Sex, Peeing, Drunken Antics at Hoboken St. Patty's Parade

Hoboken Public Safety Director Bill Bergin is so fed up with the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade that he wants to cancel next year's parade. He described the chaos on Saturday to Hoboken Now, "On Washingtion Street, bottles were thrown onto the people below. A girl and a guy were performing sex in a window when the parade was going by. One person spit in the face of a fireman. There were young, young girls that were blind drunk standing in the middle of the streets, so drunk that they didn't know where they were." And don't forget people were also urinating from rooftops—apparently most of disturbances were not bars but from "house parties." Hoboken mayor David Roberts and other officials will be discussing the parade and its future. Bergin said, "People talk about how much money the city makes from the parade. But if four or five people go falling off one of these roofs, there's no way to make up for this with fines."

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By Jen Chung in News on March 9, 2009 10:33 AM

Comments [rss]

MurphGuide

Classic example of a few thousand drunks ruining it for everybody else.

Bozack

Plastic paddies. "My great,great, great, great grandfather was part Irish, bro.... lemme put on a green afro wig."

FECK OFF!!!!!

NannyState

St. Patrick drained the snakes, didnt he?

Snoopy

I'll be wearing of the green. Green is also part of the Italian flag and the two flags be a similar.

Life is too short not to be Italian.

openheads

Ummmmmm...............

Jersey Cityist

The Jersey City St. Patrick's parade is pretty tame and orderly.

(Knock on wood).

The Jersey City police in past years have looked the other way to people drinking beer in public discretely, and the bars provide plastic cups to bring your beer outside. I haven't seen anyone get really drunk or throw up even.

Gentrifier

Irish-Americans Gear Up For the "Reinforcin' O' The Stereotypes"

(An oldie, but a goodie.)

Snoopy

St. Patrick's Day is not a singular day, it's a way of life for many. It just so happens that its special focus day tends to be March 17. Erin go Braless! Sure I'll have anotha pint of Guiness mate.

JacqueMehoff

you mean there's another parade like this one in Jersey City this weekend?

it's like chemo cycle. recover, then do it again.

gothamistgal

Perhaps someone should inform them that it is way cooler to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on St. Patrick's Day and not a week and a half before.

ninrvana

Here's to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!

ma bell

the laughable part about it is that the city was handing out $1,000 fines to anyone caught doing anything illegal...peeing on the street, drinking on the street, etc. supposedly the city generated $200,000 in fines. for a city that just raised its taxes by 45% earlier this year, it sounds like a good way to get some jersey knuckleheads into town, tax their alcohol sales, boot their cars for not having a parking permit, and then fine them for acting like morons.

and its a great time

whitecastlerock

Another excuse to promote binge drinking is met with shock and dismay. Officials expect people to act responsibly!!!!

Gothampc

Sounds like a typical Friday night in the West Village.

Billiamsburg

New Jersey! ROFL. When can we build that wall Mr Bloomburg??

openheads

Wow! What original & cutting edge humor.

You mean to tell me there are guys from NYC who act like provincial douche bags & make NJ jokes in an attempt to justify their own pathetic existence?

NO WAY!!!!!!

Nick S

Yus, Mr. Bloomburg, save us frum thuse idiuts in Nuw Jursey.

contrabalance

Billiamsburg pwned! ROFLz!!1!

Fuck you, I'm from Jursey.

Peter

Advice for parade-goers: bring umbrellas.

Papercutninja

Drunken white people are so tame. At least they weren't "wilding". I'd rather have piss on my head than have a bunch of girls be molested by savages.

EricRoberts

oh bill, you had me at "young, young girls".

citizenerased

I bet there were zero genuinely Irish people there.

Clarice City

Thank you. I grew up outside Boston (famous for racous, trashy parades) and though my family is Irish, my brother, cousins and I were NEVER allowed to go tot the parade. They thought it prepetuated many of the Irish sterotypes, that frankly, make me gag.

My gradparents put on a civilized brunch. That's it. Unfortunately, it's American born trashy types that throw parades and get drunk.

The truth is, that some of these parades have been used to raise funds that funneled directly to the IRA.

Guest

What's so wrong with Irish independence?

effinclassy

In Hoboken? Does anyone but Irish people from Jersey hang out there?

citizenerased

Having a half Irish great-grandfather or a shamrock tatoo does not an Irish make.

felixthecat2

I think all parade should be gone. all the taxpayer's money on police overtime is ridiculous. people can celebrate their day in a private forum such as bars, restaurants etc. The only parade the city should do is veterans parade and maybe a one day American parade of all the residents.

austin5454

When I read this article, I got the impression that the argument for keeping the parade is "People talk about how much money the city makes from the parade." You and I must have read different articles though.

austin5454

That was meant to be replying to felixthecat. Whoops.

felixthecat2

No the city ie. taxpayers don't make the money because pay for the police overtime and the sanitation clean up. Supposedly the arguments is that people come to see the parade and them send money in restaurants, etc after the parade.

thelexiphane

I've participated in this parade and can verify that the behavior makes the drunken antics surrounding NYC's parade look like a garden club tea party.

I think it would be a shame to cancel it, b/c it can be a fun time, but agree that something needs to happen for people to dial it down a notch or two.