Ceremony for new police officers: At their swearing-in ceremony, six new police officers posed with the department’s leadership.  Pictured left to right:  Mayor and Public Safety Director Kubert, Officer Justin Walker, Officer Roberto Bernardo, Officer Beshoy Nasrallah, Officer Nicholas Cerbone, Officer Anthony Lucia, Officer Xavier Hogan, Deputy Chief Drew Quinn, and Chief Joseph Scerbo.

The Bayonne Police Department held a swearing-in ceremony for six new police officers in the City Council Chambers.  The new officers are Xavier Hogan, Anthony Lucia, Nicholas Cerbone, Justin Walker, Beshoy Nasrallah, and Roberto Bernardo.  City Clerk Madelene Medina administered the oath of office to the group. 

            Mayor and Public Safety Director Robert Kubert congratulated the new officers on completing their six months of training at the police academy.  He advised them that they would be learning now from practice on the street “day in and day out.”  Mayor Kubert pointed out that they would be making sacrifices by working on holidays and night shifts.  He promised them that each day would bring opportunities “to help people.”  At the same time, he called being a police officer “a challenging position.”  After calling the Bayonne Police Department “a very service-oriented organization,” Mayor Kubert said that people reach out to the Police Department and the Fire Department, “which are called out to solve their problems.”

Police Chief Joseph Scerbo said it was “a great day” for the Police Department and the citizens of Bayonne.  He told the new recruits that “honor, service, and duty” are “the core values” of the Bayonne Police Department.  He stated that community policing is a “key component” of the department.”  He promised the new officers “to lead  from the front, and to always have your back – as long as you are doing the right thing.” Chief Scerbo called on the new officers to embody integrity.  He said his goal is “to return them home safe.”

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Bayonne Proclamation for Apraxia Awareness: Mayor Robert Kubert issued a proclamation for Apraxia Awareness. The goal of the proclamation is to increase the public’s knowledge about childhood apraxia of speech, an extremely challenging speech disorder that affects one in 1,000 children. This condition causes children to have significant difficulty learning to speak and is among the most severe speech deficits in children. Those with apraxia require early, appropriate, and intensive speech therapy. Public awareness about childhood apraxia of speech is essential for families of children with this neurological disorder and the professionals who support them to achieve the needed service for those learning to use their own voice.  Pictured left to right: Adonis Martinez, Ethan Martinez, Kirsy Ulloa, Alanna Martinez, Superintendent of Recreation Pete Amadeo, and Mayor Robert Kubert. 

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Mayor Robert Kubert announced that Bayonne is moving its seventh food truck festival from Saturday, May 9, to Sunday, May 10, due to forecasts of rainy weather on Saturday. The event will take place on Sunday from 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m.  Mayor Kubert said, “On Sunday, May 10, we look forward to welcoming both Bayonne residents and neighbors from other communities as we bring the food trucks to our city in 2026.  The food truck festival will provide the opportunity to enjoy a variety of cuisines in our great community.” Mayor Kubert continued, “The City of Bayonne encourages visitors to arrive by Light Rail at the 22^nd Street Station.  It will be a convenient way to visit the festival and enjoy spending time with us in Bayonne.”

The food truck festival is sponsored by the Bayonne Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ).  Bayonne UEZ Coordinator Jackie Farber said, “I would like to encourage our metropolitan area neighbors to come to town, support our local businesses, and enjoy the food truck festival.  We hope you will come back to Bayonne again to shop, dine, and enjoy our growing community.”

The festival will take place on Avenue E between 22^nd and 24^th Streets.  In order to accommodate the festival, portions of Avenue E will be closed to traffic.   A variety of vendors will be selling food and other items out of food trucks, tents, and tables. The trucks and tents will offer a great assortment of foods and other items from a variety of cultures.

The participating food vendors will includes: Mozzarepas, Little Sicilian, Athens Delite, Chavas, Taste of Poland, House of Cupcakes, Cold Stone Creamery, Angry Archies, Bacon On A Stick, El Gallo de Oro, Shrimp Shack, Crape Suzette, El Chilango, Noodle Wala, The Nugget Spot, Mozzarella God, Stuf’d, Twisted Steak LLC, Waffles and Dinges, Just Delicious Kettlecorn, Carnival Concessions, Brooklyn Pizza , Jersey John’s House of Dogs, Rhythm & Ribs, Torta Truck, Mac Truck, Little Cafee, T-Berks , Ma & Pa’s Tex Mex BBQ , and Going Bananas. Other participating businesses will include UEZ Union Grounds Coffee House.

