Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 61,842. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay which borders the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay which lies to the east.The city of Bayonne is 9 miles (14 km) east of Newark, the state's largest city, and borders Jersey City to the north. Bayonne is connected to Staten Island, New York by the Bayonne Bridge. The Bayonne Bridge is lit in patriotic colors (red, white & blue) in the evenings, as a 9/11 memorial initiated by a then 8-year-old girl in the summer of 2002, Veronica (Roni) Marie Granite, with the assistance of then-Municipal Councilmember-at-Large Maria Karczewski. Bayonne includes large communities of Italian, Irish, Polish, and Latino Americans.Bayonne was originally formed as a township on April 1, 1861, from portions of Bergen Township. Bayonne was reincorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1869, replacing Bayonne Township, subject to the results of a referendum held nine days later.
History
Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the region presently known as Bayonne was claimed by the Netherlands after Henry Hudson explored the Hudson River which is aptly named after him. According to Royden Page Whitcomb's 1904 book, First history of Bayonne, New Jersey, the name Bayonne is speculated to have originated with Bayonne, France, from which Huguenots settled for a year before the founding of New Amsterdam. However, there is no empirical evidence for this notion, which is considered apocryphal. Whitcomb gives more credence to the idea that Erastus Randall, E.C. Bramhall and B.F. Woolsey, who bought the land owned by Jasper and William Cadmus for real estate speculation, named it Bayonne for purposes of real estate speculation, because it was located on the shores of two bays, Newark and New York.
Geography
Bayonne is located at 40°39′54″N 74°6′37″W / 40.665°N 74.11028°W / 40.665; -74.11028 (40.666552, -74.117680), south of Jersey City on a peninsula surrounded by New York Bay to the east, Newark Bay to the west, and the Kill van Kull to the south.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2 square miles (29.1 km²), of which, 5.6 square miles (14.6 km²) of it is land and 5.6 square miles (14.6 km²) of it (50.04%) is water.Communities within Bayonne include Bergen Point and Constable Hook.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,842 people, 25,545 households, and 16,016 families residing in the city. The population density was 10,992.2 people per square mile (4,241.1/km²). There were 26,826 housing units at an average density of 4,768.2/sq mi (1,839.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.64% White, 5.52% African American, 0.17% Native American, 4.14% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.46% from other races, and 4.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.81% of the population.As of the 2000 census, the ancestry of Bayonne residents was: Italian (20.1%), Irish (18.8%), Polish (17.9%), German (6.1%), Arab (3.8%), American (2.5%).There were 25,545 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.10.In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.The median income for a household in the city was $41,566, and the median income for a family was $52,413. Males had a median income of $39,790 versus $33,747 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,553. About 8.4% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
The City of Bayonne is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.The current Mayor of Bayonne is Mark Smith, who was elected in a Special Election in November 2008 to fill out the term of former Mayor Joseph V. Doria, who was appointed by then-Governor Jon Corzine to head the state Department of Community Affairs. Smith recently won an election for a full term in May 2010.Members of the Bayonne City Council are:Terrence Ruane. - Council President- At-large
Deborah Czerwienski - At-large
Agnes Gillepsie - First Ward
Joseph Hurley - Second Ward
Raymond Greaves - Third Ward
Mayors of BayonneMayors have been governing the community since Bayonne was established in 1869.
The first mayor of Bayonne was Henry Meigs, who served from 1869-1879.
The mayor with the longest term in office was Dennis P. Collins, who served from 1974-1990.
Pierre P. Garven served two non-consecutive terms from 1906–1910 and 1915–1919
Dr. Bert J. Daly served three non-consecutive terms from 1914–1915, 1927–1931 and 1943-1947.
