Another year, another St. Paddy’s Day, and pre-COVID-19, that meant another Leprecon in Hoboken. This year due to pandemic safety concerns, the annual crawl appears to have been canceled. However, locals can expect to see a heavier police presence in town as the police chief decided to take extra precautions. Here’s what we know:
The Leprecon Crawl is a privately organized event. The website HobokenStPatricksDay.com posted about the 2021 Leprecon Crawl and created an event’s page on Eventbrite. However, tickets are currently not for sale and it states that the event is canceled.
Despite its cancellation, the event description is still there and says, “Keep the tradition going strong! That’s exactly what we’re here to do. The phenomenon that takes hold of Hoboken every single March is quickly approaching. Not only do all of the great bars and venues in Hoboken collaborate on a star-studded event, this year the “All Access Pass” is the one package you’ll need in order to spend the entire day in excitement.”
Chief Ferrante of the Hoboken Police Department is taking extra precautions and increasing the police presence to monitor potential independent crawlers.
He said in a statement, “Buying of tickets for the event has been disabled for some time. On this link, if you try to go to the link for the VIP Pass, you cannot get into it. Because the first Saturday in March has been a traditional event day in Hoboken for close to 30 years, I have added an extra 36 officers to the day and night’s deployment. There are no indications of a large-scale event needing that many officers.”
Mayor Bhalla added, “The cancellation of LepreCon is welcome news given that we are still in the middle of a global health crisis. I thank the many business owners who have been in regular contact with my office and have refused to participate in this unsanctioned event.”
There will be an additional 36 cops on duty to the approximately 20 on regular duty, according to the Chief.
