Community Corner

Hoboken's St. Patrick's Day Parade Cancelled

The parade committee announced this in a letter on its website.

The 26th annual Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade has been cancelled. 

The parade committee announced its decision in a letter on Friday morning, putting the responsibility for the decision in the city's hands. 

"The City of Hoboken’s inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants led us to this heartbreaking decision," the letter stated. 

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the past several years, the annual parade has been happening in a shadow of , with bars opening early in the morning and house parties getting out of control, leading to multiple arrests every year. Every year, the entire police corps is on duty, leading to high overtime costs for the city. 

Before the parade starts around noon on the first—almost always sunny—Saturday in March, the committee

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When, the mayor decided she would only allow . Traditionally, the parade has been held on the first Saturday in March, the first of the state. 

But for the committee, which celebrates its Irish heritage and honors members of its community on St. Patrick's Day, marching on a weekday was not-negotiable.

"There are many opinions on this topic and many who will be surprised by our decision. We chose not to go to court and not to continue to negotiate over the heavy-handedness of one person," the letter stated. "The idea of marching in a parade, in the dark, on a week night, is as insulting as it is unreasonable."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here