On Saturday, January 28, the City of Bayonne’s Recreation Division held a ceremony to celebrate the $1 million federal grant it will receive to construct a ballfield for the Buddy Baseball program at 11th Street and Avenue E. Buddy Baseball, a popular activity for young people with special needs, was established in Bayonne seven years ago.
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.
Event to Feature Music, Food Trucks, and Inflatables
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne will host a memorial celebration in honor of the late Detective Joseph A. Seals at DiDomenico-16th Street Park in Bayonne on Saturday, September 17, from 2:00-8:00 p.m. The event will feature bands, food trucks, and inflatables. Joseph A. Seals, a Jersey City police detective and a former Bayonne resident, was killed in the line of duty in Jersey City in 2019 after encountering two subjects who were linked to a homicide. Mayor Davis said, “I urge everyone to come out for this event to pay tribute to Detective Seals and to support Garden State Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). Detective Seals gave his life after eighteen years of outstanding service in law enforcement. Let us honor him as a community on September 17.”
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne is switching to night-time pick-ups of recycling effective Tuesday, October 4. The new schedule will cover cans & bottles and mixed paper & cardboard. Mayor Davis said, “The major reason for the change is that night-time traffic is lighter than morning traffic. The recycling trucks will have an easier time getting around without commuter vehicles and school buses on the city streets at the same time.” Mayor Davis continued, “It will be easier to identify missed pick-ups, if they are still on the streets in the morning.”
Bayonne’s existing three zones for garbage and recycling will remain the same.
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the Bayonne Public Library is offering a series of free afternoon and evening summer movies on Wednesdays from July 6 through August 31 at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the O’Connor Gallery on the second floor of the library. The building is located at 31st Street and Avenue C.
All of the movies scheduled for the library have been released in the last two years. The films to be shown include movies for adults in the afternoons and films for children and families in the evenings. Youngsters attending the children’s films must be accompanied by an adult. No children will be admitted for the R-rated movies.
The following films will be shown on Wednesdays. They are listed with their dates, ratings, and running times:
Afternoon films at 1:00 p.m.:
July 6 – Marry Me. Rated PG 13. 1 hour 52 minutes.
July 13 – Silent Night. Rated N/A. 1 hour 32 minutes.
July 20 – The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Rated PG 13. 2 hours 6 minutes.
July 27 – A Journal for Jordan. Rated PG 13. 2 hours 11 minutes.
August 3 –Memory. Rated R. 1 hour 54 minutes.
August 10 – Moonfall. PG 13. 2 hours 10 minutes.
August 17 – Firestarter (2022). Rated R. 1 hour 34 minutes.
August 24 – Death on the Nile (2002). Rated PG 13. 2 hours 7 minutes.
August 31 – House of Gucci. Rated R. 2 hours 38 minutes.
Evening films at 6:30 p.m.:
July 6 – Turning Red. Rated PG. 1 hour 40 minutes.
July 13 – Spider-Man: No Way Home. Rated PG 13. 2 hours 28 minutes.
July 20 – Sing 2. Rated PG. 1 hour 50 minutes.
July 27 – Dog. Rated PG 13. 1 hour 41 minutes.
August 3- Encanto. Rated PG. 1 hour 42 minutes.
August 10 – The Bad Guys. Rated PG. 1 hour 40 minutes.
August 17 – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Rated PG 13. 2 hours 6 minutes.
August 24– Clifford – The Big Red Dog. Rated PG 1 hour 36 minutes.
August 31 – The Lost City. Rated PG 13. 1 hour 52 minutes.
Fun Event for the Entire Family Returns to Bayonne in 2022
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the 2022 Bayonne Hometown Fair will take place on Saturday, June 4, and Sunday, June 5. This will be the sixth fair in its current format. The event did not take place in 2020 or 2021, due to the Coronavirus. On Saturday, the fair’s hours will be from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. On Sunday, the fair’s hours will be from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. The fair will be located along Broadway, from 21st Street to 26th Street. The 2022 fair will feature food, games, rides, vendors, and musical entertainment. Mayor Davis said, “We are happy to welcome back the Bayonne Hometown Fair after a two-year hiatus. Local organizations, businesses, entertainers, and volunteers are working to make sure that this year’s fair is a great event. We can all look forward to the 2022 Hometown Fair.”
