As you may know, small businesses were hit hard by COVID-19 and many have been struggling during this time. Hoboken is a small city that supports and empowers small businesses, and I feel that Hoboken residents have been doing what they can to support them during this time.

The Hoboken City Council unanimously passed the small business recovery strategy at the last City Council meeting on June 3rd. What does that mean? How does it affect small business owners? Below I break down what it is and what strategies will be implemented to help support our small local businesses.

Be sure to forward this article to any small local businesses in Hoboken!

What is the Small Business Recovery Strategy?

This strategy…

…permits businesses to expand outdoor space on the sidewalk, create shared outdoor spaces as strEATERIES and Parklets, and creates a framework for businesses to operate further into the street during scheduled road closures.

With eventual re-opening guidelines from the State of New Jersey anticipated to include reductions in indoor capacity, the City of Hoboken seeks to proactively maximize outdoor space for businesses and provide safe areas for customers.

City of Hoboken

What are some of the strategies?

There are two parts to this strategy. The first starting with gradual re-opening as we are seeing today.

Part two of the strategy is about expanded capacity, which entails:

• Sidewalk Cafe Expansion
• strEATERY
• Parklet
• Open Streets
• Fitness at City Facilities

You can read more about it here.

What does this mean for small business owners in Hoboken?

Each feature of the strategy has their own requirements like licensing, permits, etc. You’ll need to make sure you can assess and understand which, if not all, the strategies work best for you. I would recommend reaching out to your City Councilperson and also reading up on the strategy so you can better understand and apply to what is applicable for you and your business. 

The steps a business owner should take to get started:

For the Sidewalk cafe expansion:

• Submit an application to the Zoning Officer;
• Find the application here.

For strEATERY:

• Submit an application to the City Engineer;
• Find the application here;
• Email Kim Craft at engineering@hobokennj.gov

For Parklet:

• Submit an application to the City Engineer;
• Find the application here;
• Email Kim Craft at engineering@hobokennj.gov

For Open Streets:

• Submit an application to the City Engineer;
• Find the application here;
• Email Kim Craft at engineering@hobokennj.gov

For all liquor licenses:

Existing licensee must file for a “Petition to Extend Licensed Premises” event permit application for approval by the NJ State ABC. The area in which alcohol will be served/consumed must be gated from the rest of the”open street.” Security from the licensed establishment must secure the entry and exit of said area to ensure identifications are checked upon entry for legal age and liquor does not leave gated area. These regulations may change pursuant to the New Jersey ABC.

City of Hoboken

Liquor License Questions? Please contact Lt. Kucz at kuczc@hobokenpd.org.

If you’d like to host a Fitness class at a City Facility, you should:

• Apply to utilize outdoor space in certain city fields and parks;
• Find the application here;
• Email the application to lpellegrini@hobokennj.gov

Fees

According to the City of Hoboken, application and licensing fees for expanded outdoor capacity will be waived for 2020. They state: