Bayonne, New Jersey

Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAY : Bayonne, New Jersey

---

Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 61,842.

According to tradition, the city derives its name from the city of Bayonne in France. It is said that French Huguenots settled there some time before New Amsterdam was founded. However, there are no historical records to prove this; it is perhaps more likely that, when the land was purchased for real estate speculation, it was named Bayonne because it is on the shores of two bays, Newark and New York, hence Bay-on, or "on the Bays." Bayonne is a diverse city, with large Italian American, Irish American, and Polish American communities.

Bayonne is connected to Staten Island, New York by the Bayonne Bridge.

Geography

Bayonne is located at [40°39′60″N, 74°7′4″W] (40.666552, -74.117680)^{[Geographic references#1GR1]}.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.1 km² (11.2 mi²). 14.6 km² (5.6 mi²) of it is land and 14.6 km² (5.6 mi²) of it (50.04%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^{[Geographic references#2GR2]} of 2000, there were 61,842 people, 25,545 households, and 16,016 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,241.1/km² (10,992.2/mi²). There were 26,826 housing units at an average density of 1,839.7/km² (4,768.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.64% White, 5.52% African American, 0.17% Native American, 4.14% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.46% from other races, and 4.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.81% of the population.

There were 25,545 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,566, and the median income for a family was $52,413. Males had a median income of $39,790 versus $33,747 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,553. About 8.4% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The City of Bayonne is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.

The current Mayor of Bayonne is Joseph V. Doria, Jr., who is also New Jersey State Senator for the 31st Legislative District[Bayonne Office of the Mayor], accessed June 30, 2006. Doria won a third term as mayor after defeating retired municipal judge Patrick Conaghan in a run-off election on June 13, 2006. The campaign gained statewide media attention for its extensive use of attack ads by both candidates.

Members of the Bayonne City Council are[Bayonne Municipal Council], accessed June 30, 2006:

• Vincent Lo Re Jr. - At-large
• Anthony Chiappone - At-large
• Theodore Connolly - First Ward
• John Halecky - Second Ward
• Gary La Pelusa - Third Ward

Mayors of Bayonne

• Mayors have been governing the community ever since the year Bayonne was established in 1869.
• The first mayor of Bayonne was Henry Meigs who served from 1869-1879.
• The mayor with the longest term in office was Dennis P. Collins, who served from 1974-1990.
• Bert J. Daily served two nonconsecutive terms from 1927-1931 and 1943-1947.

1. Henry Meigs 1869-1879
2. Stephen K. Lane 1879-1883
3. David W. Oliver 1883-1887
4. John Newman 1887-1891
5. William C. Farr 1891-1895
6. Egbert Seymour 1895-1904
7. Thomas Brady 1904-1906
8. Pierre P. Garven 1915-1919
9. Homer Axford 1919-1923
10. Robert J. Talbot 1923-1927
11. Bert J. Daily 1927-1931
12. Lucius F. Donohue 1931-1939
13. James J. Donovan 1939-1943
14. Bert J. Daily 1943-1947
15. Charles Heiser 1947-1951
16. Edward F. Clark 1951-1955
17. G. Thomas DiDomenico 1955-1959
18. Alfred Brady 1959-1962
19. Francis G. Fitzpatrick 1962-1974
20. Dennis P. Collins 1974-1990
21. Richard A. Rutkowski 1990-1994
22. Leonard P. Kiczek 1994-1998
23. Joseph V. Doria, Jr. 1998-Present

Federal, state and county representation

Bayonne is split between the Tenth and Thirteenth Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 31st Legislative District.

New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex County, Hudson County, and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union Counties, is now Vacant. The seat had been represented by Robert Menendez (D), who was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine. New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).

The 31st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Doria (D, Bayonne) and in the Assembly by Charles T. Epps Jr. (D, Jersey City) and Louis Manzo (D, Jersey City). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Hudson County's County Executive is Thomas A. DeGise. The executive, together with the Board of Chosen Freeholders in a legislative role, administer all county business. Hudson County's nine Freeholders (as of 2006) are: District 1: Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico; District 2: William O'Dea; District 3: Jeffrey Dublin; District 4: Eliu Rivera; District 5: Maurice Fitzgibbons; District 6: Tilo Rivas; District 7: Silverio Vega; District 8: Thomas Liggio; and District 9: Albert Cifelli.

Education

The Bayonne Board of Education serves students from Prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are the ten K-8 elementary schools ( [Henry E. Harris No. 1], [Phillip G. Vroom No. 2], Dr. Walter F. Robinson No. 3, [Mary J. Donohoe No. 4], [Lincoln No. 5], [Horace Mann No. 6], [Midtown Community School No. 8], [George Washington School No. 9], [Woodrow Wilson No. 10] and [John M. Bailey No. 12]), [P.S. #14] (an advanced school for more intelligent students, who must take a test in 3rd grade to enter. It holds grades 4th-8th.) and Bayonne High School.