Henry Meigs, Jr.1869-1879
Stephen K. Lane1879-1883
David W. Oliver1883-1887
John Newman1887-1891
William C. Farr1891-1895
Egbert Seymour1895-1904
Thomas Brady1904-1906
Pierre P. Garven1906-1910
John J. Cain1910-1912
Matthew T. Cronin1912-1914
Dr. Bart J. Daly1914-1915
Pierre P. Garven1915-1919
W. Homer Axford1919-1923
Robert J. Talbot1923-1927
Dr. Bert J. Daly1927-1931
Lucius F. Donohue1931-1939
James J. Donovan1939-1943
Dr. Bert J. Daly1943-1947
Charles A. Heiser1947-1951
Edward F. Clark1951-1955
G. Thomas DiDomenico1955-1959
Alfred V. Brady1959-1962
Francis G. Fitzpatrick1962-1974
Dennis P. Collins1974-1990
Richard A. Rutkowski1990-1994
Leonard P. Kiczek1994-1998
Joseph V. Doria, Jr.1998-2007
Terrance Malloy 2007-2008
Mark Smith 2008–present
Federal, state and county representation
Bayonne is split between the 10th and 13th Congressional districts. New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District is represented by Albio Sires (D, West New York). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).Bayonne is in the 31st District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D, Jersey City) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Anthony Chiappone (D, Bayonne) and Charles Mainor (D, Jersey City).Hudson County's County Executive is Thomas A. DeGise. The executive, together with the Board of Chosen Freeholders in a legislative role, administer all county business. Hudson County's nine Freeholders (as of 2009) are: District 1: Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico (Chairman); District 2: William O'Dea (Chairman Pro Tempore); District 3: Jeffrey Dublin; District 4: Eliu Rivera; District 5: Anthony Romano; District 6: Tilo Rivas (Vice Chairman); District 7: Jose C. Muñoz; District 8: Thomas Liggio; and District 9: Albert Cifelli.
Bayonne public schools
The Bayonne Board of Education serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are the ten K-8 elementary schools ( Henry E. Harris No. 1, Phillip G. Vroom No. 2, Dr. Walter F. Robinson No. 3, Mary J. Donohoe No. 4, Lincoln No. 5, Horace Mann No. 6, Midtown Community School No. 8, George Washington School No. 9, Woodrow Wilson No. 10 and John M. Bailey No. 12); P.S. #14, an advanced school for gifted and talented students in academics, the arts, and physical education, for students in grades K-8th (as of 2008); and Bayonne High School. Bayonne High School is the only public school in the state to have an on-campus ice rink for its hockey team.For the 2004-05 school year, Mary J. Donohoe No. 4 School was named a 'Star School' by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve. It is the fourth school in Bayonne to receive this honor. The other three are Bayonne High School in 1995-96, Midtown Community School in 1996-97 and P.S. #14 in the 1998-99 school year. During the 2008-09 school year, P.S. #14 was also recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. Washington Community School No. 9 received the Blue Ribbon School award during the 2009-2010 school year.Beginning with the 2006-07 school year, the Board of Education implemented a dress code for students in pre-K through eighth grade. Under this code students wear a school logo shirt and a variety of pants, skirts, shorts, and other prescribed items. The plan was intended to 'increase student identification with their schools and the district, eliminate many of the distractions associated with differences in social or economic status, allow the children, their teachers and the Board of Education to concentrate on shared pursuit of educational excellence [and] instill a sense of belonging and school pride'. The decision prompted a battle between the Board, and parents upset at the manner in which the policy was imposed, the cost of the uniforms, the loss of freedom of expression to students in choosing the clothing they wear and issues regarding the manner in which the contract was awarded.
Other schools
Private schools in Bayonne include Holy Family Academy, Marist High School, All Saints Catholic Academy, and Yeshiva Gedola of Bayonne.
