newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Many people always attended Hoboken's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade for the ethnic celebration, but others have used it as a drinking party. A dispute between the parade committee and City Hall has led to its cancellation in 2012.

According to the Hudson Reporter, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer planned to move the parade to a Wednesday this year to cut down on the partying that takes place. It was usually held on the first Saturday in March.

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Some expected people to come into town to party on both days. City Hall has said they were planning for security on both.

In a letter released on hobokensaintpatricksparade.org, the committee said, “We chose not to go to court and not to continue to negotiate over the heavy-handedness of one person. The idea of marching in a parade, in the dark, on a weeknight, is as insulting as it is unreasonable.”

Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has become notorious over the years for its drunken partying and stumbling crowds. The Huffington Post reported that in 2011, a number of women claimed they had been sexually assaulted.

According to 7online.com, at last year’s parade police made 34 arrests and issued 296 citations. The letter said, “Hoboken’s inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants led us to this heartbreaking decision.”