UPDATED: Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day After-Action Report: 11 Arrested, Less Than 100 Fined, 32 Hospitalized

Following an all-hands-on-deck Saturday for the Hoboken Police Department, Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps, OEM, CERT, and Hoboken Parking Utilities personnel, here’s a look at the initial statistics:

Just before last call, Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante sent out a recap:

Bar close in 30 mins. 11 arrests so far. 75 city ordinances as of midnight. 31 for open container. 32 taken to hospitals. @CityofHoboken

— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) March 8, 2015

As the night came to a swift end, thanks in part to daylight savings (spring ahead at 0200 hours, making it 0300—bars lose an hour) the number of ordinance violations was on the rise:

Clocks have moved ahead. Bars closed. Hoboken St Pats winding down. 11 arrests, close to 100 city ordinances. Great job HPD! @CityofHoboken

— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) March 8, 2015

Of note were incidents at 4th & Clinton, a fight at McDonald’s and a fight at Basile’s Pizza across from City Hall. HPD was active throughout the day, but the foot traffic was considerably lighter than years past, and incidents were way down from previous years.

Meanwhile, bars were reporting brisk business, as crowds were forming as early as 10:00 am outside some venues. It was nowhere near 2011 levels, which featured wild throngs of emerald hued partygoers having their way with the streets of Hoboken, but most licensed establishments did well, and by most accounts the house party scene was more of a dull roar.

While unrelated to the Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day revelry, certainly the most alarming event of the evening was a homeless man’s attempted self-immolation on 4th & Bloomfield:

Wild scene at 4th & Bloomfield tonight. Male put himself on fire. Lt. DeTrizio & Sgt. Aguiar w/ quick life saving tactics! @CityofHoboken

— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) March 8, 2015

***UPDATE***
Here’s the City of Hoboken’s official statement on the weekend’s stats:

CRIME & AMBULANCE CALLS AT ALL-TIME LOWS FOR HOBOKEN ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Since the Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day parade was last held in 2011, there has been a dramatic reduction in crime during the annual St. Patrick’s Day event, an event organized by various Hoboken bars and restaurants. This year there were 39 ambulance calls, a 58% reduction since 2011, 11 arrests, a 68% reduction since 2011, and 95 summonses issued for quality of life violations such as open containers and urinating in public, a 68% reduction since 2011. Five bars received tavern sheets: two for assaults, two for overcrowding, and one for a medical issue.

“A big thank you to the Hoboken Police Department, Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management, Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Community Emergency Response Team, Parking Utility and sanitation team,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “There has been a huge drop in crime and quality of life issues and a reduction in public safety costs since the last year of the parade in 2011. In addition, the Police Department received only three calls regarding house parties this year. I especially want to thank Chief Ferrante for his proactive and cost-effective policing approach and Lieutenant DeTrizio and Sergeant Aguiar for their quick action that saved a man’s life in an unrelated suicide attempt that night.”

“Ambulance calls and arrests are at all-time lows – strong indications that instances of major fights and dangerous intoxication are greatly reduced,” said Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante. “Instead of having to react to fights and other emergencies which take officers away from their assignments, they could stay at their posts and focus on proactively controlling crowds. As a result of the decreased amount of arrests, large fights, and persons going to hospitals which takes officers off the street, more officers were able to focus their attention on quality of life issues.”

(Photo by Barry Grossman, via Twitter)