Start with a tape measure
Much of Hoboken lives in brownstones and brick rowhouses three to five floors high, most of them without an elevator. Staircases are narrow, landings are small, and many front doors open onto a stoop. Before you think about boxes, measure these:
- The narrowest point of the staircase, from the handrail to the wall.
- The ceiling height where the stairs turn at each landing.
- Your building door and your apartment door, fully open.
- Your sofa: length, depth and height, and whether its legs come off.
- Box springs, headboards and tall wardrobes. These are the pieces that get stuck.
Send us the numbers and a few photos when you book your estimate. Beds, tables, desks and many sofas come apart, and we take them apart and rebuild them at the new place. If a piece cannot come apart and will not make the turn, we tell you before moving day, not on the landing.
The three kinds of Hoboken building
Walk-ups and brownstones. The classic Hoboken move: several flights of stairs, a stoop, and a truck on a narrow one-way street. Time goes into the stairs, so we ask about every flight.
Converted industrial buildings. Old factories turned into lofts and condos. Many have freight elevators and a loading area, with fixed hours for moves. Ask management about both.
Newer elevator buildings. Along the waterfront and on the west side of town. Expect a COI request, a booked elevator and a set time slot. We issue the COI and send it with your contract.
Curb space, weather and the crossing
Street parking in Hoboken is hard to find at any hour, and a moving truck needs a lot of it. The city has its own process for moving trucks: temporary no-parking signs from the Hoboken Parking Utility. Ask the Parking Utility what applies to your block and date, and start early, because it takes time. Tell your neighbors, too.
Some low-lying parts of Hoboken flood after heavy rain. If a big storm is in the forecast for your date, check it with us a day or two ahead so we can talk through your options.
From lower Manhattan and from Brooklyn, where our trucks start, the usual crossing is the Holland Tunnel. From Midtown, the Lincoln Tunnel is often the shorter way into the north end of town. We pick the route for the hour, not by habit.
How pricing works: your hourly rate and terms are in writing before moving day, and the total follows the actual hours. If you add items or services, we confirm the change in writing first.
Who moves in and out of Hoboken
- Manhattan renters who want more room and a short commute by PATH train or ferry. See how the trip works on our NYC to New Jersey page.
- Growing families who trade a walk-up for a house in Bergen County, or for more space in Jersey City next door.
- Moves inside town, from a fourth-floor walk-up to an elevator building a few blocks away. These can be last-minute or same-day when a crew is free.
For the trip itself, see our route guides: Manhattan to Hoboken, Brooklyn to Hoboken and Hoboken to Manhattan.
Hoboken is also a short drive from Weehawken, where the waterfront buildings and the homes up on the bluff each need their own plan.
Hoboken questions
Do stairs change the price?
Stairs are part of the job, so we ask about them on the estimate and they are part of the written price. Tell us the floor and the number of flights at both ends.
My sofa barely got in. Can you get it out?
We will check. Many sofas lose their legs or come apart. Send us the model or photos and your measurements, and we tell you before moving day what we can do.
Can you move a piano up a Hoboken walk-up?
We move uprights and grands. Show us the stairs and the piano on the estimate so we can check the turns first.
Where do your crews come from?
From Brooklyn, NY, where our trucks start. We serve Hoboken but keep no address in New Jersey.