City Still Working on Plan to Control Hoboken St. Patrick's Day

Bar and restaurant owners as well as city officials are unsure what to expect on March 3, the day of the—now canceled—St. Patrick's Day Parade. 

The city council on Wednesday night tried to introduce a measure that would prevent establishments from serving alcohol before 11 a.m. on that day, but the resolution was tabled after about an hour of discussion. 

Currently, bars and restaurants—and other establishments that hold a liquor license—can start serving alcohol as early as 6 a.m. 

The resolution was an attempt to curtail out of control drinking and crime on March 3.

Still, the council agreed, the main problem on Hoboken's St. Patrick's Day—which now has been renamed LepreCon—are the house parties thrown by residents and the many out of towners who come to Hoboken. 

"What are we doing to curtail house parties? What is being done?" asked Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo. "Those are the things we really need to know."

In previous years, the entire police force has been on duty on Hoboken St. Patrick's Day. 

The idea to open bars at 11 a.m., said Public Safety Director John Tooke, "is a marginal small piece of a big puzzle." But, he added, "opening a little later might (help) a little bit. And I’ll take every little bit I can get."

"It’s not going to have a marginal impact on the businesses," said Councilman-at-Large David Mello, "I don’t think the bars add to the problem. I think, if anything, they minimize it."

Many council members said they felt uncomfortable telling bar and restaurant owners when to open their doors and start serving liquor. 

Eugene Flinn, who owns Amanda's Restaurant and Elysian Cafe, said bar and restaurant owners are happy to work with the city.

"We want to cooperate," he said on Wednesday night. He added that he requested a meeting with the mayor to discuss the issue. "We didn't need this resolution," Flinn said.