Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne will hold an opening ceremony for Phase II of Dennis P. Collins Park renovations on Tuesday, November 1, at 4:00 p.m. The ceremony will take place at 1st Street and Avenue C.
Phase II of the park renovations has included the construction of several new facilities. They include a hockey rink, a multi-purpose, elevated seating area, a playground for ages 2-5, a playground for ages 5-12, basketball courts, an exercise and training area, and a large gazebo.
The play area for the younger children has an amusement park theme. It includes a “Miltyville†ticket booth that is a tribute to Uncle Milty’s, the amusement park that stood on a portion of today’s park property in the 20th century. The kiddie play area has a roller coaster theme.
The multi-purpose, elevated seating area can be used an outdoor classroom or as an audience area for games or performances.
The gazebo measures fifty feet across. It will include tables for sitting. The gazebo is located between the hockey rink and the playground area.
The Gorman Field parking lot will be repaved. Another parking lot has been expanded. Gorman Field has received new sod, along with new fencing and a sprinkler system. The field is not yet ready for use, but will be opened in the spring. The new sod requires time to develop roots.
The park is named after Dennis P. Collins, who served four terms as Mayor of Bayonne from 1974 to 1990. Mr. Collins was a City Council Member before that from 1962 to 1974. Following his twenty-eight years in elected office, Mr. Collins worked as an Aide to Congressman (now Senator) Robert Menendez, Sr. and to former Mayor Joseph V. Doria, Jr.