Car
The Bayonne Bridge provides a direct link to New York City, i.e. Staten Island.The Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 78) provides access to Jersey City and, via the Holland Tunnel, Manhattan. In the opposite direction on the Newark Bay Extension, the Newark Bay Bridge provides access to Newark, Newark Liberty International Airport and the rest of the Turnpike (Interstate 95).Route 440 runs along the east side of Bayonne, and the west side of Jersey City, following the old Morris Canal route. Although it has traffic lights it is usually the quickest route north-south within Bayonne. It connects to the Bayonne Bridge, I-78, and to Route 185 to Liberty State Park.
Bus
Bus transportation is provided on three main north-south streets of the city: Broadway, Kennedy Boulevard, and Avenue C, both by the state-operated New Jersey Transit and several private bus lines. The Broadway line runs solely inside Bayonne city limits, while bus lines on Avenue C and Kennedy Boulevard run to various end points in Jersey City. One Kennedy Boulevard service (the Coach USA 99S) runs to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, New York City, and rush hours peak direction the NJ Transit 120 runs between Avenue C in Bayonne and Battery Park in Downtown Manhattan, while the 81 provides service to New Jersey. There is also bus service to Staten Island on the S89 route provided by MTA New York City Bus.
Light Rail
The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which was completed in the year 2000, has been a popular form of transportation which currently has stops throughout Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and North Bergen.Stations in Bayonne are:45th Street: Avenue E at East 45th Street
34th Street: Avenue E at East 34th Street
22nd Street: Avenue E at East 22nd Street
A fourth station, 8th Street, which will be located at Avenue C, is under construction. All of these were originally train stations for the old Central Railroad of New Jersey rail system.Service within Bayonne is available between these three stations. Northbound service from Bayonne runs through Jersey City, mostly near the waterfront, to Hoboken Terminal. Other parts of the system can be accessed via transfers. The Tonnelle Avenue (in North Bergen) and other stations north of Hoboken Terminal can also be reached by transferring at stations between Liberty State Park and Pavonia-Newport for the West Side Avenue-Tonnelle Avenue route, or at Hoboken Terminal for the Tonelle Avenue-Hoboken route. The Liberty State Park station is a transfer point for travel between Bayonne and stations on the West Side Avenue (Jersey City) line. Connection to PATH trains to midtown Manhattan and to New Jersey Transit commuter train service are available at Hoboken Terminal, and connections to PATH trains to midtown Manhattan are available at the Hoboken Terminal and Pavonia-Newport stations. Transfers to PATH trains to Newark, Harrison, and downtown Manhattan are available at Exchange Place.
Commerce
Portions of Bayonne are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).The Bayonne Town Center, located within the Broadway shopping district, includes retailers, eateries, consumer and small business banking centers. The Bayonne Medical Center anchors the northern end of the Town Center. It is the city’s largest employer, with over 1,200 employees.Bayonne Crossing, which is currently under construction on Route 440 in Bayonne, will include a Lowe’s, New York Sports Club, and Wal-Mart.On the site of the former Military Ocean Terminal, the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor includes new housing and businesses. One of them, Cape Liberty Cruise Port is located at the end of the long peninsula with Royal Caribbean. Also found is a memorial park for the Tear of Grief, commemorating September 11th, 2001 and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Constable Hook
The Bayonne Golf Club at New York Harbor, a private links style golf course that was constructed on marshland at Constable Hook. A flagpole, displaying a large American flag that is visible from Manhattan and other surrounding communities, stands next to the golf course's clubhouse, which also marks the highest point of elevation in the city of Bayonne.
Hackensack RiverWalk
Bayonne's section of the Hackensack RiverWalk (Bergen Point to Bellman's Creek in North Bergen), if fully completed, would run from the southwest corner of Bergen Point where the Kill Van Kull meets the Newark Bay and connect to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. A plaque unveiled on May 2, 2006 for the new Richard A. Rutkowski Park, a wetlands preserve on the northwestern end of town that is part of the RiverWalk. Also known as the Waterfront Park and Environmental Walkway, it is located immediately north of the Stephen R. Gregg Hudson County Park.
