The City of Bayonne, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and New York Waterway held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 17 at the future location of the Bayonne-New York ferry.  That parcel is located on the southern side of the former Military Ocean Terminal, about one mile east of the main part of Bayonne.  The future terminal will be located next to a former military motel, located at 51 Port Terminal Boulevard. 

The post Groundbreaking Ceremony Held for Bayonne-New York Ferry Terminal first appeared on River View Observer.

Free Four-Hour Parking for Non-Commercial Vehicles

The Davis Administration announced that the Bayonne Parking Utility lots will offer free four-hour parking for non-commercial vehicles in its parking lots from Monday, December 2, 2024, through Wednesday, January 1, 2025.

Regular parking charges in the lots will resume for non-commercial vehicles on Thursday, January 2, 2025. Mayor Davis said, “The goal of the four-hour free parking program in the lots is to encourage people to shop and dine in Bayonne during the holiday season.”

Mayor Davis thanked the Bayonne Parking Utility for supporting the four-hour free parking policy again this year. He said, “The Parking Utility deserves our

gratitude for offering free four-hour parking to non-commercial vehicles in the lots during the 2024 holiday season.”

The four-hour program does not apply to commercial vehicles or to on-street parking meters. All commercial and non-commercial drivers must continue feeding the meters on the streets. The paid permit program for commercial vehicles that park overnight in the lots will remain in effect.

On certain dates in the holiday season that will be announced, parking charges will not be enforced for the entire day. Otherwise, the free parking will be limited to four hours. In some previous years, there was free parking around the clock for a month. However, the program was abused by certain commuters who left their vehicles in free spaces all day, in order to avoid paying for spaces at Light Rail stations. That is why the holiday season parking program was modified a few years ago to allow four hours of free parking at a time in the lots for a given non-commercial vehicle.

Photo courtesy of Bayonne

The post December 2 Through January 1 -Free-Four Hour Parking for Non-Commercial Vehicles in Bayonne Parking Utility Lots first appeared on River View Observer.

Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that Bayonne’s Department of Public Works is now offering eight trees to the public for planting in Bayonne.  Mayor Davis said, “Trees provide shade and add greenery to our neighborhoods.  I urge Bayonne residents and businesses to take advantage of this great program from our Department of Public Works.”

            The trees available from the Department of Public Works are the Red Sunset Maple,  the Autumn Blaze Maple,   the Prunus Canada Red, the Pin Oak, the American Elm,  the Kwanzan Cherry, the Accolade Cherry Blossom, and the Sycamore.  The price for a six-to-seven-foot tree is $250.  The price includes planting and a watering bag to promote healthy growth.  Property owners are responsible for providing any concrete cutouts needed for tree plantings.   The spring and the autumn are tree-planting seasons. 

            Since 1998, the City of Bayonne has been proud to be designated a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.  Having a municipal tree program is one of the qualifications for being a Tree City USA.

            For more information on planting trees, please contact the Department of Public Works at 201-858-6131.

The post Bayonne Announces Tree Initiative first appeared on River View Observer.

          Summer 2025 has been a highly active season for the Bayonne Recreation Division.  Our various summer camps and programs had a combined registration of 2,095.  Bayonne kids took part in more than 50 programs and camps, which covered everything from sports and other physical activities to vocational skills.

          The Bayonne Recreation Division’s summer camps and programs included: the Special Needs Walking Club; Project Coin Camp (financial literacy); Youth Triathlon; Silent Disco; Summer Theatre for Everyone: Special Needs Camp; Special Needs Open Swim; several sessions of Swim Lessons for Grades 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 5 to 8; Special Needs Sports Camp; Special Needs Swim Lessons; Introduction to Content Creation: Social Media, Marketing, and Public Relations; Welding Camp (Introductory); Buddy Baseball; 16^th Street Day Camp; Mary J. Donohoe School Day Camp; Washington School Day Camp; Robinson School Day Camp; Ultimate Sports Camp; Pre-K 4 Arts and Crafts Camp; six Skateboard Camps; four Culinary Camps; two Carpentry Camps; two Fashion Design Camps; Automotive and Mechanic Camp; two Intermediate Chess Camps; and two Grassroots Basketball Shooting Camps.

          On behalf of the City of Bayonne, I would like to thank Recreation Superintendent Pete Amadeo, the staff of the Recreation Division, and our camp directors and seasonal employees for offering such an outstanding range of activities in Summer 2025.  The City of Bayonne is proud to offer a great mixture of activities, so that our young residents can find something fun and positive to do before school starts again in September. 

We look forward to more great programs from the Recreation Division in future summers and throughout the year. 

The post Mayor’s Corner -Bayonne Mayor James Davis -A Great Summer Activity first appeared on River View Observer.

The Bayonne Memorial Day Parade took place under beautiful sunny skies on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2025. Since 2022, the City of Bayonne has worked with the veterans of the Memorial Day Parade Committee to organize the parade. Mayor Jimmy Davis said, “As the son of a proud Korean War veteran, I am glad that the veterans and the City of Bayonne have worked together successfully on the parade.”

