Public officials and entertainment industry representatives took part in a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the 1888 Studios at 2 Avenue A. Among those at the ceremony were: former Bayonne Law Director Jay Coffey; First Ward Council Member Neil Carroll III; Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin; CEO Tim Sullivan of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority; Vice President Flynn Busson of the 1888 Studios; actress and Bayonne resident Tammy Blanchard; Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis; President Arpad (Arki) Busson of the 1888 Studios; Council Member At-Large Loyad Booker; and Second Ward Council Member Jackie Weimmer.
On December 16, public officials and film industry executives took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the 1888 Studios, the motion picture and television production complex that will rise at the foot of Avenue A in Bayonne. The event took place inside a tent on the studio construction site, the former location of the Texaco refinery that closed in the 1980s. The new facility will include 23 soundstages on 58 acres. More than one million square feet of building space will be constructed. The construction phase is expected to produce 2,300 union jobs for the building trades. When the facility is complete and operational, it is expected to produce 2,000 union jobs. Paramount has already signed an agreement for a ten-year lease for a major portion of the 1888 Studios.
Speaking about Bayonne at the ceremony, Arpad (Arki) Busson, the President of the 1888 Studios, said that the production complex “will reshape the city for generations to come” and would make Bayonne “a global connector.” Mr. Busson thanked Mayor Jimmy Davis for making Bayonne “a most welcome place to do business.”
Following the groundbreaking ceremony for the 1888 Studios, Governor Phil Murphy gave an interview to journalists near the Bayonne Bridge.
Paramount’s Global Operations executive, Jose Turkienicz, said that his company will lease 285,000 square feet of space at the 1888 Studios. He called the studio complex “a major step forward” and a source of “creative momentum.” A former New Jersey resident, Mr. Turkienicz, thanked the state’s public officials for supporting tax credit programs for the film industry in the Garden State. He said that the 1888 Studios were “building a future.”
Model and businesswoman Elle Macpherson came to the groundbreaking ceremony for the 1888 Studios in Bayonne.
MAYOR’S CORNER –Bayonne Mayor James Davis’s Column
Bayonne Mayor James Davis
In mid-February, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury began mailing applications for the 2023 Senior Freeze Property Tax Reimbursement Program. The state has announced good news for senior taxpayers. The program has increased the income limit so that more people are eligible to apply. The New Jersey Treasury Department also eased the residency requirement for first-time applicants. I would like to thank our state leadership for making these welcome changes to the tax system in New Jersey.
According to the New Jersey Treasury Department, “Senior Freeze reimburses qualifying seniors and disabled residents for increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees on their principal residences. A new law passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Murphy…expanded the program to increase the income limit for the program to $150,000 (previously $99,735 for the 2022 season), and to eliminate the requirements that an applicant must be a New Jersey resident for ten consecutive years.” The reimbursement takes place after the year in which the property taxes were paid. That is why the program just announced in 2024 is called the 2023 Senior Freeze Property Tax Reimbursement Program.
According to the New Jersey Treasury Department, “To qualify for the reimbursement, taxpayers must meet all the eligibility requirements for each year from the base year through the current application year. Eligibility must be continuous; otherwise, a new base year must be established.”
The state announced the following requirements for taxpayers to be eligible for the 2023 Senior Freeze:
Be age 65 or older on December 31, 2022, or receive Social Security disability payments on December 31, 2022, and also on December 31, 2023; and
Own and live in their home or lease a site in a mobile home park for a manufactured or mobile home that they owned since December 31, 2019, or earlier; and
Paid all 2022 property taxes by June 1, 2023, and all 2023 property taxes by June 1, 2024; and
Their annual income was $150,000 or less in 2022 and $163,050 or less in 2023. With some exceptions, all income must be taken into account, including Social Security, pension, etc.
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