not surprised the webmaster deleted the original thread.

But I am going to repeat what I said about last weeks PR Parade experience at Exchange Pl....

I went out for brunch/lunch not realizing it was the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

I noticed there were a bunch of KIDS loitering in one of the benches at the Iron Monkey. this young lady (she was actually from the neighborhood - found out later) crossed the street the kids got up and ran towards the direction of the young lady crossing on Greene and York Sts, yelling and pumpin their fists like they were about to assault/mug this woman! But of course where are the F'N police?! The area was desolate with mail trucks parked everywhere. THese kids couldn't have been no older than 13! They were young wannabe gangs. Or perhaps they are on their way to becoming one the way they were carrying on and looking tough with their bandanas on their heads.

My friend and I started to walk fast/run to stop a possible assault even ready to dial 911 when the kids saw us. they dispersed in different directions going towards south of Greene St. still talking loud, cursing and talking sh!te what it sounds like morse code more than english.

The woman was shaking, of course I couldn't blame her when u see what it appears like wilding/flash mob approaching you.

In hindsight, there is nothing wrong with ethnic parades but if you're going to have a parade that brings in gangs its time to move elsewhere! Having it around here where people pay in the thousands for rent or mortgage we don't need this sh!te ruining it. So i tell people who plan on moving in the exchange pl , paulus hook area THINK TWICE before you shell out thousands cause it's not worth your wallet! - FYI.

Why couldnt the PR parade move to Liberty State area where one of the ethnic parades are now being held????? more room and these gangs can all go there and do their little gang loitering.

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You can issue as many tickets as you like, collecting the fines is what matters.

Perhaps an alternative is to determine in advance how much to collect from the parade sponsors and not issue a permit until the money is given on deposit. There must be some sort of formula based on length of route, anticipated number of attendees, cops per block etc. Return the unused balance or collect the difference. If the city doesn't collect the difference, no permit next year. If in addition the cops make some arrests, all the better.

Asking all parades to put money down defuses the charges of racism, etc.

Caj11, parades being self supportive is a good point. The city can make it so, by issuing tickets to those who trash the neighborhood. This can cover all the costs for the city.

jeez. i'm the first person to throw out the "move to the suburbs" card over trivial stuff, but having lived along the bolivian parade route in the past i will vouch that while it is a BEAUTIFUL parade, it is unbearably loud. forget trying to make a phone call from inside your own home. the noise BEAMS through every orifice of the walls like nothing i've ever heard. you pretty much have to split town for the afternoon if you plan on being able to even think about anything that isn't the parade. i love city live and all the different events it brings to our neighborhood and i have an extreme amount of "urban patience" but i don't think that because this is a city it doesn't mean people aren't allowed to have ANY quality of life concerns. don't go away, just take the amps off of 11.

It's not a race issue here, people. Nor is it even much of a noise issue, one has to expect that when living in a city. It's the trash, numbers of people getting drunk in public AND the money our tax dollars pay for police overtime and other parade costs. I believe these parades and festivals would be better accepted if the people behaved civilly (doesn't mean quiet, just no drunken brawls), prevented so much trash from being left in the streets, and were self-supporting. Given the state of the city's fiscal situation and the fact that are property taxes have gone up again, parades are not a luxury the city can afford to support right now.

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Because you can see them heading to the Path stations after the parade, like the ones who threw stones at me, while I happened to be riding my bike--in my own neighborhood.

Quote: How do you know they are not from Downtown? I grew up Downtown and I can honestly say a large percentage of the parade is people from the neighborhood.

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A) your anecdotal evidence means nothing.
B) he's stating a fact.
C) try opening your eyes some. i have a few neighbors who went - as did i - who went there via the light rail. personally, i walked home to walk off the rice and bean.

Grumpy... you are ridiculous. Mardi gras is wayyy louder.

Im not puerto rican, but the least I can do is let them have their day of celebration. they barely have their independance.

and if you dont like parades with beer bottles being on the street then go back to millburn, scotch plains, bergen county, what have you.

this is hudson county (jersey city). white, black, spanish, asian. we got it all and you better believe everyone is gonna celebrate their race. (indians have their celebration on newark ave every summer at 3 AM!! no one complains, cause they are on the other side of JC) and I will be cheering everyone on.

melting pot, if you cant stand the heat then get out the pot.

move to hoboken and complain about st pattys day.

cry babies. you cry = you lose.

The real problem in JC is of enforcement. If the city cannot enforce rules regarding noise, trashing etc, then none of the parades should be allowed to organize.

User1111, you are unnecessarily bringing race here. All the people I saw, came by cars, motorcycles or by bus. Obviously they came from somewhere else.

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Either you are delusional or play one here on JClist. 30% of the residents that live downtown JC are Latino.

cities are also residential areas...

grumpy, are you serious?

What about trashing of the neighborhood that these people don't even live in? I actually saw a bunch of guys throwing a beer bottle underneath a parked car. They could have put it in or besides the trash can.

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YOUR comments are straight up ridiculous.

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Which is still part of the city, last time I checked.

Already 3 points that put words into my mouth that I didn't say and/or are logically not relevant.

1. It's a city not the suburbs. I would argue that the Hamilton Park neighborhood is a residential area and that an area such as Exchange place is much more "city"-like and therefore more appropriate for parades.

2. I have a problem with "ethnic groups". Reading comprehension much? I said the opposite.

3. I have a problem with parades. False. As someone who has lived in New Orleans, I know more about what makes a good parade than you ever will. They run fantastic, well-done parades for weeks prior to Mardi Gras, and they do it on weekdays and weekends alike.

My one and only complaint was the EXCESSIVE volume. Being loud is part of a parade. No problem there. Being so loud that it destroys people's hearing is counter-productive. The parade organizers probably scare away more people than they attract just because the decibel level is so extreme.

There. That's my only point. Please have a good day.

If you have issues with parades or ethnic groups WTF are you doing in Jersey City?

I think the sentiment was said earlier but this is a city and not the suburbs. More importantly, the parades took place during the weekend.....

I wonder if we could have a discussion about the quality of the parade on this forum without bringing ethnicity into it? I don't care where the people come from or what they were celebrating, it was unbelievably loud.

When people have serious discomfort and reach for ear plugs to protect their hearing from well over a block away, it's time to turn down the volume a little bit. Same goes for the Bolivian parade a day earlier. It's straight up ridiculous to play any kind of music that ridiculously loud on a small, brownstone-lined street like Jersey Ave.

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I second that.

Gentrification 2012 style. cleaning up the web.

It was an awful and pretty disturbing thread, glad to see it gone.

That topic was about the 2009 Puerto Rican parade, of the 16 posts from 2012 no information about this years parade.

Don't fight the power!

Why??