UPDATED What's Reopening This Week In Hoboken

HOBOKEN, NJ — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy last week announced that playgrounds and amusement parks could reopen statewide Thursday. Malls, such as Jersey City's Newport Centre Mall, Bergen County's Paramus Park Mall, and the Short Hills Mall, were allowed to open Monday (check the mall websites to be sure of hours and dates). Newport's website said it was open, as of Monday.

While states like Texas and Florida have had to re-close certain businesses and facilities in the last week due to record-topping coronavirus spikes — the governor of Texas ordered all bars to close there on Friday — the numbers are still declining in New Jersey, for now.

On Friday, Gov. Murphy announced 524 additional coronavirus cases and 44 more deaths in the previous 24 hours, bringing the totals statewide to 170,584 cases and 13,060 confirmed deaths.

The virus is clearly still spreading, but new cases have declined steadily since the state's most deadly day, April 30, when 460 New Jerseyans had been lost to the virus in 24 hours, or one person every three minutes.

Murphy has said that facilities and businesses in the state must reopen carefully, in phases, to prevent spikes like in other states that reopened earlier.

Dining and playgrounds in Hoboken

In Hoboken, where the city hasn't had a new coronavirus death since May, more than 50 of the city's restaurants began outdoor dining on June 15, including "streateries" on streets or sidewalks (see photo above).

Mayor Ravi Bhalla's spokesman, Vijay Chaudhury, confirmed on Friday that playgrounds will open this Thursday, after being shut since March 14.

But what of indoor dining?

Indoor dining originally was set to open this coming Thursday at 25 percent capacity, but Gov. Phil Murphy walked back that allowance on Monday, saying crowded bar/restaurants were helping spread the virus. Thus, indoor dining is postponed.

Some restaurateurs in North Jersey said last week that they were not ready to open indoors just yet, anyway.

But local business owners and members of business organizations said Friday that they were excited for other reopenings.

Hoboken businesses respond

Hoboken Business Alliance President Gregory Dell'Aquila said on Friday, "Walking around Hoboken, it’s encouraging to see ‘we’re open’ signs lining the streets again. The Hoboken Business Alliance is focused on creating new opportunities and unique ways to attract residents and visitors to safely shop, eat and enjoy Hoboken ... following mask guidelines and safety protocols."

Bob Zuckerman, who is president of Downtown New Jersey and the executive director of Downtown Westfield, said, “We are thrilled to see our businesses opening up again. We handled COVID-19 the right way here in New Jersey by using data and science to drive our decision-making. While it’s been a rough few months for many of our businesses, we couldn’t be happier that most of them are getting back on their feet, and we will continue to do everything we can to help them survive and thrive.”

Last week, salons were allowed to reopen, but not all did so on the first day. For instance, Drybar blow-dry bars in Hoboken and Summit opened on Saturday.

"We missed our community of clients and staff," said Chief Retail Officer Courtney Gruber, "but we're excited to be reopening our doors this week. We're taking very strict precautions, having developed new shop protocols with guidance from the CDC and healthcare professionals. These new protocols include temperature checks, six feet between washing and drying stations, masks required to be worn by all clients and staff."

What about July 4 events?

Click here to see what's going on locally, including a Macy's fireworks update.

What about the malls?

The Simon company has been posting updates on its mall websites, like this one for Newport Centre, about the stores at the mall reopening. Check the website for updates.

Paramus Park Mall in Paramus said it will reopen Monday.

The Short Hills Mall said it will open starting Monday, within guidelines.

Some malls in New Jersey have said that children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Here are other Hoboken business updates:

• Kings supermarkets updated residents on their sanitizing procedures and on an employee who tested positive last month. READ MORE.
• First Street was reserved for pedestrians and shoppers on Sunday. READ MORE.

• Two of the city's weekly farmers' markets reopened this month. READ MORE.
• The city and Patch both have directories of businesses that are open and closed. Check it out and add your listing. READ MORE.
• The city will be closing off certain blocks for businesses to expand and draw foot traffic. READ MORE.
• 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.

Hoboken statistics

After a period in which Hoboken had only one new coronavirus case in a week, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in two updates last week — one Monday and one Thursday morning— that there had been 16 new cases reported in the last week. The total confirmed cases is 588.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy said residents coming to New Jersey from states with high rates should get tested and must quarantine.

Hoboken announced its most fatalities in one day on April 8, with four announced that day.

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