Hoboken LepreCon? More Like LepreGone

HOBOKEN, NJ — After Hoboken dealt with a water main break last week and the city asked for a "responsible" bar crawl to be canceled on Saturday, the other independently run bar crawl last weekend — known as "LepreCon" — was subdued compared to past years, officials said.

Three more St. Patrick's-themed bar crawls are planned by independent organizers (not the city) for the next two weekends.

Hoboken released public safety statistics for the past weekend.

"Those statistics show a significant reduction in emergency calls when compared to previous years," said Hoboken's public safety spokesperson.

Calls to police during the hours of the crawl were down by more than half, police said. Arrests were down from six in 2020 (see photos of that crawl here) to two.

“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.

He added, "I am greatly appreciative to our public safety officers who worked hard to ensure the safety of our city throughout the weekend, as well as our residents who refused to participate in an event that has previously caused mayhem."

The Hoboken Business Alliance also hosted a family-friendly float and entertainment Saturday afternoon.

"I'd like to thank the hard-working members of the police and fire departments, the Office of Emergency Management, and the members of Hoboken EMS and Volunteer ambulance corps for being at the ready," Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante said. "I am relieved to report that the number of calls, complaints and arrests were significantly lower than this weekend in years past."

A separate, "responsible" bar crawl incorporating other restaurants and businesses was called off for that day, after Bhalla asked business owners not to run it.

However, Hoboken's business owners have often said that special events help them stay in business through slower months.

A "Shamrock Stroll" and two other crawls are still planned by some bars for the next two weekends, but they start at noon or after, unlike the 10 a.m. LepreCon.

Read more about LepreCon and why it started here.