wrote. In the letter, the mayor asked Cunning to organize the parade on a Wednesday.

Hoboken's parade is traditionally held on the first Saturday in March, the first in the state. A large crowd of drunken visitors, however, has cast a shadow over the parade in recent past. —among other crimes—the mayor said she wants to move the parade to a Wednesday to increase public safety.

"I know that this is disappointing to you and the parade committee," Zimmer wrote, "but please understand that I need to do what is necessary to keep our community safe."