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. French-speaking Walloons were a large percentage of the population of New Netherland during the mid-seventeenth century and may have given the name. However, there are no historical records to prove this, and it has been alternatively suggested 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 communities of Italian, Irish and Polish Americans .
Bayonne is connected to Staten Island, New York by the Bayonne Bridge. The Bayonne Bridge is lit in patriotic colors (red, white & blue) in the evenings, as a 9/11 memorial initiated by a then 8-year-old girl in the summer of 2002, Veronica Marie Granite, with the assistance of then-Municipal Councilmember-at-Large Maria Karczewski.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2 square miles (29.1 km²), of which, 5.6 square miles (14.6 km²) of it is land and 5.6 square miles (14.6 km²) of it (50.04%) is water.
Communities within Bayonne include Bergen Point and Constable Hook.[4]
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 61,842 people, 25,545 households, and 16,016 families residing in the city. The population density was 10,992.2 people per square mile (4,241.1/km²). There were 26,826 housing units at an average density of 4,768.2/sq mi (1,839.7/km²). 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.[8]
Kenneth Kopacz (D, District 1-- Bayonne and parts of Jersey City; 2026, Bayonne),[22][23]
William O'Dea (D, District 2-- western parts of Jersey City; 2026, Jersey City),[24][25]
Vice Chair Jerry Walker (D, District 3-- southeastern parts of Jersey City; 2026, Jersey City),[26][27]
Yraida Aponte-Lipski (D, District 4-- northeastern parts of Jersey City; 2026, Jersey City),[28][29]
Chair Anthony L. Romano Jr. (D, District 5-- Hoboken and adjoining parts of Jersey City; 2026, Hoboken),[30][31]
Fanny J.Cedeno (D, District 6-- Union City; 2026, Union City),[32][33]Caridad Rodriguez (D, District 7-- West New York (part), Weehawken, Guttenberg; 2026, West New York),[34][35]
Robert Baselice (D, District 8-- North Bergen, West New York (part), Seacaucus (part); 2026, North Bergen),[36][37] and
Albert Cifelli (D, District 9-- East Newark, Harrison, Kearny, and Secaucus (part); 2026, Harrison).[38][39]
Hudson County's constitutional officers are:
Clerk E. Junior Maldonado (D, Jersey City, 2027),[40][41]
Sheriff Frank Schillari, (D, Jersey City, 2025)[42]
Surrogate Tilo E. Rivas, (D, Jersey City, 2024)[43][44] and Register Jeffery Dublin (D, Jersey City, 2024).[45][44]
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.[47] It is the fourth school in Bayonne to receive this honor. The other three are Bayonne High School in 1995-96,[48] Midtown Community School in 1996-97[49] and P.S. #14 in the 1998-99 school year.[50]
The Board of Education has implemented a dress code that will take effect in the 2006-07 school year for students in Pre-K through eighth grade. Under this code students will wear a school logo shirt and a variety of pants, skirts, shorts, and other prescribed items. The plan is intended to "increase student identification with their schools and the district, Eliminate many of the distractions associated with differences in social or economic status, Allow the children, their teachers and the Board of Education to concentrate on shared pursuit of educational excellence [and] Instill a sense of belonging and school pride".[51][52] A heated battle is currently being fought between enraged parents and the Board, with parents upset at the manner in which the policy was imposed, the cost of the uniforms, the loss of freedom of expression to students in choosing the clothing they wear and issues regarding the manner in which the contract was awarded.[53]
Route 440 runs along the east side of Bayonne, and the west side of Jersey City, following the old Morris Canal route. Although it has 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 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 New Jersey 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, while the 81 provides service to New Jersey.[54]
A fourth station, 8th Street, which will be located at Avenue C, is under construction. Incidentally, all of these stations were the original train stations for the old Central Jersey rail system.
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 Side Avenue-Tonnelle Avenue route. The Liberty State Park station is a transfer point for those traveling 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 construction 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 JerseyJon 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.[55]
Bayonne currently plays host to a many animal species including aquatic animals, semi-aquatic animals, and land-dwelling animals. Most populations thrive.
The inspiration for the film Rocky, Chuck Wepner, hails from Bayonne. The "Bayonne Bleeder" went fifteen rounds against Muhammad Ali.
The 19th Century town of Saltersville, New Jersey (a Civil War training area) is now a part of Bayonne. A notable regiment stationed there was the Anderson Zouaves who were encamped and mustered in on June 30 and July 1, 1861 at Newark Bay House, a resort hotel on the western shore of the Bayonne peninsula.
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.
Standard Oil began its initial operations in Bayonne when John D. Rockefeller bought a kerosene works on the eastern shore. It eventually encompassed all of the Constable Hook section of Bayonne; Avenues J and East 22nd Street are all that remain.
Bayonne was a bedroom community and shore resort for the wealthy and elite as early as 1889. The La Tourette Hotel on the southern shore along Kill Van Kull was its centerpiece.
The Bayonne Bridge and some of the downtown streets were filmed for the making of Spielberg's War of the Worlds. The bridge and major portions of Bayonne were destroyed by aliens in the film.
The 1996 TV show Matt Waters starring Montel Williams, with Williams portraying a fictional high school teacher, was filmed almost entirely in Bayonne, with scenes shot at Bayonne High School.
The music videos Someday by Mariah Carey and Popular by Nada Surf were filmed on location at Bayonne High School, as were the classroom scenes of Pearl Jam's Jeremy video.
The film version of Strangers with Candy filmed scenes taking place at Flatpoint High inside Bayonne High School.
After the collapse of the World Trade Center there were proposals for the construction of a 2,000-foot TV tower at Bayonne. These plans seemed to be cancelled.[56]
When The Tonight Show was broadcast from New York City during the 1960s, host Johnny Carson liked to make jokes about various New Jersey cities. He claimed on several occasions that his personal tailor was "Raul of Bayonne".
Bayonne police officers were the first to have police radios in their police cars. They also were one of the first to use the police walkie-talkie.
Bayonne is often used as the butt of jokes on television shows such as The Odd Couple (Frosty the maid was hailed as the "Beast from Bayonne"), Barney Miller, and All in the Family, among many others.
Bayonne is also mentioned in the movie "Remember the Titans", where a player announces that he's from Bayonne.
Bayonne is also mentioned in an episode of "The Golden Girls" titled Larceny and Old Lace, where Mickey Rooney plays Rocco, a wannabe mobster from Bayonne.
Bayonne is also mentioned in the movie "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" when actor Matthew McConaughey says "Whenever someone flushes a toilet in Bayonne, you are going to get scolded."
Bayonne is mentioned in the movie "The Bone Collector" starring Denzel Washington.
^Biography, Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr. Accessed January 3, 2019. "U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne, Jr. is a lifelong resident of Newark, New Jersey."
^Biography of Bob Menendez, United States Senate, January 26, 2015. "Menendez, who started his political career in Union City, moved in September from Paramus to one of Harrison's new apartment buildings near the town's PATH station.."
^"Tales from the dark side - Offbeat, off-B'way player turns..., The Star-Ledger, April 17, 2005. "Urbaniak was born In Bayonne But moved to Marlboro Township When he was 7."
^"A Wylde time", Kansas City Star, November 9, 2006. "...the thing about Wylde, A 40-year-old, Bayonne, NJ-born father of three..."
