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
Bayonne’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Service is scheduled for Thursday, April 24, at 6:00 p.m., in the Dorothy Harrington City Council Chambers at 630 Avenue C. The event is sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Bayonne and the Bayonne Interfaith Clergy and is hosted by the City of Bayonne. Mayor Jimmy Davis is the honorary chairman of the program.
At the memorial program, elected officials will offer brief remarks and present proclamations, resolutions, and citations. Clergy from various faiths will offer prayers and reflections. Members of Bayonne’s veterans’ groups will carry the colors and the banners of their posts. Bayonne students will also participate in the procession. The Bayonne Interfaith Choir will sing.
Hara Lynn Benjamin, a cantorial singer with the Temple Beth-El Religious School, will lead the singing of Hatikvah. Alan Gordon Smulen, a cantorial singer from Temple Emanu-El and President of the board of Amore Opera, will lead the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. The accompanist will be Sidney Hagans, Director of the Bayonne Interfaith Choir. Lee Smulen is also a member of the event’s music committee.
The event will include a candlelighting ceremony to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
The winners of the Holocaust writing contest at Bayonne High School will read from their compositions. The students will receive awards sponsored by the Preminger and Epstein families.
Arnold Wendroff is President of the UJA Federation of Bayonne. Dr. Ellen Goldberg is the Executive Director of the UJA Federation and the Jewish Community Center. Ilona Rosenberg is President of the Bayonne Jewish Community Center. Helene Kessel Nagiar and Joseph E. Ryan will co-chair the service.
This memorial program is free and open to the public.
Bayonne Mayor James Davis
This month, much of the world will celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, the anniversary of the death of the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity in the fifth century after Christ.
Today, there are well over seventy million people around the world of Irish descent. For Irish-Americans, this feast day is a time for us to celebrate the contributions that Irish immigrants and their descendants have made to this country.
There is scarcely an area of American life that has not been touched by Irish-Americans. Just to take a recent example, a few weeks ago, the NBC television network celebrated the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. During its history, that show has featured such Irish-American cast members as Jane Curtin, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Farley, Colin Quinn, Molly Shannon, Julia Sweeney, and Nora Dunn, among others. Martin Short, another former cast member, is Irish-Canadian.
Elsewhere in television, Irish-Americans have made their mark as great talk show hosts: Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Steve Allen, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas (real name: Michael Delaney Dowd, Jr.), and Jimmy Fallon (after leaving Saturday Night Live).
The ancestors of many American presidents came from Ireland: John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama (on his mother’s side), Richard Nixon, James K. Polk, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Ulysses Grant, William McKinley, and others.
Here in Bayonne, the Irish began arriving in large numbers in the 1800’s. Most came here with very little money and a willingness to work hard. Many of the early Irish immigrants lived in the old Fourth Ward (now part of the First Ward) in the Bergen Point area. Bayonne’s Irish-American community has been noted for its large presence in the government sector. Irish-American elected officials, police officers, firefighters, civil servants, school administrators, and teachers have played major roles in our city’s history.
Wherever the Irish have gone, they have brought their religious faith, great music, and gift for language with them. The Irish also carry memories of suffering from religious persecution, poverty, foreign occupation, and the Great Hunger of 1845-51.
Millions of Irish-Americans are grateful for the opportunities this country has provided. Irish-Americans should be proud of our progress in this country and of our cultural heritage.
On Sunday, March 23, when Bayonne is having our annual St. Patrick’s Parade. We begin marching at 1:00 p.m. at 5th Street and Broadway. The parade will move up Broadway to 39th Street. It will move westward on 39th Street to Avenue C, and then will march northward up Avenue C to the viewing stand between 40th and 41st Streets. Finally, the parade will finish up in the front portion of Gregg-Bayonne County Park. I look forward to seeing you at the parade!
Recently, in the Bayonne City Council Chambers, the Bayonne Fire Department held a ceremony for six new battalion chiefs and eleven new captains. The promotions took place to refill the ranks following recent retirements in the department.
