'A Long Way To Go': Hoboken Officials And Residents Speak Out On Park Attack

HOBOKEN, NJ — More than 500 people attended a Hoboken public safety meeting Monday night in response to a random attack of two people at a park last month by a man whom police say is a six-time offender.

On Oct. 31, Troy Timberlake, 31, allegedly assaulted a nanny and a man in Church Square Park during lunchtime, officials have said. Children from several nearby schools were in the area, and some witnessed the assaults.

Mayor Ravi Bhalla and city officials held the Monday meeting to discuss what's being done to address safety in Hoboken. Residents have asked why Timberlake was released after his other arrests in the past year.

"I came here expecting to hear a plan," said a man identifying himself as the employer of the nanny who was attacked, "and all I heard was, there's budget problems, we're trying to hire, and there's two more social workers added."

Public Safety Director Ken Ferrante, Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and Police Chief Steven Aguiar all explained how the police work and how they hope to make the park safer.

Ferrante spoke at the beginning of the meeting, saying that Timberlake came from Washington D.C. and had been in Hoboken for about a year. Ferrante said Timberlake had been arrested five times from October 2023 to October 2024, including an incident in which he allegedly chased people with a knife outside a bar on Third Street.

He said four of the arrests were in Hoboken and one was in Jersey City. He said that each time, the Hoboken police asked the court to detain Timberlake. But because of bail reform laws passed in 2017, he said, Timberlake was released within 48 hours.

Ferrante said the reform was passed by public referendum, and that it was intended to keep violent criminals from posting bail to leave jail. But the flip side was that it allowed many other offenders to be released. Ferrante said that some changes are being made to the law. (Read more about that here.)

Bhalla said that he noticed a change in Church Square Park over the years, just like residents have. "Church Square Park is not the same as it once was" when his kids were little, he said.

Residents noted that the park becomes a point where people cross to get to the hospital, library, and nearby homeless shelter.

Bhalla said the city, which hired two social workers to address homelessness years ago, will hire two more.

One woman addressed a social media post from last week that detailed an incident in which a man allegedly said "Let me help you" and put his hands on a stroller that a nanny was pushing in uptown Hoboken. Residents have been wondering why the police response was delayed.

Chief Aguiar said the incident wasn't called in to police as a "kidnapping." He said police were told that the nanny was holding coffee with one hand and the stroller with the other. A man said he'd help, and he put his hand on the stroller. Police said they were still looking for the man just to clarify the situation, but haven't found him.

(The meeting became heated at times; see 50:00 here).

350 people were watching the meeting around 6 p.m., and the number grew to 600 by 6:45. More than 100 filled the Hoboken City Council Chambers. (Have thoughts on the issues? Post a letter on Hoboken Patch any time.)

A regular City Council meeting was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but the council continued to take questions and comments from the audience.

Meeting Moments

Timberlake is still in prison, Ferrante said at the meeting. He will held until his trial.

He was charged on Oct. 31 with aggravated assault, endangering an injured victim, child cruelty, and refusal to submit fingerprinting, police said. He was taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.

At the meeting, Aguilar said that police are usually patrolling the park, but while the incident with Timberlake was taking place on Oct. 31, police were dealing with another alleged assault, in which a person was ultimately arrested.

There are now constant patrols in the park, he said.

Officials said that even with changes, "We have got a long way to go."

Councilman Michael Russo said the city could be doing more, including collaborating with NJ Transit and other agencies. "They don't want to hear what we can't do," he said, of the public.

Two representatives from Hoboken's homeless shelter said that Timberlake did not use the shelter, and that the shelter gets people into housing and feeds the working poor, not just the unhoused.

Next Meeting

A routine monthly CAPS public safety meeting will be held on Dec. 11 at the Hive, 1000 Park Ave. See details of that meeting here.

Want to watch both of Monday's meetings? You can use this link.

READ MORE: Woman Knocked Unconscious, Man Assaulted In Hoboken Park