The Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade has been canceled by the parade committee, the committee announced on its website.

In a note to Hoboken residents on the website, the committee blames "the city of Hoboken’s inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants" for the decision.

The parade has come under intense scrutiny over the past few years, with threats to move or cancel the parade because of lewd behavior, public drinking and other safety issues. Each year there are dozens of arrests made and hundreds of citations issues. A common complaint among residents is rowdy house parties.

After last year's parade, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she wanted the parade moved to a Wednesday. The parade has been traditionally held the first Saturday of March. But the parade, a 14-block march that moves along Washington Street, has for many become secondary to the main activities, which include drinking heavily at the city's bars.

The letter said the committee decided to cancel what would have been the 26th annual event "after a long, arduous and sad meeting."

Here is the letter in full:

Dear Hoboken Community,

The Hoboken St. Patrick’s Parade Committee met earlier this week to discuss what would have been our 26th annual parade. After a long, arduous and sad meeting, the committee has decided to cancel the 2012 Hoboken St. Patrick's Parade.

The parade committee is proud of its traditions and the countless Hobokenites who were honored to march down Washington Street over the years. Since 1986, the first Saturday in March has been a glorious day to honor Saint Patrick and our Irish heritage. We are forever indebted to our long-time sponsors, neighbors and friends who came out to enjoy the day each year.

For those who were not here in the beginning, or think that 26 years is not long enough of a tradition, we remind all that the parade was a strong catalyst in the revitalization of the Hoboken we love so dearly today.

There are many opinions on this topic and many who will be surprised by our decision. We chose not to go to court and not to continue to negotiate over the heavy-handedness of one person. The idea of marching in a parade, in the dark, on a week night, is as insulting as it is unreasonable. While we remain devoted to our heritage, we love our city too much to lower ourselves to the level of those who speak from a place of ignorance and ethnic/religious intolerance.

Moving forward, we will proudly consider the gracious invitations we have received from other communities throughout the State of New Jersey to march in their celebrations of Irish heritage. Evidently, there are some elected officials elsewhere in the state who have figured out how to protect their residents during ethnic, religious and other community celebrations.

Like our ancestors before us, some of whom are credited with building Hoboken, we are not “St. Patrick’s Day Irish.” We are committed, proud, and blessed with long memories.

As is our tradition, we cordially invite everyone to worship with us at our Irish Mass honoring Saint Patrick on Saturday, February 25th at 5:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church.

Until we meet again, "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always

your back ..."



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