Hoboken Approves Memorial To Honor Victims Of Fires In 1970s/80s

HOBOKEN, N.J. — The Hoboken City Council approved, at its Dec. 18 meeting, a resolution to install a plaque to honor the memory of the victims of suspicious fires that occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the city was undergoing gentrification. Fifty-five residents died in the blazes, which occurred at a time when property owners were converting hundreds of buildings into condominiums.

While many termed the late-night fires "suspicious," no one was ever found guilty of setting the deadly blazes. A 1992 documentary called "Delivered Vacant" covered that period in Hoboken's history, but many newer residents don't realize the loss of life that occurred.

According to the city resolution, the plaque will be installed at Tom Olivieri Park (formerly Legion Park), a small park at Thirteenth Street and Willow Avenue that has a children's playground. Besides honoring the victims, it will honor Teofilio "Tom" Olivieri, who for many years served as a tenant advocate in City Hall.

Some attention was given to the tragedies recently from a Washington Post article called, "How gentrification caused American cities to burn" that chronicled a "Hoboken arson wave" from 1978 to 1983.

Longtime Hoboken resident Rose Orozco, a retired nurse who sits on the city's Rent Leveling Board, founded the Hoboken Fire Victims Memorial Project in 2018 so that the tragedies would not be forgotten.

An article written by members of the project earlier this year said, "The vast majority of the victims were Hispanic women and children. In one arson incident alone, on January 2, 1979, 21 people died at 131 Clinton St. Sadly, numerous fire victims were not named in news accounts at the time. There has been no official recognition or remembrance in the mile-square city for the horrific loss of life and the anguish Hoboken residents suffered. In their place, new residents moved into refurbished condos having no idea what occurred at an old tenement building before their arrival."

The group updates its Facebook page here.