With several popular Hoboken bars closed, only four people were arrested and crime statistics dropped significantly at the annual St. Patrick’s Day-themed Leprecon bar crawl.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante, who live tweets police activity during Santacon and Leprecon, was uncharacteristically quiet on social media yesterday before releasing a number of crime statistics this morning.
Ferrante tweeted that the department responded to 386 calls for service, down from 488 in 2017, 23 people were transported to hospital, as opposed to 28 last year, and only four arrests – 11 people were charged criminally last year.
Additionally, city ordinances summonses were up slightly, 37 compared to 31, which the chief attributed to “not having officers tied up on arrests and handling brawls.”
Furthermore, there were no reports of sexual assault of criminal sexual contact and no officers were injured.
The most notable incident came when a 25-year-old Bound Brook man jumped into the Hudson River from Pier C as the result of a drunken dare, Ferrante said. He was rescued safely and issued two summons for his actions.
Furthermore, Ferrante commended his officers, as well as the assistance the city received from the North Bergen, Union City, Secaucus, Stevens, NJ Transit and Port Authority Police Departments, as well as the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The largely subdued event is not much of a surprise, given that the Hoboken Alcoholic Beverage Control Board suspended five liquor licenses late last month, including 1Republik permanently losing their liquor license.
Additionally, Black Bear Bar & Grill and Tally Ho decided to close voluntarily.