In addition to the food trucks and tents, the event will include children’s rides, live music, and a beer and wine garden for the adults.  The children’s rides will be in Sister Miriam Teresa Park, which is located on Gregg Lane between 23^rd and 24^th Streets.  The beer and wine garden will be located on 23^rd Street towards Gregg Lane.  There will be an ID card check for anyone purchasing alcoholic drinks.  Those drinks may not be carried outside of the festival area.

Two bands will entertain visitors to the festival. The musical entertainment will feature concerts by Anna Felice Band, 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., and Who Brought the Dog, 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. A stage for performances will be set up at 23^rd Street and Avenue E. 

Admission to the festival is free.  Members of the public will purchase their own choices of food, beverages, and children’s rides. 

For safety reasons, several “Road Closed,” “Local Traffic Only,” and “No Parking” signs will be posted in and around the affected portions of the Avenue E corridor.  Variable message signs will also be used to announce information to motorists.  Police and Fire Department vehicles will assist in creating safety perimeters for the event.  Set-up for the event will begin at 7:00 a.m.

Parking lots will be available in several locations:  Lots 6 and 7 – 23^rd Street and Church Lane; Lots 8 and 9 – East 26^th Street between Broadway and Avenue E; and the Barnabas Medical Center parking deck at 24^th Street and DelMonte Drive.  Public metered parking will also be available along the Broadway corridor.  Pay station and parking meter enforcement will be in effect.

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Ground-Breaking Ceremony at Russell Golding Park in Bayonne: The City of Bayonne held a ground-breaking ceremony for the renovations at Russell Golding Park on Avenue E.  Public officials and representatives of Picerno-Giordano Construction (the building contractor) and Center State Engineering took- part in the ceremony. Pictured from left to right: Public Works Director Tom Cotter, Contractor Rich Giordano (Picerno-Giordano Construction), Engineer Rob Russo (Center State Engineering), Mayor Robert Kubert, First Ward Council Member Neil Carroll, City Council President and Third Ward Council Member Gary LaPelusa, Council Member At-Large Loyad Booker, Congressman Rob Menendez, State Assemblyman Will Sampson, Maureen Hurley Brown (Principal, Climate and Culture, Bayonne Board of Education), Council Member At-Large Juan Perez, Samuel Schroeder (Chief of Land Acquisition and Design and  City Planner Suzanne Mack

On May 4, the City of Bayonne held a ground-breaking ceremony at Russell Golding Park, which is located on Avenue E between 48^th and 51^st Streets.  According to Public Works Director Tom Cotter, the nearly one-acre-sized park is having “a total renovation.”  A combination of federal and county funds is behind this $5.75 million park reconstruction.  The project received $5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $750,000 from the Hudson County Open Space Fund.

            At the ceremony, City Council President and Third Ward Council Member Gary LaPelusa said it was “a great day in the City of Bayonne.”  He noted that the renovated park will feature new playgrounds, basketball courts, pickleball courts, and other features that will enhance the northern gateway to Bayonne.  Council President LaPelusa thanked Congressman Rob Menendez for supporting the federal funds for the park project. 

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            City Clerk Madelene Medina announced that early voting for Bayonne’s May 12 Municipal Election will take place on the following dates and times in the Council Chambers at City Hall and at the Bayonne Community Museum:

Friday, May 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

City Hall is located at 630 Avenue C, between 27^th and 28^th Streets. The Bayonne Community Museum is located at 229 Broadway at the corner of 9^th Street. Designated, short-term parking spaces for voters will be established in front of City Hall and the Bayonne Community Museum on May 8, 9, and 10. The Council Chambers are located inside City Hall on the ground floor of the building, immediately inside the main glass door entrance to the building.  Voting will take place in the Community Museum on the ground level of the building.  Handicapped parking and a handicapped ramp are available at the rear of the Community Museum.

The offices up for election in the Bayonne 2026 Municipal Election are Mayor (vote for one), Council Members At-Large (vote for two), and Council Member for each ward (vote for one in either the First Ward, the Second Ward, or the Third Ward), depending on your place of residence.  Voters from throughout the city will be allowed to participate in the early voting at City Hall and at the Bayonne Community Museum.  Votes cast in the early voting period will be counted with those cast in the voter’s ward of residence on Election Day. 

            Only those who are registered to vote in the City of Bayonne may participate in the early voting program for the Bayonne Municipal Election.  Anyone who votes early on May 8, 9, or 10 will not be allowed to vote on Election Day, which is Tuesday, May 12, because they will have voted already.

