Hoboken Takes On The Heat

Back in the days when 78-year-old Millie Tirone was a kid growing up in Hoboken, she says it wasn't hard to escape 100ºF temperatures.

"Oh, it was fun," she says. "When it got like this, we'd all get our bathing suits on and go right down to the fire house, and they'd open up the pumps." Even after the firemen stopped spraying, she says she recalls them leaving the hydrants open at night for kids to play in.

But that was then. Today—with temperatures hovering around 99ºF—in an age when water restrictions and environmental laws would never allow a fire department to freely spray neighborhood kids, residents have to find other ways to cool off. 

Tuesday afternoon, the most popular way to do so seemed to be visiting the water park on the corner of 3rd and Madison Streets. Jubilee Center volunteers brought a group of about 15 children to play in the fountains and other water-filled contraptions.

"They had so much fun," said Elizabeth Massol. "They love it here. It's a good way to get out of the heat." The kids splish-splashed their way around for about three hours before calling it quits.

Sisters Kareema and Brittney Wheeler brought their toddlers to the park. They were just as soaked as the rest of the group.

"It's fun for the kids. It's the best place to be on a day like this," Brittney Wheeler said.

At the dry parks, the usual crowds were nowhere in sight. John Infante and son Carter, 2, where the only two braving the heat to play on the swings at Church Square Park, but they didn't last too long.

"It's hard sitting inside with the little guy, so we thought we'd give the park a shot," Infante said. "But we lasted about five minutes." They started the day in the Pier A fountain, but Carter is still a bit weary of the shooting water.

While it is easy for kids to throw on bathing suits and run through the many fountains throughout town, escaping the heat is more difficult for adults, especially for senior citizens. The city set up two cooling centers—one at Wallace School, located at 1100 Willow Avenue, the other at Adams Gardens, located at 220 Adams Street—where residents could go to enjoy air conditioning and cool off.

According to City Spokesman Juan Melli, the Hoboken Housing Authority also opened all of the community rooms for residents to keep cool.

If you didn't see the release or check the city's website, though, there was no obvious way of knowing the center's were open to the public, or of knowing they were there at all. There were no signs on the doors or directions towards the centers. Police were stationed at each location, but they were quick to admit they thought there should be a better way of getting the word out.

By 2 p.m., Wallace security guard Bob Garrick said no residents had come in looking to cool off. Which would have been hard, considering that the air conditioning in the building was broken, according to Garrick.  

"They're working on it now, it should be ready any minute now," Garrick said. "It was working yesterday, it was really cold yesterday, but when they came in at 11 a.m. it wasn't working."

The system was working again by 3:30 p.m.

At the Adams Street cooling center, residents of the building said they had no idea it was set up for the public. Regardless, they were glad to be sitting in the air conditioning.

"It's too hot out," said resident Cynthia Ramirez. "I haven't been outside, and I have no plans of going out there."

Fellow resident Tirone said she wouldn't be leaving if it weren't for her dentist appointment.

"I think this heat is terrible," the lifelong Hobokenite said. "It's murder. You can't breath, it just puts you at a standstill."

Tirone said she has air conditioning, but "sometimes it feels like it's not even enough."

In front of Carlo's Bakery, three people passed out because of the heat and were treated by Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps personnel. The Office of Emergency Management provided the dozens of people in line with (temporary) fans. 

Despite the heat, and the desire to stay in the air conditioning all day, life goes on. Those with the hardest jobs to carry out in hot temperatures, such as postal worker Lillian Rivera, found ways to ease the stress a bit.

"It's very hot," she said, "but the job has to be done. I came out at my regular time, but we have frozen water bottles and little wash clothes that we can wet and put around our necks. We've worked in these temperatures before, so we have a routine. But yes, it is very hot."

Meanwhile, Hoboken's kids played the afternoon away. Five-year-old Ava Park wasn't interested in jumping in the Church Square Fountain, but she says she was happy to "sit in the shade and drink my juice." She had her bathing suit, but didn't feel like putting it on.

"I dipped my face in the fountain," Park said.

She was also waiting for that one thing that makes the heatwave bearable. "I'm waiting for the ice cream man," she said, "cause it's the perfect day for ice cream."