DWI accident leaves one pedestrian dead near Hoboken

This past weekend – 24 year old Ron Hill Jr. from Jersey City was stuck and killed by a DWI driver in a black Jeep right outside Hoboken (between Cliff Lofts and the Sky Club).

Luis Garcia, a 22 year-old male out of Brooklyn, New York was charged with DWI, leaving the scene of an accident and vehicular manslaughter. He was tested with a BAC % of 0.13, and is being held on a bail of quarter million dollars. He was arrested by Hoboken police after a brief search.

Hoboken resident Lucas – who lives in the Sky Club – witnessed the entire ghastly scene from his balcony around 3am Sunday morning.

When light is green – Paterson / Paterson Plank is dangerous!

Lucas described the scene as he saw it.

“The jeep came down Paterson Plank at a high rate of speed, and jumped the curb near the tracks and killed the guy on the sidewalk. Afterward, the car skidded way across the tracks and struck at car about to make a right from Marshall Street. While I called the police, the driver of the car he struck got out and attempted to chase him down, to no avail. The wet roads were most certainly a factor on top of the DWI.”

The medical examiners took the body about six hours after the accident, and both the roads and light rail were closed. This is quite scary, considering I walk to see friends who live up the road all the time.”

Can safety be improved? Or is it just luck of the draw?

I asked Lucas if he believed the safety in this area could be practically improved or not.

He said with two traffic lights and a pedestrian crosswalk in place – that proper protocol has already been followed. He mentioned that if they possibly re-locate the crosswalk closer to the Sky Club – it might be clearer conditions, but when the lights are green – cars still speed around the blind turn regardless.

So maybe it’s one of those terrible situations where someone was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” But that makes you wonder, why do people drive from Brooklyn to Jersey City to get smashed? What’s so great around here anyway?

And if this can serve as a firm reminder – that despite this being an inclement weather, alcohol-infused accident – you should still be VERY aware of your surroundings at all times. I see too many people absorbed in their technology while traversing busy intersections, not paying attention to signals – or even worse – other inattentive drivers.

Technorati Tags: Brooklyn, Cliffs Lofts, Drunk Driving, DUI, DWI, Hoboken, Jersey City, Luis E. Garcia, Luis Garcia, New Jersey, NJ, Pedestrian safety, Ron Hill, Ron Hill II, Sky Club

What’s the deal with the Satanic FBI signs around town?

In the past week – I’ve noticed dozens of “Satanic” FBI signs all over Hoboken.

Here’s what the FBI signs say – in case you didn’t stop and notice:

The Satanic F.B.I.
No Constitution, Law or Land of Liberty

• Super Storm Sandy
• Statue of Liberty
• The Virgina Earthquake that temporarily shut down the Washington Monument
• Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans that killed 1800 Americans
• The death of Supreme Court Justice Rehnquist thru thyroid cancer

God Knows!

Where do these signs come from exactly? Anyone every spot someone putting them up?

These FBI signs are placed in the oddest of locations sometimes, too… like places hardly anyone would be walking.

If anyone sees who does this – just email photos to hoboken411@gmail.com

Technorati Tags: FBI, graffiti, Hoboken, New Jersey, NJ, PHOTO OF THE DAY, photography, Satanic FBI, Sidewalks, Signs, vandalism

Hoboken Police Blotter for LepreCon 2013

Click below to see the lengthy play-by-play police blotter for Hoboken Leprecon 2013!

Show the Hoboken Leprecon 2013 Police Blotter…

Technorati Tags: 2013, blotter, crime, Drunks, feces, Fights, Fire, Hoboken, Hoboken Lepre-Con, Hoboken LepreCon, Hoboken Police Blotter, idiots, Incidents, Lepre-Con, Leprecon, March 2, New Jersey, NJ, police, Saturday, Urine, vandalism, violence, vomit

Crazy Hoboken car theft leads to arrest and damage

This afternoon around 1pm a nutty Hoboken car theft led to a wild and dangerous chase through the city streets.

A person living near 13th St. & Park Ave. was returning from an errand and decided to double park illegally park the car close to an intersection while they ran inside.

They left the car running. An opportunistic car thief (Hispanic male) decided to take advantage of the situation and drive off with the car. When the victim returned outside, they noticed the car was gone and phoned police.

Hoboken Police quickly tracked the stolen Audi A4 station wagon and stopped it at 1st & Adams Streets. The cunning thief decided to pull away once the officer exited the vehicle and a multi-unit car chase ensued.

The driver headed northbound on Adams Street, striking four or five cars, including another driver at 8th & Adams before finally careening into a telephone pole. He also struck a DOG at 3rd & Adams. Luckily for the dog, he only had a broken leg, and will be OK. The dog was transported to the Hoboken Animal Infirmary at 6th & Adams.