            The early voting process will be administered by City Clerk Medina and her staff.  

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            The Chief John T. Brennan Fire Museum announced that it will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, April 30, at 4:30 p.m. The event will mark the start of regular hours for the museum, which will be open on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The museum is located at 10 West 47^th Street.  Regular Saturday hours will start effective May 2. 

            The museum building was constructed in 1875 as the first firehouse built in the City of Bayonne.  At the time of its completion, the firehouse was known as Bayonne Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, and it housed a volunteer fire company.  It was a hand-drawn truck company was located on what was known then as Northview Avenue.   The address was changed to 47^th Street in 1888 when Bayonne standardized a system of numbered side streets. 

            Originally, the firehouse had just one floor.  A second story was added in 1884, so that the building could accommodate new, horse-drawn fire trucks.  In 1906, Bayonne switched from volunteer fire companies to a paid fire department.  The paid firefighters continued using the firehouse until 1928.  After that, for several decades, the Association of Exempt Firemen held their meetings in the building. 

            In 1974, Mrs. Geni Brown, the sister of Fire Captain Edward Kaminski, suggested to Fire Chief John T. Brennan that the City of Bayonne apply to have the firehouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1976, the firehouse received a place on the National Register with the support of Mayor Dennis P. Collins and Community Development Director Joseph Pulaski. 

            On October 15, 1979, the firehouse was dedicated as the Bayonne Firefighters’ Museum.  “Fireman Pete” Gwiazdowski was the museum’s first curator.  On May 19, 1988, the building was rededicated as the Chief John T. Brennan Fire Museum, to honor retired Fire Chief Brennan who led the Fire Department from 1960 until he retired in March 1988. 

            The fire museum includes the state’s oldest hand-drawn hose carriage and a hand-drawn hand pumper.  The museum also includes several original oil paintings of Chief Officers of the New York City Fire Department.  Firefighter artifacts include antique fire trumpets, fire helmets, badges, and numerous other items. 

            The fire museum will offer private tours by appointment only.  Members of the public can contact the museum by email at bfdmuseum@gmail.com or by phone at 201-725-1683. 

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            Mayor Robert Kubert announced that the Bayonne Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will participate in Take-Back Day. This event will allow the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Take-Back Day will be held on Saturday, April 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Residents are encouraged to bring their medications for disposal to the front lobby of City Hall, 630 Avenue C, between 27^th and 28^th Streets.  The service is free and anonymous.  Residents are encouraged to remove their names from medication bottles.  Law enforcement recommends removing prescription labels that contain any personal identifying information. 

The DEA cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps.  Only pills and patches will be accepted.  

            Mayor Kubert said, “I urge Bayonne residents to take part in Take-Back Day if they have unneeded prescription drugs at home. Your participation will help make Bayonne a safer and healthier community.” According to the DEA, medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Rates of prescription abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets.       

Public health agencies advise that some methods for disposing of unused medicines, such as flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash, pose health and safety hazards.

             On Saturday, April 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., drop-off parking in Bayonne for Take-Back Day will be available in front of City Hall on Avenue C, between 27^th and 28^th Streets.

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Bayonne Mayor Robert Kubert presents a proclamation for Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Awareness Month:  Mayor Kubert presented the proclamation to Colleen and Roy Feeley, the parents of Shannon Feeley, who died in 2007 from an unexplained cause. Members of the extended family gathered in the Office of the Mayor, where Mayor Kubert read the proclamation aloud to the group. Pictured left to right: Caitlin Feeley, Megan Feeley, Colleen Feeley, Roy Feeley, Mayor Robert Kubert, Gina Nowak, Victoria Nowak, John Nowak, and Jake Nowak.

Bayonne Mayor Robert Kubert has issued a proclamation declaring March Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) Awareness Month. SUDC is the unexpected death of a child over the age of 12 months, which remains unresolved after an investigation is conducted, including a full and thorough review by a medical examiner.

Mayor Kubert presented the proclamation to Bayonne residents Roy and Colleen Feeley, the parents of the late Shannon Feeley, who passed away suddenly at the age of three-and-a-half in 2007 from an unknown cause.  Several members of the Feeleys’ extended family joined them for the presentation of the proclamation. Mayor Kubert read the proclamation to the family members in the Office of the Mayor. In their daughter’s case, as with all SUDC cases, the medical examiner could not determine a cause of death. 

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