New Bayonne Fire Department Battalion Chiefs: Mayor Jimmy Davis and the Fire Department leadership posed with the department’s newly promoted battalion chiefs (BC’s). Pictured left to right: Mayor Jimmy Davis, Fire Chief Keith Weaver, BC Christopher Czuba, BC Theodore Wolf, BC Michael Smith, BC Edward Ratyniak, BC Roger Nunez, BC Marcial Pivano, Deputy Fire Chief William Bartos, and Public Safety Director Robert Kubert.
New Bayonne Fire Department Captains: Mayor Jimmy Davis and the Fire Department leadership posed with the department’s new captains: Mayor Davis, Fire Chief Keith Weaver, Captain Steven Pilanski, Captain Timothy Lynch, Captain James Pilger, Captain David Sisk, Captain Brian Petty, Captain Jeffrey Spengler, Captain Thomas Weber, Captain Richard Baccarella, Captain Michael Visone, Captain Brian Cotter, Captain Kevin Pietranico, Deputy Chief William Bartos, and Public Safety Director Robert Kubert.
The new battalion chiefs are Christopher Czuba, Theodore Wolf, Michael Smith, Edward Ratyniak, Roger Nunez, and Marcial Pivano.
Battalion Chief Christopher Czuba is a graduate of Bayonne High School. He earned a degree in HVAC Technology at Lincoln Technical Institute. He was appointed to the Bayonne Fire Department in 1999. His extensive training and certifications include: Hazardous Material Tech, Confined Space, Fire Officer 2, Fire Official, and Fire Investigator. He has earned several awards including Unit Citations for rescue on June 6, 2004 on 30th St. and Kennedy Blvd., and a Team Effort Award from the Cooperman Barnabas Burn Center for the rescue of a person who was trapped in rising floodwaters of Hurricane Ida in September 2021.
This week, our friends and neighbors in the Jewish community will be celebrating Hanukkah, which is known as the Festival of Lights. The festival recalls the events in the years 167-165 B.C. when the Seleucid Empire outlawed the Jewish religion in Israel. The Seleucid king ordered the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to be turned into a place of worship for the pagan god, Zeus. That king also ordered that pigs be sacrificed there. Pigs are considered unclean by Jews and many others, and their meat is not kosher under traditional Jewish dietary laws. The Jews rebelled successfully against the Seleucids and rededicated the Temple to the Jewish faith. Although there was only enough oil to light the Temple for one day, the oil provided light for eight days. This miracle was the origin of Hanukkah as the Festival of Lights. A special lamp called a menorah contains spaces for candles or lights that can be illuminated for each of the eight days of Hanukkah, plus an extra one in the middle. The menorah is one of the national symbols of the Jewish people.
My fondest memories of the holiday season go back to Thanksgiving nights growing up. After Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother’s apartment in Jersey City, my father would drive us back to Bayonne. My sister and I would always anticipate what would happen after our car made a right onto 29th Street, and then a left onto Broadway. Suddenly, there it was – the sight of holiday lights and decorations on Broadway. We would drive down the whole shopping district seeing lights. In those days, big decorations crossed Broadway from one side of the street to the other. The anticipation of getting there was a big part of childhood.
THE LAST WEEKS OF SUMMER
As we approach the end of the summer vacation season and the beginning of school, there are some good things to do before the season is gone.
Clean up the litter: During the summer, a lot of people have been walking around outside. Some of them have dropped litter in front of homes and businesses. Now would be a good time to clean up any litter that has accumulated over the summer. It would be best to get litter off the streets, sidewalks, and ground before it gets caught under the leaves of autumn and the snows of winter.
Cut and trim the trees and bushes: If you have grass, trees, or bushes on your property, please cut the grass and trim the trees and bushes. It is best to make sure that your grass does not grow too tall at this time of year. During the remaining part of summer, cutting the grass keeps down the number of mosquitoes and other bugs on your property. It is easier to trim trees and bushes before the ice and snow of winter make it too tough to do the job.
Clear out those backpacks: Those of you who have children in school have probably not looked in their backpacks since the end of the last school year in June. There may be crumpled-up papers still in them. You should check the papers for anything important, and then throw the unneeded ones out. Otherwise, they will be taking up space that should be saved for items your children will receive in the new school year.
