Mayor Emily B. Jabbour, joined public safety and State and Federal officials, to announce a partnership between the City of Hoboken, the Hoboken Police Department (HPD), and the Hoboken Business Alliance (HBA), to join the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign, a New Jersey based nonprofit dedicated to preventing drunk and impaired driving by promoting the use of designated drivers.
As the first municipality in North Jersey to adopt the HERO Campaign, Hoboken is committing a citywide effort to prevent impaired driving through collaboration with emergency services, bars and restaurants, other businesses, and the Hoboken community.
“We are proud to become a HERO Campaign City, and promote the campaign’s lifesaving mission,” said Mayor Jabbour. “This partnership is reflective of Hoboken’s ongoing commitment to public safety and Vision Zero and we look forward to working with local businesses and community members to help prevent future tragedies to protect our residents and visitors alike.”
The City and Hoboken Business Alliance are encouraging Hoboken bars and restaurants to become HERO Campaign partners. They can do so by offering free soft drinks to designated drivers as a reward for helping others get home safely. The HERO Campaign is supplying free Billboards, posters, stickers, and other signage to be displayed at participating establishments, and throughout the city, to help encourage patrons to take the online HERO Pledge and become designated drivers by scanning a QR code. Participants can then download a digital HERO ID card redeemable for free soft drinks at participating establishments.
Schmitty’s, located at 359 First Street, is the first bar in Hoboken to participate in the HERO Campaign.
“Schmitty’s is incredibly honored to become Hoboken’s first HERO Bar and proud to support a program that promotes safe and responsible choices in our community,” said Amanda Schmitt, Owner of Schmitty’s. “As a neighborhood bar, we believe hospitality goes beyond just serving drinks; it’s about looking out for our guests and helping everyone get home safely. We’re grateful to partner with the HERO Campaign and be part of such an important mission.”
The HBA and City will also support HERO bars and restaurants by promoting them on social media and publishing a list of establishments committed to the HERO Campaign in Hoboken that serve free soft drinks to designated drivers that provide proof of their pledge.
“Hospitality and public safety go hand in hand, and Hoboken’s bars and restaurants are proud to be part of this important initiative,” said James Runkle, President of the Hoboken Business Alliance Board of Trustees. “By partnering with the HERO Campaign, our business community is helping create a culture where looking out for one another and planning for a safe ride home is the norm. We’re excited to work with local establishments to encourage responsible choices while continuing to make Hoboken a welcoming and vibrant destination.”
The Hoboken Police Department and participating businesses will also distribute HERO decals for motorists to display on their rear car windows, to serve as a reminder about the life-saving role designated drivers can play in helping to prevent impaired driving crashes.
During a kick-off event at HPD headquarters today, officials unveiled a new HERO Campaign patrol car. Wrapped in the campaign’s signature blue and gold colors and bearing its slogan, “Be a HERO. Be a Designated Driver,” the active police vehicle will also serve as a rolling billboard throughout the community and at special events, including the City’s upcoming Memorial Day parade, World Cup celebrations, National Night Out, and more. Funding for the vehicle wrap was provided through a grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
“The New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety is proud to stand alongside the HERO Campaign and its lifesaving mission. We remain committed to preventing impaired driving and saving lives on New Jersey’s roadways, and the HERO Campaign plays an important role in reminding drivers of the importance of a designated driver,” said Michael J. Rizol Jr., Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “We look forward to continuing this important partnership in the year ahead.”
“The HERO Campaign provides a positive and proactive way to engage our community, businesses, and visitors in making responsible choices before getting behind the wheel,” said Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante. “We are proud to serve as a model for the rest of North Jersey and support an initiative that has already helped save countless lives across New Jersey.”
HPD reports 103 arrests for driving while intoxicated in 2025, and 54 so far this year.
“Nearly every day in Hoboken, we see how impaired driving continues to pose a serious risk on our roadways,” said Hoboken Police Chief Steve Aguiar. “Partnerships like this allow us to strengthen education and awareness efforts and we are honored to bring this important message to Hoboken.”
Now in its 26th year, the HERO Campaign was established by the family of Navy Ensign John R. Elliott of Egg Harbor Township, who was killed in a collision with a drunken driver in July of 2000, two months after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. Elliott was preparing to enter naval flight school and was travelling home for his mother’s birthday at the time of his death.
“We are honored to partner with Hoboken on our practical and positive approach to prevent drunk driving,” said Bill Elliott, John’s father and Founder of the HERO Campaign with his wife Muriel. “At the Naval Academy, our son was named the Outstanding HERO Officer for helping his fellow midshipmen overcome personal challenges. Designated drivers save lives and are a perfect reflection of John’s desire to help others and serve his country.”
In April 2001, John’s Law was enacted in New Jersey in memory of Ensign Elliott, requiring police to impound the cars of DUI suspects for 12 hours to prevent them from resuming driving while still intoxicated. The driver who killed John had been arrested three hours prior to the crash and released to a friend who was instructed to drive him home. Instead, the driver got back behind the wheel while still intoxicated, resulting in the crash that killed both himself and Ensign Elliott. Since 2001, more than 700,000 cars have been impounded under John’s Law.
“Ensign John R. Elliott left us far too soon, but his family’s work to honor his service and legacy over the past quarter-century has made our state safer. Advocacy and programming from the HERO campaign has directly resulted in a reduction of alcohol-related deaths in New Jersey,” said Senator Raj Mukherji, Chairman of the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Vice Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, who has prosecuted DUI offenders and witnessed the beneficial impacts of John’s Law. “We welcome those who patronize Hoboken’s excellent bars and restaurants to have a good time, but we don’t want that good time to end for them or anyone else on the way home.”
“I am proud to partner with Mayor Jabbour and the Hoboken Council in supporting the launch of the HERO Campaign in Hoboken to promote safe and sober designated drivers to prevent alcohol-related traffic deaths,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “The HERO Campaign will help save lives, and I am committed to working with our local officials to combat drunk driving and keep our constituents safe.”
The campaign will build on Hoboken’s ongoing Vision Zero initiative. The City has been cited as a national leader in traffic safety, having had nine consecutive years without a traffic death. Hoboken is currently updating its Vision Zero Action Plan, first adopted in 2021, reinforcing its goal to eliminate traffic injuries by 2030 while maintaining its record of zero deaths.
Recently, Governor Mikie Sherrill and the New Jersey Association of Police Chiefs honored the Elliott family, John’s Law, and the HERO Campaign for their contributions to saving lives throughout the state.
For more about the HERO Campaign, go to www.HEROcampaign.org
