Holiday Tree and Trim a Bayonne Landmark located at 750 Broadway, Bayonne is being torn down, after closing more then ten years ago.
Originally opened in 1967 by Philip Minchello, Holiday Tree and Trim was known as a “Year-round Christmas wonderland,” by both customers and employees.
Once employing 75 full time workers the iconic store would have customers lined up many months in advance leading up to Christmas.
Mr. Minchello in a New York Time article was quoted saying that “December 26th was his busiest time.” and employes said working at Holiday Tree and Trim “didn’t feel like work at all.”
The store supplied artifical trees and a building filled with Holiday decorations of all types.
In the years since their closing the Bayonne landmark would remind Bayonne residents of Christmas’ gone by. However, the Holiday Tree and Trim tradition is still available through a website Christmastopia.com which was created in 1990 by Team Santa which has been involved in the Christmas industry for over 60 years in honor of passed members of Holiday Tree and Trim family, according to the Christmastopia website.
Mayor Steven M. Fulop and the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announce the opening of the City’s sixth vaccination site located near the Marin Boulevard Light Rail Station as New Jersey’s eligibility requirements expand to frontline workers, including all food and restaurant workers, grocery store workers, porters, hospitality workers, warehouse workers, those in the medical supply chain, and more. In step, the additional site opening today will significantly increase access and provide priority for these frontline workers.  Â
Honoring a local vaccine volunteer:Â The City of Bayonne and the County of Hudson are honoring Emilia Cruz, RN for her service as a volunteer vaccinator.
L to R – Dr. Vijay Singh, Suzanne Cavanaugh, RN, Emilia Cruz, RN, Mayor Jimmy Davis, Trina Boyd-Clyburn, Director of Nursing.
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the County of Hudson and the City of Bayonne are honoring Emilia Cruz, RN, for her service as volunteer vaccinator at Bayonne Medical Center. Mayor Davis said, “Emilia Cruz called the City Hall nurses in the very start of the COVID vaccination clinic to offer her assistance on her time off to volunteer giving vaccines to Bayonne residents. She works just about every day she has off helping in the clinic, putting her expertise to work for the people of Bayonne. Emilia is truly worthy of being honored.â€
The Bayonne OEM would like the residents of Bayonne to know…
Who can currently be vaccinated?
Healthcare workers, Public Safety Workers, Adults over 65, Any adult 18-64 with a serious medical condition, Teachers/Faculty/Staff of all grades (including PreK and Daycare), transportation workers, and many essential workers. The NJ Dept of Health and the Governor determine vaccine eligibility. More people will be added on 3/29. Please go to covid19.nj.gov for the complete list of eligible people.
Who do I contact to be vaccinated?
There are many options. If you have called (201-858-6088) or emailed ([email protected]) to get your vaccine, you do NOT need to do anything else. Someone will call you to schedule your appointment. Please be patient as there are thousands of eligible residents on this list. A scheduler will call each person who has contacted us, however, it will take time as we can only schedule the number of residents that our dosage allotments allow. Your appointment will be either at BMC at 29 East 29th or the RWJB site at 519 Broadway.
What if I don’t want to wait for a scheduler to call me?
You have many other options. Mayor Davis and the City Council have just opened a second vaccine POD at the Bayonne Museum (229 Broadway). Appointments for this site open up each Thursday for the following week. Vaccines are given only on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at this site. You can register by going to http://bayonne.mhonsite.com. The entire registration process for the museum is done online. You can also go the Hudson County site in Kearny. You can register for this location by going to http://hudsoncovidvax.org. There are also other locations now offering the vaccine in Bayonne. They are: Walmart, StopNShop, RiteAid, Walgreens, CVS, and Riverside Medical. Please go to their websites to register at any of these locations.
I called the Bayonne number back in January, and I have not received a call yet. Why is it taking so long?
As stated above, there are thousands of eligible residents. This process takes time, as we schedule the maximum amount of people that our dosage allotment allows. Now that there are more options, we expect the rate of vaccinations to increase quickly. Your patience and cooperation are greatly appreciated!
What is the current status of Covid-19 in our city?
The Bayonne Department of Health continues to track all Bayonne residents that are currently positive for Covid-19. These numbers have been fluctuating over the past several weeks, and we are currently under 200 residents that are Covid-19 Positive. We are all reminded to continue to practice the safety tips that have been in place to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.
Where can I get tested for Covid-19?
There are many places for you to be tested. The City of Bayonne continues to perform PCR testing at Ahern Veterans Stadium. This testing is done on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm-7pm and Saturdays from 9am-2pm.
The Consulate General of Mexico in New York came to Bayonne in March to offer passport and ID card services to Mexican citizens who live in several cities throughout the tri-state area.
