Domestic Violence, 2 Public Urinators, And More: Hoboken LepreCon 2024 Wrap-Up

HOBOKEN, NJ — With police patrols increased and more than an inch of rain falling Saturday, the LepreCon bar crawls that kicked off in Hoboken didn't result in any more arrests than a usual weekend in the city, police spokeswoman Marci Rubin said Monday.

(PHOTOS: Rain Floods Hoboken Corners; More On The Way This Week)

For a 16-hour period from 12 p.m. March through 4 a.m. Sunday morning, here are all the police incidents released (not exclusive to bar crawl events):

Police calls for service: 104

• Arrests: 5: One domestic violence, 2 DWI, 1 disorderly conduct, 1 possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Special Summons Complaints: 4: One Alcohol Beverage Control Board violation, 2 urinating in public, 1 defiant trespass)
• Motor Vehicle Summons: 22
• Fire code violations: 0
• EMS calls for service: 22 (13 were bar crawl related, the city said)

Rubin said the numbers were consistent with an "average" weekend in Hoboken.

City officials have said in the past few years that the once notorious events have calmed down, in part due to publicity about fines and enforcement.

Various St. Patrick's-themed bar craws are still planned for the next two weekends in March.

• See a photo gallery from SantaCon this past December, including the racy holiday t-shirts.
• See photos of the last LepreCon before the pandemic lockdown here.

Origin Story

The crawls ramped up in 2012 after Hoboken's independent St. Patrick's Parade Committee — a decades-old group that was not a part of city government — posted a letter on its website saying it would cancel the 26th annual parade that year.

They had traditionally held the family-friendly parade the first Saturday in March to secure the best bands. But as more young people partied in Hoboken, and held house parties on the same day as the parade, then-Mayor Dawn Zimmer suggested the event be held on a weeknight instead of Saturday.

The organizers said no, and independent entrepreneurs swooped in to fill the void.

Each year, they held St. Patrick's-themed and "LepreCon" bar crawls on the first Saturday.

In recent years, public safety officials have said that the events, including SantaCon in December, are more "subdued" due to police enforcement and publicizing of fines.

“The annual unsanctioned bar crawl events on the first weekend in March continue to have substantially reduced participation and are now tame events, compared to years past," said Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla last year.

Meanwhile, after posting a survey about whether to bring back to the parade last year, a local business group sent a float through the streets.