Wednesday, March 9, 2011

St. Patrick's Day fiasco in Hoboken : city wants it both ways

For most people, the St. Patrick's Parade 2011 in Hoboken was a blast. The early-March weather held up beautifully and the vast majority of people who congregated in the Mile Square City had a wonderful time.
But then there's that "less than 1%" -- the knuckleheads who behave like they're remaking "Animal House". A couple of hundred summonses were issued for disorderly conduct; 2 sexual assaults were reported [one the evening before the parade and one the evening of]; there were a couple of fist-fights; and finally, members of the Hoboken Fire Department were the target of a potted plant hurled from an apartment window.
Couch Potato Cop is no stranger to public intoxication and disorderly conduct; as a police officer, I processed and finger-printed literally thousands of folks who didn't know "when to say when" and proceeded to commit acts ranging from drunk driving to assault.
I applaud Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer for taking a pro-active approach to the problem. Through various news agencies, the City of Hoboken made it known that drunken debauchery wouldn't be tolerated. A fine of $2000 seemed like enough of a deterrent.
Mayor Zimmer also suggested the idea of having the parade on a Wednesday, which would automatically reduce the public drunkenness -- as well as the attendance.
The merits of a schedule-shift will debated for the coming months.
However, the Hoboken city fathers have been partly culpable for sending a mixed message : if they want a strictly family-friendly event, then why, oh why, have bars open at 9 am ? By having first call at such an unusually early hour in the morning, a message is being sent to all the Frat Boys in the TriState that the party's right here on Washington Street. Drink early and drink often and we'll meet in the Emergency Room !
But the 9 am bar openings does have its seductive upsides: huge sums of cash are generated in dozens of 07030 watering holes -- not a small consideration in such a tough economy.
It seems disengenuos to, on one hand, invite people to spend a full day in a tavern and to spend as much money as possible and then ask them to not get drunk. You can't have it both ways.
The city of Hoboken and the organizers of the St.Patrick's Day parade have to make a clear choice: do they want the event to be a Mardi Gras-style Party Zone or a family-friendly event ?

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