Hudson County Facts

One Saturday night in the mid-90s, a feisty woman Jersey City Police Officer and a Sergeant (who has since taken a walk on the wild side, but that’s another story) were riding in a patrol car. A call came over the radio about some sort of disturbance at the Hoboken Motorcycle Club (on Hoboken Avenue in Jersey City). There generally were three dozen or so burly guys at the club and the president was a Hoboken Police Officer. So, it was a unusual to hear of any sort of trouble at that location.

As soon as the Jersey City Police walked in the door, they confronted an extremely tense situation. An outlaw motorcycle club prosp (prospective member) had gotten into a shoving match with one of the guys from the Hoboken Motorcycle club. With the prosp were two outlaws wearing the colors (a jacket with the club name and insignia). The members were ready to fight on behalf of their cohort. As they were outnumbered dozens to one, on the face of it, this seemed a joke. But, if an outlaw came to harm, it was the duty of EVERY outlaw biker to seek vengeance. And, if the assailant belonged to a club, it was then open season on EVERY member of that club. Here about to be lit was the fuse that was going to ignite a full scale gang war.
The woman Jersey City Police Officer decided to project a command presence.

“OK, OK what’s going on here?”

The president of the Hoboken Motorcycle Club answered, “We’re calling it quits for the night and these guys don’t want to leave.”

“Alright now, it’s closing time. You gotta hit the road!”

“We ain’t going nowhere!”

“OH YES YOU ARE! This is private property. They’re going home and YOU’RE LEAVING. Of course, once you go out that door, nobody can tell you what to do. You don’t have to go home. You can stand on the sidewalk all night if you want to.”

With angry stares, for a few moments the outlaws held their ground. But, they had been given a face saving out. It no longer was an argument with another motorcyle club. Now it was a question of private property and a Police Officer in uniform. And, after all, basically nobody wants to get shot . . .

The three bikers turned and walked out the door.

The Hoboken Motorcycle Club is located in Jersey City.