There was a very heated discussion at the Wednesday, April 13, 2016 Perth Amboy Council Meeting. Many residents who live in the Waterfront area where the Dominican Festival is held came up to speak. They complained about the three extravaganza which has been held at the Waterfront for the past three years.

Some of the complaints were: excessive noise, clogged streets, and lack of parking for the residents. Sometimes cars were parked in their driveways or blocking their driveways hindering them from parking on their own property. Strangers will ring doorbells asking for water and/or to use their bathroom facilities and excessive crowds for the size of the event in comparison to the venue. The spokesperson for them showed an aerial photo of the large gathering. You can see their concerns. (See Page 11 for more information.)

Some of the organizers of this festival came up to address these issues. They were disappointed that these residents didn’t come to them in the first place to discuss these matters.
During the Council Comments, Councilman Joel Pabon said that the administration had received a letter from these Waterfront Residents back in October 2015. The Residents wanted the Dominican Festival moved to another venue.

The problem is not that these performers were booked. The City should have jumped on this as soon as this communication was received in October. The Dominican Festival was already approved for the Wilentz School area for 2016.

We don’t know what the contract calls for as far as a change of venue in such a short notice. Now that these problems that the residents are complaining about are well known, it will give the Council plenty of time to make decisions for going forward.

One of the organizers spoke about how they work for a long time booking entertainers to perform. The organizers also said that the Waterfront is the Gem of the City and it shows off the Waterfront.

We all know how important our Waterfront is and how pleasing it is to have festivals in that area. But people are going to attend regardless of where it’s held because of the top musical acts that are booked.

When I was growing up, the West Indian Festival was popular and was held at Water Stadium. I remember the Puerto Rican Festival always being held on Hall Avenue, which was a big headache for the bus drivers on that route. When that festival became too big to be held on City Streets, it was moved to Rudyk Park. Contrary to what was said at the meeting, there is plenty of parking at the Rudyk Park area. Plus, there are buses that go near that area. It’s within walking distance for many residents there. The Puerto Rican Festival has top entertainers come as well along with a ton of rides for all age groups.

One of the Dominican Festival Organizers made a statement, “If the Dominican Festival is forced to move to a larger area, than all the festivals should be moved there, also.”

I personally try to attend as many festivals as possible in the City because I like them. There are some festivals besides carnivals that are fortunate to have grounds where they don’t have to use the City’s Streets. Some of them are: the Greek Festival (June 3rd -5th); the Ukrainian Festival (June 25th) St. Stephen’s Carnival to name a few. Perhaps the Council should pass an ordinance that limits the size of a venue that could be held on Sadowski Parkway.

The Dominican Festival has surpassed the number of people who attend the Puerto Rican Festival. I don’t know how that decision was made to move the Puerto Rican Festival to Rudyk Park, but in my opinion, it was a wise decision.

There were concerns that having too many festivals at Rudyk Park would damage the grass and the fields. We’re only talking about two festivals (six days total for both) and they’re not being held back-to-back. One is in June and the other in August. If the Festival was held in the sky, people would still attend it if they could find a way to get up there. They want to enjoy the music, atmosphere,the rides food and have a good time with their families. The compromise is to make sure there is enough space for everyone to enjoy and move around and have a good time.

We’ve attended the Barbecue Showdown in South Amboy for the last two years, which is held at their Waterfront. South Amboy provides free shuttle services via school buses from designated parking areas to the Festival.

So this has nothing to do with any particular group. It has to do with the amount of people that the Festival attracts. In this case, size does matter – very much so. – C.M.