Thursday Night Pier performances in Hoboken disrupt some neighbors

Hoboken Pier Sessions have been taking place on Thursday nights over at the 13th Street Pier (south of the 14th Street Pier) near the Shipyard Marina for the past couple summers.

A “mixed media” kind of event – with music, art, shopping and more. A different lineup every other week. Many Hoboken residents and visitors enjoy the cultural change of pace on the waterfront.

However, the concert that kicked off the 2011 season last week seemed to have rubbed quite a few residents the wrong way. I personally overheard numerous complaints phoned in to the Hoboken Police Department. Uptown resident Jason (who lives nearly 1000 feet from the performance space – and on the 13th floor) – was so astonished by the disruption that he actually took a brief video of the noise – and sent a letter to Hoboken411 and the City Council.

It doesn’t need to be that loud

“Where I live, the volume level from the band at last week’s “Pier Sessions” was like nothing I’ve ever heard. There have been performances there in the past. But it’s never been this loud, this late and on a weeknight in a neighborhood where lots of people have young children. The cell phone video was shot from my balcony door – several blocks away and 13 stories up. As you can hear, I might as well have been in the front row. And it sounds like this event is scheduled to be held every Thursday all summer!

I’m an experienced musician myself and perform all over the place, including several bars in town. There is ZERO NEED to play at that volume for a crowd that small (around 100 people). I’ve seen bars in this town get tickets for noise for levels FAR lower than that.”