Hoboken Posts Signs Dissuading 4th of July Fireworks Spectators

You have good ol’ Mayor Vaughn, who would stop at nothing to get 4th of July tourist dollars onto Amity Island…

Then you have the City of Hoboken, which posted signs in an effort to curb firework spectators in the Mile Square City.

Somewhere in the middle, there’s an answer that makes sense.

hMAG spotted this sign at the northern entrance to Hoboken, on the corner of 14th & Bloomfield Streets, which reads, “FIREWORKS NOT VISIBLE ON THE WATERFRONT.”

This year, the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks display is on the East River yet again, rather than the Hudson. Nevertheless hMAG‘s intrepid team of investigative reporters (our publisher and his kid) have debunked this theory time and time again by actually going down to the Waterfront and enjoying the fireworks for the past three years.

East River Fireworks, still enjoyable from Hoboken’s Pier A

We reached out to the City and the Hoboken Police Department to get a better sense of why Hoboken would proactively dissuade people from coming to town to view the fireworks. Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante addressed the issues at hand via his twitter feed (CLICK HERE to see the entire thread).

Both the JC & Macy’s fireworks can be seen from @CityofHoboken but with obstructed views. The JC fireworks can only be seen from the outer part of Pier A & I have not been advised that the Pier is cleared and structurally sound to hold thousands of people. we had 30K on it in ’13

— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) July 4, 2018

The msg board went up 24 hrs ago. Again, I approach this from a public safety/counter terrorism viewpoint. If the @CityofHoboken administration or City Council want to host 4th of July events, I am all for it, however, I need time to plan w/ our officers & need to budget for it.

— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) July 4, 2018

Hoboken’s business owners, on the other hand, are furious with the decision.

“Disgusting,” said one restaurant owner.

The Hoboken hospitality industry has a notoriously difficult summer season, with many of its regulars heading down to the shore. Furthermore, the past few years have seen issues compounded by the ongoing repairs on Washington Street choking the city’s primary commercial artery.

“The town could have made a whole day out of this,” said another restaurant owner, adding, “like, say, Mayor Fulop in JC.”

Jersey City has had a festival for the past few years, this year being no exception. Ironically, the Macy’s and Jersey City Fireworks shows are BOTH clearly visible from locations throughout Hoboken.

We just finished security walk through. Big children’s carnival, 50 different food trucks, Red Bull experience, main stage with entertainment all day, multiple beer gardens, 2 huge fireworks barges #50StarFireShow pic.twitter.com/2FwxnEBCq8

— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) July 4, 2018

“This was a government failure—including me,” said Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, in a comment on hMAG‘s facebook feed. (We had reached out to Fisher directly, as the sign we saw was in her Ward.) “Chief Ferrante is thankfully focused on public safety and cost to taxpayers. However we did not do a great job of coordinating with him and bringing focus to the other aspects of this day. We have not yet evolved out of our administration’s decades long culture of not focusing on economic development. But we are working on it now. This holiday should have been in all of our – Mayor and Council – minds, not just HPD, and it wasn’t. I’m committed to improving for next year.”

All that said, if you ARE in Hoboken tonight, go out to a bar or restaurant. They could really use your business, as summer months can be a struggle.

This isn’t about politics, it’s about livelihoods.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July…