Hoboken To Restrict Some Blocks To Foot Traffic To Aid Businesses

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said Wednesday that when it's time for businesses to reopen in Hoboken, the city will close off certain blocks to vehicular traffic to allow the stores and cafes to expand outside.

The city will hold a pilot program in this regard on the weekend, on Jefferson Street — a street on the west side far from the waterfront — between Third and 11th streets.

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The idea is "to help create more space to promote social distancing," Bhalla wrote in a nightly coronavirus update. "This space will be closed to vehicular traffic on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., to provide pedestrians and cyclists room and alleviate potential overcrowding in other public spaces."

He added, "While we continue to advocate for residents to stay at home whenever practically possible, I recognize the mental health benefits of fresh air and outdoor space, and I’m confident this space will promote responsible outdoor activity. If this pilot is successful, we can repeat or expand it in the future. The Hoboken Police Department will be dedicating five Traffic Control Officers (TCOs) to Jefferson Street, to assist residents who need to access to their vehicles or enter their garages. Residents do not need to move their cars if they are parked on Jefferson Street."

Bhalla further explained:

<blockquote>

As a reference point, our Arts and Music Festival closes half of Washington Street for almost an entire day, which provides us with some ideas on how to move forward with this plan. More on this and additional business initiatives will be provided in the coming days and weeks....

Some have asked why we did not close Sinatra Drive to vehicular traffic, which is a very valid question. The answer is that we saw last weekend a higher than usual volume of traffic and we did not want to make our waterfront even more of a destination for those who don’t live in Hoboken. While I am 100 percent in favor of opening up Sinatra Drive during normal spring and summer days, as we did last year for the first time in years with “Sinatra Summer Streets”, I want to take extra precautions to ensure Sinatra Drive does not become a destination for non-residents and result in additional overcrowding.</blockquote>

Bhalla also said in the update that as of Wednesday, the Hoboken Health Department had reported an additional 16 confirmed COVID-19 cases, for a total of 525 known cases in the city. This total includes the five positive cases from last week’s door-to-door testing in one senior building, which were officially processed by Wednesday.

No new fatalities were reported from the Health Department to the city within the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 23 Hoboken residents have died who were confirmed to have had coronavirus.

In New Jersey, there were 8,549 fatalities as of Wednesday. A week ago, Gov. Phil Murphy said 460 New Jerseyans had been lost to the virus in 24 hours, an all-time high rate, or one person every three minutes. By Tuesday afternoon, the governor said there had been 334 deaths since the previous day, bringing the total up to 8,244 people.

Other updates:

NURSING HOMES

• The state said this week that they will start to tackle the spread of the virus in long-term care facilities, although residents have disputed the death toll numbers that the facilities have reported to the state. This week, the state they will make changes, including bringing the National Guard to some nursing homes to help supplement staff. In other states, the Guard was brought in to help clean and staff their facilities last month.
• The state presented an updated list of nursing home cases and deaths on Wednesday. See the list of facilities in Hudson County and other counties by clicking here.

SCHOOLS

• Hoboken schools have been closed since mid-March. This week, Gov. Phil Murphy said New Jersey schools will be closed for the rest of the year. He said he was not sure yet about day camps and day cares.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

• Hoboken Patch has published a simple Open-or-Closed Directory for local businesses during the coronavirus shut downs. Dozens of submissions have come in.
• The city started a map this week of businesses that are open and closed. Read more here.
• Here's what you need to know about applying for unemployment and other benefits during coronavirus. MORE.
• Read more about unemployment, small business, and other coronavirus regulations and benefits in New Jersey here.

GIVING AND GETTING HELP

• Here is an article on FLAG to help first responders. Front Line Appreciation Group
• The city can help with questions on testing, help with food and resources, and deliveries for seniors. See this story for more information.

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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