HOBOKEN - Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Councilwoman Theresa Castellano hosted a meeting about the city's noise issues often caused by bar-goers and construction throughout the city.
Approximately 50 residents came to the City Council chambers for the community meeting on Wednesday night, with many residents coming from the same concentrated downtown area.
Many residents at the hearing live on First Street, the home of many bars. Bar owners were also in attendance, but the comments were mostly made by residents.
Zimmer said the city is in the process of organizing a system where residents can call one number to report loud noise violations.
Ann Holtzman, the city's zoning officer who was also present at the meeting, has been training city employees to enforce the city's new zoning ordinance. Previously, the city would call county officials to handle alleged noise violations. Under the new system, various police officers and parking utility officers will be among those qualified to handle noise violation complaints.
Zimmer also said that they are working toward having 24/7 shifts for the city's parking utility so they can support the police.
Many residents were critical of the job being done to handle noise violations, with some calling for more "boots on the ground" from the police force.
One resident who lives near 1st Street and Park Avenue said he lives in a building near a bar, and the children in the building don't sleep at night because of the noise. Other suggestions included closing bars earlier in Hoboken. They currently close at 3 a.m. After 2 a.m. on the weekends, patrons are not allowed to enter an establishment, essentially creating a one-way door.
Zimmer said the city is also in the process of establishing an alert system through which residents who file complaints can follow up with a tracking number to see that the problem has been resolved. The city will also begin to pinpoint troublesome areas for noise by compiling data from complaints.
The meeting on Wednesday evening was attended by at least three television crews, which seemed to surprise Zimmer, as it was seemingly just another community meeting in the city of Hoboken.
For much more on this meeting, make sure to keep reading HudsonReporter.com, and pick up a copy of The Hoboken Reporter this weekend.
What would you do to solve noise issues in Hoboken? Comment below. - Ray Smith
1) I rent an apartment on 1st St., less than 2 blocks from the nearest bar. My bedroom is on the corner. Even though I am on the 4th floor, I can hear the details of drunk people's cell phone conversations as late as 5 a.m. (when they stumble home from NYC bars). So I turn on a fan before I go to sleep. Problem solved. Even during St. Patty's Day festivities, when there were 3 parties in my building, my fan allowed me to take a nap.
2) If I chose to purchase real estate in Hoboken, especially with children in tow, I probably wouldn't do so in the middle of downtown Hoboken. I heard plenty of noise at 3 a.m. when I lived in midtown Hoboken, too, but not quite as much.
3) I enjoy patronizing Hoboken bars myself, and find that many more people leave at 2 than at 3. The effect of different departure times is less noise all at once. Closing the bars at 2 a.m., as some residents proposed, will have the opposite effect.
4) The noisemakers will probably be gone before the cops arrive to take your complaint.
5) However, the sirens on police cars every time you call them wakes everybody else up.
In conclusion, invest in some fans. Consider your neighbors when you call the police. If you don't like the noise, don't insert yourself in the middle of it. And stop complaining. If it weren't for so many profitable businesses in Hoboken, there would be fewer tax dollars to contribute to the lovely environment that is a much quieter, cleaner, and more affordable alternative to NYC. And isn't that why you moved here in the first place?