He exited the vehicle, and a foot chase led the perpetrator and police to Columbus Park, where the suspect was outnumbered and finally apprehended.

Lessons learned from Hoboken Car Theft on February 21, 2013

Every story has morals – and I can find at least three very obvious lessons to be learned:

1. Hoboken cops are good. So if you’re a car thief, perhaps you should pick other cities if you don’t want to pad your criminal record even further. However…
2. LAZINESS aids and abets CRIME. Just like the idiots that leave their GPS units in plain sight, leaving your fancy car running is even more idiotic. I can bet the victim was one of those optimistic delusional Hoboken people that think “It can’t happen, because this is Hoboken!” I think the “victim” ought to apologize to the unintended victims who had their dogs hurt and property wrecked. Imagine someone died because of this? Get your head out of your ass, and be more responsible.
3. Lastly – if any person, even a criminal, cannot handle a precision-engineered German vehicle like an Audi on one of the widest back streets in Hoboken, they got a problem. The car practically drives itself. Either use some of your stolen money to invest in driving school, or consider turning in your drivers license and pick a different crime specialty. You’re a menace!

Still optimistic, Hoboken?

Technorati Tags: Arrest, car chase, car thief, Delusional, dog hit by car, Hoboken, Hoboken car theft, Laziness, New Jersey, NJ, parked cars

Hoboken Police Blotter Blizzard Edition

Hoboken Crimes, Incidents, Fire Calls & Vehicular mishaps

• 1:47am (2/9/2013): 5th & Washington – “Female hallucinating, no shoes.” Damn, that is some powerful acid!
• 1:27am (2/9/2013): 13th & Hudson – Woman refused to pay fare. Taxi driver holds phone hostage. Sounds fair to me!
• 1:13am (2/9/2013): “Fight” outside Madison Bar & Grill. Female reportedly “down on the ground.” Who fights when there is beautiful snow all around us? I’ll tell you. Bitchez.
• 12:08am (2/9/2013): Hoboken EMS en route to Stevens Institute. “Intoxicated student.” Engineering drives almost anyone to drink!

►►►► Show the rest of the blizzard blotter action…

Technorati Tags: 2013, blizzard, blotter, crime, Fire, Friday, Hoboken, Hoboken Police Blotter Blizzard Edition, Incidents, Live Blog, Nemo, New Jersey, NJ, police, Snow, storm, Winter Storm, Winter Storm Nemo

What ever happened to “Neighborhood Watches” in Hoboken?

Every now and then, you’ll spot a “Neighborhood Watch” sign in Hoboken. It used to serve as a “warning” to potential criminals that these family-oriented streets were cared for, and that the mile square residents gave a crap about the integrity of the place they all called home – and that these scumbags would be caught.

Now, with the recent uptick in crime all over town, it seems that the neighborhood watch doesn’t really pull it’s weight anymore. Why is that?

I boiled it down to two major reasons:

• Hoboken is no longer the multi-generational city it used to be. We have a lot of newcomers, obsessed with their statuses, social pecking order, etc. “Every family for themselves” in other words.
• Technology. Excessive TV, social media, smartphones, constant distractions, headphones and the like. Who’s paying attention to their surroundings instead of their micro-personal entertainment?

What would it take to “take our city back” from the criminals?

For one, I think that people actually have to care. To feel that they make a difference. I’m sure that the bystander who calls police when they notice something (truly) nefarious going on feels like they’re doing something positive (and this goes way beyond calling the cops because a vagrant is sifting through trash).

However, those moments are just happenstance. Not a dedicated “watch” of the neighborhood. Right place, right time, I suppose.

But what if the residents of each and every block got together and formed a plan?

Maybe a “citizen army” is a bit of a stretch, but if more people organized, and spent more time outside for extended periods of time (regardless of weather), and got off their devices and sofas, milled around the community in some kind of systematic, yet sustainable way – we could make a drastic difference. Sadly, when the (now dissolved) Hoboken Community Policing Bureau tried rallying residents to revive the program back in 2009 – there was hardly any interest. About a dozen people out of 50,000+ showed up for the meeting. Oh well.

It’d be nice if we could use our technology (cell phones) for the betterment of Hoboken (and not just telling your contacts how “yummy” your soy-frappucino was) – perhaps we can turn the tide on the downward spiral these gadgets are taking us on.

How would you suggest making your neighborhood safer?

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Technorati Tags: Blockwatch, Community, Community Policing Bureau, crime, Hoboken, Neighborhood Watch, New Jersey, NJ, police, quality of life, safety, Technology