 In Bayonne, the Mexican government issued its citizens new Mexican passports and ID cards with chips. Mexican diplomat Rosa Maria Betancourt Moreno and her colleagues brought mobile consular services to Bayonne for the sixth consecutive year. Ruben Arana of Bayonne, a Mexican-American contractor, worked with Council Member At-Large Juan Perez to bring the mobile consular program to Bayonne. Pictured left to right: Kevin Perez, Alexandra Arana, Council Member Juan Perez, Mayor Jimmy Davis, Mexican diplomat Rosa Maria Betancourt Moreno, Ruben Arana, Alejandra Montiel, and Federico Betancourt.
In order to support the local economy, Mayor Jimmy Davis and the Bayonne City Council have announced that, beginning April 1, 2021, local food and/or beverage establishments may be able to establish temporary outdoor seating with the issuance of a temporary use permit. These permits may allow food and/or beverage establishments to expand the areas available for seating on a cases by case basis. These temporary use permits were approved for most establishments last year through an active mercantile license from the City of Bayonne. If a food and/or beverage establishment received approval in 2020 for temporary outdoor dining, a new application is not required if the proposed use remains the same. However, proof of 2021 insurance must be provided. If the business proposal has changed, a new application will be required.
Temporary outdoor dining permits allow operation from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at A.B.C.-licensed facilities and normal business hours for non-A.B.C.-licensed facilities.
Food and/or beverage establishments interested in continuing their temporary outdoor dining use permit in the same manner as the 2020 approval must sign a certification and mail or place it in the drop box by the outside of City Hall to the attention of Room #13- Zoning Office. There is no fee to continue the temporary outdoor dining use for qualifying food and/or beverage establishments.
A food and/or beverage establishment that did not apply previously or receive approval for outdoor dining must submit a new application packet along with proof of insurance coverage. There is no fee for new applications or the continuation certification. For questions, please contact Tracey Tuohy in the Zoning Office at 201-858-6110 or Michele O’Reilly in the Health Department at 201-85
Proud to post this about Downtown Jersey City, of which my family lived there for over 90 years
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New
Jersey, after Newark. It is the seat of Hudson County as well as the county’s largest city.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program calculated that the city’s population was 262,075 in 2019, ranking as the 80th-most-populous incorporated place in the nation.
The 2019 estimate represents an increase of about 5.8% from the 2010 United States Census, when the city’s population was at 247,597, ranking the city the nation’s 78th-largest by population.
After a peak population of 316,715 measured in the 1930 census, the city’s population saw a half-century-long decline to a nadir of 223,532 in the 1980 census. Since then, the city’s population has rebounded, with the 2010 population reflecting an increase of 7,542 (+3.1%) from the 240,055 counted in the 2000 census, which had in turn increased by 11,518 (+5.0%) from the 228,537 counted in the 1990 census.
Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City is bounded on the east by the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay and on the west by the Hackensack River and Newark Bay. A port of entry, with 30.7 miles (49.4 km) of waterfront and extensive rail infrastructure and connectivity, the city is an important transportation terminus and distribution and manufacturing center for the Port of New York and New Jersey. Jersey City shares significant mass transit connections with Manhattan. Redevelopment of the Jersey City waterfront has made the city one of the largest centers of banking and finance in the United States and has led to the district and city being nicknamed Wall Street West
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne is setting up an additional site for the Coronavirus vaccine at the Bayonne Community Museum, which is located at 9th Street and Broadway. Vaccinations will start at that location by appointment only on Wednesday, March 17. Mayor Davis said, “The goal of opening the museum building as a major vaccination center is to double Bayonne’s vaccination capacity each week. Having this additional location will help us achieve the goal of vaccinating the majority of our adult residents.†During the first week, vaccinations will take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. After that, vaccinations at that site will take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The schedule will be adjusted as needed as the vaccine supply increases.
The City of Bayonne is contracting with Mobile Health, a New York-based company, to administer a major portion of the local vaccination program.
On Thursday, March 5, officials from the Hudson County Planning Department led a discussion about the possibilities for ferry service to and from the west side of Bayonne. Meeting virtually, more than fifty people took part in the event. The discussion included Hudson County officials, City of Bayonne representatives, real estate developers, Bayonne commuters, and others. (Note: Possible ferry service on Newark Bay – on Bayonne’s west side – is not to be confused with ferry service to New York that has already been planned between the former Military Ocean Terminal – on Bayonne’s east side.)
Kevin Force, Principal Planner from the Hudson County Department of Planning, cited several reasons for the county’s interest in ferries. Hudson County’s dense population, waterfront access, congested roadways, and crowded transit systems all point to the need to expand local transportation options. Force polled meeting participants about the factors involved in taking a ferry. The most important factor for participants was having a ferry that would travel to where they want to go. The second most important factor for participants was the availability of ferries and their schedules.
Among the areas Hudson County officials are studying for possible ferry service are Bayonne’s west side (Newark Bay) waterfront; the Bayfront area on the west side of Jersey City; South Harrison; South Kearny; West New York; and Hoboken.
A lifestyle and entertainment publication serving the Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, Weehawken, West New York, North Bergen, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Secaucus and Guttenberg Waterfront Communities
