The Famed Hoboken Batman Is Now A Ghostbuster, Until Spring

HOBOKEN, NJ — Who ya gonna call? If you're in Hoboken, you might call Weehawken resident Marlon Rodriguez, who has gained local fame for at least ten years as the "Hoboken Batman," riding his bicycle up and down Washington Street clad as the Caped Crusader.

But not this winter.

Rodriguez, who is in his mid thirties, was spotted over the weekend on Newark Street playing the Ghostbusters theme out loud, and wearing the appropriate getup. People stopped to say hello and to ask him questions.

Rodriguez told Patch that he will be wearing the costume only for the colder months, and will return to the Batman clothes when it gets warmer.

A story last year in NJ.com noted that Rodriguez is a massage therapist by trade. He got the idea to wear the costume years ago when he rode down Hoboken's Washington Street to get to the PATH station to entertain in New York. He received enough attention in the mile-square city that he decided to focus his act here instead.

In a 2012 documentary about him, Rodriguez said he grew up in Cuba in poverty. As a child he watched movies about America, and dreamed of coming here.

"I decided to be Batman in 2006. That's the freedom of this country," he says in the film. "You can go to a store and buy whatever you want, especially something you love. I decided to buy the Batman costume to think about the dream I had."

Rodriguez even has his own Facebook page, as well as numerous mentions around the web. He once appeared in a Thrillist top-25 list of "Things You Need To Explain To Out-Of-Towners About Hoboken." Sometimes he appears at local charity events to help raise money for various causes.

But as a Ghostbuster, he'll still get plenty of work. For instance, at least one older restaurant on Washington Street is said to be haunted.