Posted May 19, 2025

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    Photo Credit Al Sullivan

  Photo Courtesy of Pete Amadeo-

https://NewJersey. New12.COM

      Saturday, May 3, was a great day in Bayonne. More than a thousand people came out for the dedication ceremony for the new Buddy Baseball field at 11th Street and Avenue E. Buddy Baseball, a great program for children with special needs, has become a cherished part of the community during its ten-year history. In Buddy Baseball, volunteers assist special needs players during the games.

The ceremony marked the happy completion of a $2.4 million construction project that began in September 2024. The City of Bayonne received money for the construction from the federal, state, county governments, and local developers.  Known to many as the Field of Dreams, the renovated ballpark includes a new playing area, artificial turf, bleachers, fencing, handicap access, and an adjoining playground.   We would like to thank all of the public and private sector funders who made this wonderful project possible.   The skilled workers of Picerno-Giordano Construction of Kenilworth built the facility and got it done on time for the start of baseball season.  Public Works Director Tommy Cotter and City Engineer Rob Russo worked hard on this project from start to finish.    

In a special part of the ceremony, the new scoreboard was unveiled to reveal that the City of Bayonne has named the facility Pete Amadeo Field.  Pete, our Superintendent of Recreation, established Buddy Baseball in Bayonne and has made it one of the best recreational programs in our community’s history.  Each day, he leads our Recreation Division with energy and enthusiasm. Naming the field in Pete’s honor was one of Bayonne’s best-kept secrets.  He had no idea that this was happening until the unveiling took place.

I am extremely happy that Pete Amadeo Field is completed and open for the 2025 Buddy Baseball season.  It will provide fun and excitement for children and families for years to come.    

The post MAYOR’S CORNER -Bayonne’s Field of Dreams is Now a Reality first appeared on River View Observer.

          Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne website has added a link to obituaries provided by five local funeral homes.  Mayor Davis said, “Later this week, the Jersey Journal will go out of business.  As a result, there will be no English-language daily newspaper based in Hudson County.  Obituaries have been an important feature of the Jersey Journal and other newspapers for generations.” 

Mayor Davis continued, “To make up for the coming absence of local newspaper obituaries, the City of Bayonne has contacted local funeral homes, offering to provide links to their obituaries on our municipal website, www.bayonnenj.org.”  The obituary link feature will be available through a grey-and-white heading on the right-hand side of the City of Bayonne website homepage.

          As of Monday, January 27, five local funeral homes have provided the City of Bayonne with links to their obituaries.  Those funeral homes are Bayonne Memorial Home, Caiola Stellato and Koch Funeral Home, Dworzanski and Son Funeral Home, Migliaccio Funeral Home and Cremation Services, and West Funeral Home and Cremation Services LLC.  Mayor Davis said, “We would like to thank these five funeral homes for participating in this new obituary program.  We would welcome the participation of other local funeral homes in this obituary link service.”   He invited other local funeral homes to email the appropriate link to their obituaries to mayors.office@bayonnenj.org or jryan@baynj.org.

The post City of Bayonne Website Adds Link to Funeral Home Obituaries first appeared on River View Observer.

Mayor Davis signs purchase and sale agreement:  Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis signs purchase and sale agreement for buying back a parcel of land from the Port Authority for a ferry terminal.  Pictured left to right: Joseph Skillender, Jr., Bayonne Director of Planning, Zoning and Development, and Mayor Jimmy Davis.

          Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis has signed the purchase and sale agreement to repurchase a parcel of land from the Port Authority for a ferry terminal.  Mayor Davis said, “I am very happy that we are one step closer to completing this real estate transaction, which will help us achieve our goal of ferry service for the people of Bayonne.”

For a purchase price of $4.4 million, the City of Bayonne has obtained 2.3 acres at the former Military Ocean Terminal Bayonne (MOTBY), which juts out two miles into Upper New York Bay from Bayonne’s eastern waterfront.  Of that parcel, 1.6 acres will provide space for the ferry terminal and parking.  The remaining 0.7 acre will continue the Hudson Riverfront Walkway along the southern shore of the former MOTBY.   An adjoining private property owner, Lincoln Equities, is contributing an acre of additional land for the ferry project in return for building the UPS Facility.  The terminal will be located about halfway out the former MOTBY, approximately one mile east of the Bayonne mainland.

Plans for the ferry terminal are in the final design phase.  The parking lot for the ferry passengers is expected to be 1.4 acres in size, with approximately 130 parking spaces.  The number of parking spaces will depend on design, layout, drainage requirements, and other factors.   The City of Bayonne has issued a request for proposals/request for qualifications (RFP/RFQ) for constructing the ferry building and operating the terminal. 

In a previous attempt at establishing a ferry service, the City of Bayonne selected Seastreak as the operator.  However, the time for that selection expired, so the City of Bayonne has gone out to bid again for a ferry operator.  The municipality’s goal is to select a ferry company by March or April 2025. 

Mayor Davis concluded, “I am very happy that we have the contract with Port Authority to buy this land so that Bayonne will have our own terminal and control our own destiny.  This purchase will make it easier for us to achieve our goal of ferry service for our great community.”

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