This article is sponsored by the Hoboken Italian Festival.
With September just around the corner, it’s time to mark your calendars for the annual Hoboken Italian Festival. This beloved celebration, which takes place along Sinatra Drive in Hoboken, includes Italian food, drinks, games, and camaraderie to honor the history of the Italian Molfettese people in Hoboken. The 2024 festival is scheduled for September 5th to September 8th and everyone is welcome to join in the fun. Keep reading to learn more about the upcoming Hoboken Italian Festival in September.
Celebrating the 98th Anniversary of the Hoboken Italian Festival
The Hoboken Italian Festival is celebrating its 98th anniversary this year. Hoboken’s Societa Madonna di Martiri organizes this annual volunteer-run street fair. It is based on a 625-year-old Italian festival that celebrates the Lady of Martyrs, a patron saint of Molfetta, Italy.
Medieval travelers heading to the Holy Land often stopped in Molfetta, which is located on the Adriatic Sea, because the town had a hospital.
“Over time, sailors, knights, and travelers associated health and safety on the water with the town and its patron saint. After so many Molfettese people emigrated to Hoboken in the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, they brought their traditions with them,” John Sciancalepore, an organizer of the Hoboken Italian Festival, told The Hoboken Girl.
The festival recreates the Molfettese tradition of sailing the statue into the bay using two NY Waterway ferries.
“Because of the date on which the feast usually falls, we have started our own tradition by taking this opportunity to honor those lost on September 11th, 2001. Our prayers for health and safety remain the same despite six hundred years and an ocean of distance,” Sciancalepore said.
Hoboken Italian Festival Schedule
The Hoboken Italian Festival is held every year on the weekend after Labor Day. People from the entire community come together for four days of food + fun.
“We try very hard to bring out our Molfettese traditions with our Hoboken traditions, while still making the weekend fun and approachable for all. It is a great place to have some exposure to history, culture, food, and community,” Sciancalepore said.
The festival starts on Thursday, September 5th, with DJ sets from 5PM-11PM. On Friday, September 6th, DJs + live bands will perform from 5PM-12AM.
Saturday, September 7th is the biggest day of the festival. This is the feast day and the 800lb statue of the Madonna Dei Martiri, or Madonna of the Martyrs, is paraded throughout the streets of Hoboken. Mass starts on Saturday at 11AM + the parade begins at 2PM from St. Francis Church. At 4PM, the parade continues onto the Hudson River.
The festival’s biggest party is held on Saturday night with live music + the annual fireworks display that starts at 9:15PM. The festival concludes on Sunday, September 8th with the Italian Car Show + DJ sets.
“Our festival is unique in that we are one of the oldest continually running cultural traditions in Hoboken. With it always falling the week after Labor Day Weekend, many see it as the unofficial “end of summer, back to Hoboken” party, where friends and families reconvene after the long summer,” Sciancalepore said.
Italian Car Show Scheduled for Sunday, September 8th
Over its 98-year history, the Hoboken Italian Festival has grown to include a parade, food vendors, fireworks, and a line-up of different DJs. This year, the festival has added an Italian Car Show on Sunday, September 8th.
“We hope to have Ferraris, Alfa Romeos, Lamborghinis, and more present,” Sciancalepore said.
The Italian Car Show is presented in partnership with Italian Cars ‘n Cannoli Car Club. The cars will be lined up along Sinatra Drive from 12PM-4PM.
After checking out the Italian Car Show, guests are invited to stick around for the rest of Sunday’s entertainment. From 12PM-9PM, DJs from Zenrgy Productions will play a mix of dance, house, techno, freestyle, and top 40 country music.
The Hoboken Italian Festival takes place from September 5th to September 8th, 2024 along Sinatra Drive in Hoboken. You can call 201-216-0252 with questions.
Proposed Plan Looks To Redevelop Hoboken Parking Garage Into Mixed-Use Apartment Building
A 40-year-old parking garage in downtown Hoboken could be transformed into a new apartment building. The City of Hoboken proposed plans to transform Municipal Parking Garage B at 28 2nd Street in Hoboken into a mixed-use building. The plan was unveiled during a virtual community meeting on January 7th, 2025, but has yet to be adopted by City Council. There will be another community meeting on Wednesday, January 29th at 7PM to learn more about the plan. Here’s what we know so far about the proposed plan to revitalize one of Hoboken’s largest parking garages.
The Plan
The goal is to redevelop Garage B into a transit-oriented, mixed-use site. The City wants it to have a new, updated parking garage, ground-floor retail space, a school, and residential housing. According to the plan, “Garage B is the only garage that exists as a standalone building, without other buildings attached to or flanking the garage structure. Garage B is also located furthest south and is closest to the Hoboken Terminal. For these reasons, Garage B has fewer barriers to construction than the other Garages locations.”
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The housing portion of the new site would include a minimum of 20% affordable housing for low to moderate-income households. The remaining balance would be affordable for households that don’t make more than 120% of the regional median household income in the region. No market-rate housing is part of this redevelopment plan.
“The intent of workforce housing is to provide opportunities for working- and middle-class residents to live within the City of Hoboken,” said Marilyn Baer from the City of Hoboken. “These residents can include police and fire officers, teachers, municipal workers, nurses, and other essential workers.”
According to a recent study done by the City of Hoboken, the parking garage is in substantial need of repair. The garage would be getting a much-needed update and Hoboken says the new space will have the same or possibly more parking spaces for residents and visitors to use, along with modern technology to help make the parking process a breeze.
The Goals
This plan is part of Hoboken’s Redevelopment Plans, aiming to improve the City to make it safer for both residents and visitors. Some of the other goals for this site include maximizing the future building’s proximity to the Hoboken Terminal, increasing access to to NJ Transit, the PATH, the Light Rail, and ferry services. Project leaders aim for new construction to be compatible with the surrounding area. They also want to make sure ground floor space is spaced and utilized well to improve the pedestrian experience on Hudson Place and River Street.
This redevelopment plan also calls for pedestrian safety improvements in line with the City’s Vision Zero goals. It will also use stormwater mitigation strategies to help reduce local flooding.
Again, this is still just a proposed plan. If it’s adopted by the City Council, the City of Hoboken plans to send out a Request for Proposals from developers for concept plans. From there, the City will provide for an additional public process ahead of a potential Redevelopment Agreement between Hoboken and a developer, according to Marilyn Baer.
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Community Meeting on 1/29
Per a Nixle alert sent out by the City of Hoboken, there will be another community meeting to learn more about the proposed redevelopment plan on Wednesday, January 29th at 7PM in the City Hall Council Chambers, located at 94 Washington Street in Hoboken.
The Department of Community Development will present proposed uses for the 40-year-old municipal parking garage which could transform the property into a transit-oriented, mixed-use site with active ground-floor retail, residential housing, school space, and parking.
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