After Piece Of Hoboken School Building Falls, Corner Cordoned Off

HOBOKEN, NJ — After a section of concrete broke off from Hoboken Middle School — a building so old, Frank Sinatra once went there — over the weekend, a corner of Hoboken is being cordoned off Monday morning while workers prepare to make repairs.

A school official explained why there are barricades and warning tape near the building near Fourth Street.

A decorative piece of concrete fell from the exterior of the building Saturday morning, said Superintendent Christine Johnson. "No one was hurt and there was not impact to the inside of the building," she said.

Police and fire officials arrived to cordon the area off.

On Sunday, Johnson said, an engineer and other officials arrived. "Because this building is over 100 years old, it was determined that it would be best to remove all of the finials on the exterior of the building and fill them in to avoid this happening again," she said." This work is planned to be done over this coming long weekend [Presidents' Day weekend]."

In the meantime, school resource officers will be on hand Monday morning to ensure safety, and part of Fourth Street will be closed to traffic during morning dropoff so that students use a safe entrance.

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