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In an effort to achieve just that, the city's annual SantaCon bar crawl has been called off.
“Our sole goal as Mayor and Police Chief is to keep Hoboken residents safe, and an unsanctioned, crowded bar crawl would have presented substantial challenges related to the pandemic," Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Police Chief Ken Ferrante.
"We are glad to share that Santacon has officially been canceled by the event organizers, which will help protect Hoboken residents from a potential super-spreader type event."
The admins of a Facebook page called "Hoboken SantaCon" made the announcement Saturday.
The holiday event brings thousands of people to the city's streets, and can get notoriously messy.
Last year, taxpayers paid $75,000 in overtime for police, Ferrante told NJ.com. Police responded to 500 calls for service, arrested eight people and sent 20 to the hospital, authorities said.
Ferrante also told the outlet that any bar that tries to participate will be slapped with sanctions.
In 2018, a Hoboken police sergeant was punched in the face, another sustained a dislocated thumb and two other officers were exposed to blood.
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