Go to our final Summer Sounds concerts: There are three remaining concerts in our Summer Sounds series:
On Wednesday, August 21, at 7:00 p.m., weather permitting, Super Trans Am will play arena anthems and top radio hits of the 1970’s. The group performs masterworks from such acts as The Eagles, Hall and Oates, Queen, The Doobie Brothers, Paul McCartney and Wings, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Kiss, Boston, and Journey.
We have set aside Wednesday, August 28, as a rain date, if needed, so that a performance that was rained out could be rescheduled.
The concerts will take place at the amphitheater on the lower level of DiDomenico-16th Street Park. The concert site is located below the foot of West 16th Street, between Avenue A and Newark Bay. The number of chairs available in the park is limited. The Recreation Division suggests that members of the audience bring their own chairs.
In the event of inclement weather, please call 201-471-7590, or visit www.leaguelineup.com/bayonnerec, or view the City of Bayonne’s Facebook page to check on the status of that night’s performance.
For more information about the concerts, please get in touch with Pete Amadeo at 201-858-6129, or email BAYONNEREC@AOL.COM.
Please take advantage of the time remaining in the summer of 2024!
Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that Super Trans AM will perform in the Summer Sounds by the Bay concert on Wednesday, August 14, at 7:00 p.m. Super Trans AM is a unique and innovative theme band. They play all of your favorite arena anthems and chart-topping radio hits of the ‘70’s. Combining unparalleled musicianship with artistic and inspired A/V production, you’ll enjoy revisiting classic sing-alongs from one of the most definable decades in American history.
The concert will take place at the amphitheater on the lower level of DiDomenico-16th Street Park. The concert site is located below the foot of West 16th Street, between Avenue A and Newark Bay. The number of chairs available in the park is limited. The Recreation Division suggests that members of the audience bring their chairs.
On music days during the summer concert season, in the event of inclement weather, please call 201-471-7590, or visit www.leaguelineup.com/bayonnerec, or view the City of Bayonne’s Facebook page to check on the status of that night’s performance.
For more information about the concerts, please contact Pete Amadeo at 201-858-6129, or email BAYONNEREC@AOL.COM.
Last month on January 28, 2024, Team Wright Won Numerous First Place Titles At The Battle Of the Dragons National Championships in AC, NJ.
The event sponsored competitors from NJ, NY, PA, MD, CA, and FL. Also, students came from international countries such as Russia, Trinidad, and Brazil to name a few.
These are the following results:
Sempei Thomas Cushing Age 65, 2nd Dan Black Belt took 1st place in the Weapons, Forms and Sparring 65 and older Men’s division.
Abdul Haseeb Abdul Sameer Age 15,1st Dan Black Belt took 1st place in the Weapons, Forms and Sparring 14 and 15 year old Boys division.
Jesus Ortiz Age 15, Green Belt took 1st place in the Forms and 1st Place in the Sparring 14 and 15 year old Boys division.
DJ Conyers Age 31, Green Belt took 1st place in the Forms and Sparring 30 to 39 year old Men’s division.
Lee Johnson Age 58, White Belt took 1st place in the Forms and Sparring 45 to 59 Beginners White and Yellow Belt division.
Maira Chugh Age 10, Green Belt took 2nd place in the Forms 10 to 12 year old Girls division.
Bayonne Mayor James Davis-Mayors Column
On Monday, January 15th, we observed the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. This day should remind us about his life’s mission – equality for all Americans. By backing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Dr. King fought for equal rights for all Americans, regardless of race, color, creed, sex, or national origin.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is not simply a figure from the past. Fifty-six years after his death, Dr. King’s words and actions remain relevant to the issues that we face today. Recent acts of violence that were rooted in religious and racial hatred reminded us all that Dr. King’s work remains to be fulfilled. Across the country over the years, Americans have been killed, just because they were Black, White, Hispanic, Jewish, Asian, Native American, gay, or members of other groups. The hatred and the violence must stop.
