HOBOKEN AND BEYOND– The anticipation surrounding Hoboken’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, scheduled for March 5, is beginning to rise.

A Facebook page set up recently (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137860896276669) shows that, as of Feb. 3, almost 1,500 people will “attend” the party.

The annual celebration includes bars opening at 9 a.m. and thousands of visitors flooding the mile-square city for a day of drinking and partying.

Councilman Nino Giacchi said at the Feb. 2 council meeting that the city will continue to enforce a zero-tolerance policy, fining people up to $2,000 for transgressions such as public drinking and public urination. House parties were labeled as the largest problem on the parade day last year.

“When a party is deemed to be unreasonably reckless, disorderly, and unsafe, the renter or owner of the apartment or house will be charged with [maintaining a nuisance],” according to the guidelines from last year. Maximum penalties for the house parties are imprisonment of up to six months and fines not to exceed $1,000.

What do you think? Is Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day a good thing for the city, which brings increased revenue to our local bars, or a day where you, the Hoboken residents, head out of town? Leave comments below.