National Registered Historic Places and Museums
See List of Registered Historic Places in Hudson County, New JerseyBayonne Truck House No. 1, home to Bayonne Firefighters Museum
Bayonne Trust Company, home to Bayonne Community Museum
First Reformed Dutch Church of Bergen Neck
Robbins Reef Light
Media and culture
Bayonne is located within the New York media market, with most of its daily papers available for sale or delivery. Local, county, and regional news is covered by the daily Jersey Journal. The Union City Reporter is part of The Hudson Reporter group of local weeklies. Other weeklies, the River View Observer and El Especialito also cover local news. Bayonne-based periodicals include the Bayonne Community News and the Bayonne Evening Star-Telegram (B.E.S.T.).Bayonne's local culture is served by the Annual Outdoor Art Show, which was instituted in 2008, in which local artists display their works.Jackie Gleason, a former headliner at the Hi-Hat Club in Bayonne, was fascinated by the city and mentioned it often in the television series The Honeymooners.Films set in Bayonne include the 2000 drama Men of Honor, starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr., the 2002 drama Hysterical Blindness, and the 2005 Tom Cruise science fiction film War of the Worlds, which opens at the Bayonne home of the lead character, and depicts the destruction of the Bayonne Bridge by aliens. Films shot in Bayonne include the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, scenes of which were filmed at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, and the 2008 Mickey Rourke drama The Wrestler, which was partially filmed in at the Color & Cuts Salon and the former Dolphin Gym, both of which are on Broadway in Bayonne.The November 16, 2010 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart parodied former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's reality television series, Sarah Palin's Alaska, in the form of a trailer for a fictional reality show called Jason Jones' Bayonne, New Jersey, whose portrayal of the city was characterized by prostitution, drugs, crime, pollution and a stereotypical Italian-American population. Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith criticized the sketch, saying, 'Jon Stewart's unfortunate and inaccurate depiction of Bayonne represents a lame attempt at humor at the expense of a rock solid, all-American community.'
Notable residents
(B) denotes that the person was born there.Ben Bernie(1891–1943), bandleader, author, violinist, composer and conductor who wroteSweet Georgia Brown.(B)
Tammy Blanchard(born 1976), actress who won an Emmy Award for her portrayal ofJudy GarlandinLife with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.
Joe Borowski(born 1971), professional baseball player for theCleveland Indians.
Kenny Britt(born 1988), wide receiver for theTennessee Titans.(B)
George Cummings(born 1938), guitarist for the 1970s iconic pop band,Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show.
Sandra Dee(1942-2005), actress best known for her role asGidget.(B)
Rich Dimler, former nose tackle for theCleveland BrownsandGreen Bay Packers.(B)
Barney Frank(born 1940), member of theUnited States House of RepresentativesfromMassachusettssince 1981.(B)
Herman Kahn(1922-1983), military strategist.
Brian Keith(1921–1997), film and TV actor who appeared inThe Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Comingand as Uncle Bill inFamily Affair.(B)
Frank Langella(born 1940), actor who has appeared in over 70 productions includingDaveandGood Night, and Good Luck..(B)
Jammal Lord(born 1981), former safety for theHouston Texans.
George R. R. Martin(born 1948), author and screenwriter of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
Gene Olaff(born 1920), early professional soccer goalie.(B)
Peter George Olenchuk,United States ArmyMajor General.
Shaquille O'Neal(born 1972), all-star basketball player for various NBA teams.
Corey Stokes(born 1988), college basketball player forVillanova Universitynicknamed 'The Bayonne Bomber'.
James Urbaniak(born 1963), film and TV actor best known for his role as the voice ofDr. Thaddeus VentureinThe Venture Bros..(B)
Chuck Wepner(born 1939), hard-luck boxer who was known as 'The Bayonne Bleeder'.
Zakk Wylde(born 1967), hard rock and heavy metal guitarist.(B)