Bayonne Memorial Day Parade to Return in 2022
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne, in conjunction with the Bayonne Memorial Day Parade Committee, have organized the return of the Bayonne Memorial Day Parade, on Monday, May 30, 2022. The parade has not taken place since 2019, due to concerns about the Coronavirus in 2020 and 2021.
Mayor Davis explained, “The parade has been a Bayonne tradition since 1918. We call upon the patriotic residents of Bayonne to turn out for the parade’s return on Monday, May 30. We look forward to seeing people out on Broadway again for this parade.”
Pete Amadeo, Supervisor of the Bayonne Recreation Division, has been working on the parade with the veterans on the Bayonne Memorial Day Parade Committee. Barry Jones, an Army veteran, chairs the Memorial Day Parade Committee. Michael Wilson, a Navy veteran, will be the Grand Marshal of the 2022 parade.
The parade will assemble at 9:00 a.m. on East 5th Street between Broadway and Isabella Avenue, and will commence at 10:00 a.m. There will be a brief ceremony at the start of the parade to honor our deceased veterans and to place a wreath at the World War I Memorial. The parade will proceed north along Broadway and will then pass a reviewing stand setup in front of American Legion Post 19 and will end at 32nd Street and Broadway.
For more information, please contact Pete Amadeo at 201-858-6129 or email BAYONNEMEMORIALDAYPARADE@BAYNJ.ORG. If any group or organization is interested in marching, please contact Pete immediately.
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that he and the Bayonne City Council are inviting community members and groups to take part in a citywide Earth Day clean-up in Bayonne on Saturday, April 30. Mayor Davis said, “Earth Day 2022 will provide residents a great opportunity to volunteer to clean up and beautify our city. It’s a day when we can work together building community spirit and a cleaner Bayonne.”
Mayor Davis continued, “There was an impressive turnout of 800 volunteers throughout the community for our previous Earth Day clean-up. I look forward to a continuation of that great effort in 2022.”
City officials are inviting individuals, community organizations, and other groups of volunteers to sign up to clean a specific area of the community on Saturday, April 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Interested organizations and individuals are invited to register as a team. People can either form a team to participate, or the organizers can place individuals on a team near where they live. In recent years, various teams, local businesses, and community groups have taken part. Mayor Davis said, “We would like to encourage all of them to sign up again for the 2022 clean-up. We would also welcome new groups and individuals to join in the Earth Day clean-up activities.” Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to register as soon as possible, in order to get a designated clean-up area. The Department of Public Works is coordinating the clean-up with the Bayonne Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ). To register, please contact Dee Dee Bottino in the UEZ Office at 201-858-6357 or by e-mail at bayonneuez@baynj.org.
Any businesses or organizations that would like to co-sponsor the clean-up should contact Dee Dee.
Teams will be asked to take photos of the garbage bags collected, so that they can be displayed on Facebook. The group with the most garbage bags will win a pizza party with Mayor Davis.
After taking part in the citywide clean-up, all participating teams and individuals are invited to an Earth Day celebration at the lower level of DiDomenico 16th Street Park, below the foot of West 16th Street, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. The park is located between Avenue A and Newark Bay. The celebration will include a bounce house ride, food, and entertainment, along with advocates promoting environmental education.
Mayor Davis concluded, “We should all help our community and our planet on Earth Day and throughout the year. Let’s have a successful, citywide clean-up on Saturday, April 30.”
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that the City of Bayonne will hold an unveiling ceremony for its 20th anniversary September 11th Memorial on Wednesday, April 6, at 11:00 a.m. The ceremony will take place in front of Bayonne City Hall, which is located at 630 Avenue C, between 27th and 28th Streets.
Mayor Davis said, “Bayonne played an important role in providing emergency response on September 11, 2001 and in the days that followed the attack on the World Trade Center.” He continued, “It is most appropriate that the new memorial will include a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.”
The public is invited to attend the unveiling ceremony. Mayor Davis concluded, “We look forward to welcoming everyone to the memorial event on Wednesday, April 6.”