For the 2004-05 school year, Mary J. Donohoe No. 4 School was named a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve.[New Jersey Department of Education Star School Award recipients], accessed May 23, 2006 It is the fourth school in Bayonne to receive this honour the other three are Bayonne High School, Midtown Community School, and P.S. #14.

Transportation

Car

The Bayonne Bridge provides access to Staten Island.

The Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 78) provides access to Jersey City and, via the Holland Tunnel, Manhattan. In the oppositie direction on the Newark Bay Extension, the Newark Bay Bridge provides access to Newark, Newark Liberty International Airport and the rest of the Turnpike (Interstate 95).

Route 440 runs along the east side of Bayonne, and the west side of Jersey City. Although it has several traffic lights it is usually the quickest way to go north-south within Bayonne. It connects to the Bayonne Bridge, I-78, and to Route 185 (New Jersey) to Liberty State Park.

Bus

Bus transportation is provided on three main north-south streets of the city: Broadway, Kennedy Boulevard, and Avenue C, both by the state-operated NJ Transit and several private bus lines. The Broadway line runs solely inside Bayonne city limits, while bus lines on Avenue C and Kennedy Boulevard run to various end points in Jersey City. One Kennedy Boulevard service (the Coach USA 99S) runs to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, New York City, and rush hours peak direction the NJ Transit 120 runs between Avenue C in Bayonne and Battery Park in downtown Manhattan.

Light Rail

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which was completed in the year 2000, has been a popular form of transportation which currently has stops throughout Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and North Bergen.

Stations in Bayonne are:

• 45th Street: Avenue E at East 45th Street
• 34th Street: Avenue E at East 34th Street
• 22nd Street: Avenue E at East 22nd Street

NJ Transit has stated its intention to extend the system southward and build a station at 8th Street, which will be located at Avenue C.

Service within Bayonne is available between these three stations. Northbound service from Bayonne runs through Jersey City, mostly near the waterfront, to Hoboken Terminal. Other parts of the system can be accessed via transfers. The Tonnelle Avenue (in North Bergen) and other stations north of Hoboken Terminal can also be reached by transferring at stations between Liberty State Park and Pavonia-Newport for the West End Avenue-Tonnelle Avenue route. The Liberty State Park station is a transfer point for those travelling between Bayonne and stations on the West Side Avenue (Jersey City) line. Connection to PATH trains to midtown Manhattan and to New Jersey Transit commuter train service are available at Hoboken Terminal. Transfers to PATH trains to Newark, Harrison, and downtown Manhattan are available at Exchange Place.

Current Building Projects

Currently, the city of Bayonne is working on building projects on the former Military Ocean Terminal (MOTBY). Plans for the site include new housing and businesses.

Bayonne Golf Club, a private Irish/Scottish-links style golf course is planned to be constructed on the site of the former city dump. A flagpole, displaying a large American flag that is visible from Manhattan and surrounding communities, has been erected at the site where the clubhouse will be built in 2007.

The long-planned Power Center Mall on Route 440 in Bayonne has finally gotten the green light to begin construction, according to a statement made by Michael O'Connor, executive director of the Bayonne Economic Development Corp. The project will be built on land formerly belonging to AGC Chemicals America. Cameron Group, the conditional developer for the site, will soon begin construction on two large anchor stores of 140,000 and 90,000 square feet, three mid-size anchors of between 30,000 and 50,000 square feet, and several smaller shops and restaurants, O'Connor said. Completion is expected in fall 2007.

Proposed projects include constuction of the September 11th memorial park for the Tear of Grief monument, and completing Bayonne's section of the 18-mile Hackensack RiverWalk, stretching from Newark Bay in Bayonne to Bellman's Creek in North Bergen.

The RiverWalk section in Bayonne, if fully completed, would run from the southwest corner of the town in an area where the Kill Van Kull meets the Newark Bay, to the northwestern point of the area. That is according to Joseph Ryan, spokesperson for Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria.

The ribbon was cut and the plaque unveiled on May 2, 2006, for the new Richard A. Rutkowski Park in Bayonne, a wetlands preserve on the northwestern end of Bayonne, which will be part of the future RiverWalk. Also known as the Waterfront Park and Environmental Walkway, it is located immediately north of the Stephen R. Gregg Hudson County Park.

Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine joined a contingent of state and federal officials to announce on May 6, 2006. that funding was in place to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system to Eighth Street in Bayonne. With the engineering work nearly complete, work on the rail line and the station is expected to start by 2008 and should be complete by 2009.[Funds to stretch light rail to 8th St. in Bayonne], Jersey Journal, May 4, 2006

Trivia

• The main street in Bayonne is known as Broadway, and was named after the avenue in New York City. It was originally named Avenue D, since it is bounded on either side by Avenues C and E.

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: