As of dawn on May 2nd, Governor Phil Murphy has authorized the opening of state parks in New Jersey. While Jersey City had already moved forward on opening five parks as of Monday, April 27th, Hoboken and other northern Hudson County cities have opted to keep their parks closed. To help with the latest info, we’ve compiled the list of Hudson County NJ parks that have reopened.
“County governments will regain the authority to decide if the parks stay open or closed,” Governor Murphy explained during a press conference on April 29th.
Social distancing orders, however, will remain in place indefinitely until New Jersey sees a “sustained reduction in tests and cases,” according to Gov. Murphy.
Photo Credit: @thisgirlcaneat
On April 28th, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced that he along with Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez of West New York, Mayor Nicholas Sacco of North Bergen, Mayor Brian P. Stack of Union City, Mayor Richard Turner of Weehawken and Mayor Wayne Zitt of Guttenberg have come to an agreement regarding a regional and collaborative approach for the gradual reopening of municipal parks.
Mayor Bhalla shared in a Nixle alert on May 1st, saying, “If we were to start with the first phase of our gradual parks re-opening, we could have very well faced overcrowding challenges from residents in neighboring municipalities with closed parks, coming to Hoboken. This is the reason why we formed a regional coalition of Hudson County Mayors, so we can work together on this issue and make sure that the process of re-opening parks is a collaborative effort.”
Meanwhile, in Jersey City, Mayor Fulop opened five local parks as of last Monday the 27th.
Of course, as parks reopen, masks are required, social distancing protocols will be followed, and restrooms will be closed.
Here is the list of parks in Hudson County that are open to the public as of May 2nd, 2020 {we will update this list as they open and/or close}:
Audubon Park in Jersy City
Berry Lane Park in Jersey City
Enos Jones Park in Jersey City
James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen
Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus
Leonard Gordon Park in Jersey City
Liberty State Park in Jersey City
Lincoln Park in Jersey City
Pershing Field in Jersey City
Stephen R. Gregg Park in Bayonne
West Hudson Park in Kearny
It’s worth noting that Columbus Park in Hoboken and Washington Park in Union City will be closed till further notice, and Mayor Bhalla has shared that any playgrounds in Hoboken will also stay closed.
“One thing I ask everyone to keep in mind that while certain sections of parks will be included in the first phase of a gradual re-opening, including Elysian Park, Stevens Park, Church Square Park, Columbus Park, and the Southwest Resiliency Park, a number of other parks won’t be able to open for quite some time,” he stated in the Nixle Alert.
Read More: Hudson County Mayors Collaborate on Eventual Reopening of Parks
“Our Hoboken parks contain primarily playground equipment – for example Madison Street Park, Jefferson Park and Pier C – which unfortunately will stay closed as we will be following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Playground equipment could spread the virus as it is very difficult to keep it clean and disinfected,” Mayor Bhalla shared.
In Jersey City, while Mayor Fulop has opened several local parks, he already has canceled the Fourth of July Fireworks event that happens yearly in Jersey City on the waterfront, postponing to July 2021. He also has announced that farmer’s markets will be opening starting in early May.
On the parks front, however, if you observe a lack of social distancing or lack of mask wearing, you are asked by the JC government to report it to authorities.
In Jersey City, the number to call to report parks protocol not being followed is 201-547-5477.
See More: NJ Governor Murphy Unveils Plans ‘for Responsibly Reopening New Jersey’
Got a news tip? Let us know — email us at [email protected]! We appreciate it.
Did you know: We started a podcast about all things news and lifestyle in Hoboken + Jersey City! Listen to the latest episode of Tea on the Hudson here and subscribe.
Sean Kingston Is Celebrating His Birthday With 4 Mini Concerts in Hoboken
With the most bars per capita of any city in the United States, Hoboken plays host to a lot of birthday celebrations. Very rarely, however, are those birthday celebrations for one of the most prolific hitmakers of the late aughts — and even rarer still do those birthday celebrations include a performance from said hitmaker. If you're confused: Sean Kingston is coming to Hoboken to celebrate his 35th birthday with 4 mini-concerts at Madd Hatter. At the celebration(s), the 2000s icon will be performing his "top 6 songs," likely including "Beautiful Girls" and "Take You There." Doors open at 8PM on February 6th, 2025 at 221 Washington Street. Keep reading to learn more about Sean Kingston's Hoboken Birthday Bash concerts.
View this post on Instagram
The Details
On Thursday, February 6th, the fire will be burning on the Madd Hatter dance floor. Sean Kingston is celebrating his 35th birthday and he's chosen Hoboken as his celebration destination. Good choice if we say so.
Read More: Bayonne is Finally Getting a Record Store — 14a Records to Open 1/24
Kingston will be performing some of his greatest hits to a live audience in a mini-concert. Doors open for the event at 8PM, and guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure a good spot in the crowd. Madd Hatter will also be serving up drink specials throughout the evening.
Tickets are available for purchase on EventBrite here. There are VIP admission and table options for anyone looking to make a night out of it.
At this point, you might be thinking: how, out of anywhere in the world, did Sean Kingston decide on Hoboken? The team at Madd Hatter shared with The Hoboken Girl that one of the bar owners has a mutual friend with the singer — and with their birthdays just days apart, the duo decided to throw a joint birthday celebration. Everything came together from there: and the exclusive Sean Kingston performance is a bonus.
More More More
Since we first covered this story on January 23rd, the event is reportedly in such high demand that Madd Hatter has added three additional Sean Kingston concerts: one on February 4th, one on February 5th, and another 'Y2K' brunch on February 8th. Tickets are available for purchase here.
See More: First-Ever Montclair Porchfest Happening in May 2025
As always, you can keep up with all the Hoboken + Jersey City happenings in our events calendar here (which is a free community resource, BTW). For the latest local news, be sure to follow @thehobokengirl on Instagram and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
