Bayonne, NJ

Bayonne, NJ is now my hometown. I did not grow up in Bayonne, but I feel as though I did after only living here for a little over a year. My Wife did grow up in Bayonne, so that made the transition easier.

Bayonne Bridge at Sunset (Photographer Unknown)

I have come to love Bayonne since moving here. It is a suburb of New York City, only 20 minutes away. Although most locals consider it more a suburb of Jersey City! But to me, Bayonne is it’s own city, with it’s own personality. Jersey City may be a little closer to NYC, and may have a better view, but I much prefer the feel of Bayonne.

Bayonne has some of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen.I personally love 1st Street Park. But I live right next to 16th Street Park, which is very nice, and has the Bayonne Public Pool. Hudson County Park, or Bayonne Park as most still refer to it, to me is similar to Central Park in NYC. Obviously it is MUCH smaller, but I believe if you compared the relative size of it to Bayonne, and the relative size of Central Park to New York City, they would be close.

Bayonne is also very much into local sports! I don’t mean the local major league teams, but their own hometown sports. Baseball still thrives in Bayonne, as well as Softball for the adults. Football always draws a big crowd, no matter which team is playing. Soccer-Big! You get the point, and the list goes on, for every sport. In fact, I loved the enthusiasm for sports in Bayonne so much, that about a year ago I started a website called Bayonne Sports which I have not really done anything with, YET. I have plans for that, in the near future.

Mark Smith, the Mayor of Bayonne, does a fantastic job in my opinion. There are some things that are beyond his control, but things are getting better all the time. This is a city with PRIDE in itself. People are proud to say “I live in Bayonne” or “I was born in Bayonne”. In fact, I know a guy who has a tattoo in his neck that says “Made in Bayonne”. Hard to show much more pride than that!

Bayonne, according to Wikipedia: Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, south of Jersey City. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 61,842. Bayonne is also 9 miles (14 km) east of Newark, which is part of Newark Bay.

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[citation needed] 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 was originally formed as a township on April 1, 1861, from portions of Bergen Township. Bayonne was reincorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1869, replacing Bayonne Township, subject to the results of a referendum held nine days later.[5]

Bayonne is connected to Staten Island, New York by the Bayonne Bridge (pictured above). 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.

There are a lot of things Wikipedia can never tell you about Bayonne though! For instance: Bayonne is a peninsula, and as such, we don’t get many people “just passing through”. Because of the Bayonne Bridge, many commuters DO pass through Bayonne, en route to Staten Island. But they pretty much get off the Turnpike (Exit 14A!) and go on “the back highway” (Route 440) and go right to the Bayonne Bridge, and cross over into Staten Island. They usually live in Staten Island or maybe Brooklyn, or on the way to one of the NYC airports. But the point is, they just go right through, usually on 440, leaving the heart of the city and side streets untouched by commuters.

What this means is Bayonne is full of people FROM Bayonne! I have lived in bigger cities (Manhattan for instance) and much smaller towns (Paulsboro, NJ for instance). But I have never experienced such a small town feel in such a populated city. Bayonne is NOT big in size, about 3 square miles. But the population (MY ESTIMATE) is about 70,000. I guess we will see once the 2010 Census is done. But even if we go by the old number of 62,000 people…. Everywhere I go in Bayonne, I see people I know. And I have only lived here for 14 months at this point! Now if I am with my Wife, forget about it! We can’t go anywhere without seeing people we know. Bayonne is either the smallest big city I have ever seen, or the biggest small town, I am still not sure which.

The Light Rail comes to Bayonne! This is rather new, and the 8th street Station is still not in use. But the Light Rail makes things in Bayonne SO MUCH EASIER. By the way, did I mention that PARKING IN BAYONNE SUCKS!!!! Sorry, I digress. Anyway, the Light Rail makes it realy fast, easy, and inexpensive to get into Jersey City, Hoboken, and ultimately, New York City. You can just hop in your car, and go through the Holland Tunnel, and be in Manhattan in 20 minutes by car. BUT THAT IS ASSUMING NO TRAFFIC! Works great at 3:00 AM, not so good at 8:00 AM. The Light Rail gets you there much faster. Well, you take the Light Rail to the PATH train, and then go into New York, but in the end, it’s faster and easier. And cheaper! MY favorite commute: Light Rail to Hoboken, Path to NYC, Subway to Yankee Stadium. :0) Yes, I am a HUGE Yankee Fan, along with The NY Giants.

Being a native New Yorker, Bayonne is an easy fit. I can go to New York anytime I want, quickly, I get all the New York Sports, and of course the Yes Network. When I lived in South Jersey, that wasn’t the case! I had to put up with Phillies fans, and Eagles fans. and Philadelphia Sports radio. When I was at work, I used to drive the company truck down near the Delaware River so I could get WFAN on the radio, or listen to the Yankee Games on WCBS. The stations barely came in, but it was worth it. Other times I would just listen to Philly sports radio on 610, which was actually OK, except they HATED the NY teams! Now, I understand this, so don’t get me wrong. The people in South Jersey support the Phily teams because that’s what they grew up with! I grew up in New York, so I support my local teams. Bayonne is a HUGE Yankee town, but it has it’s share of Mets fans too. Same with the Giants, more Giants fans than Jets fans, but they are both in Bayonne. I just don’t get the Cowboys fans! LEAVE BAYONNE NOW! The point of this rambling paragraph is that to me, living in Bayonne is just like living in New York. It is like the old neighborhoods in New York, where everyone knew each other, and your friends Mother would yell at you if you were misbehaving just as fast as your own Mother would! We watch out for each other in Bayonne.

Bayonne is not without it’s share of crime! Is there anywhere that is? OK, leave out place like rural Idaho… Overall though, Bayonne is a very safe place to live, and I feel comfortable walking the streets at ANY hour.

This post is just a small introduction to my new hometown, Bayonne, NJ. I plan to make more posts in the near future, discussing and reviewing Bayonne Restaurants, and other Bayonne Businesses. I am a former Bayonne Restaurant Owner. I used to own the Keep Fit Cafe in Bayonne, but we have since closed down to pursue other interests.

If you are from Bayonne, and found this interesting, get involved with the discussion! Leave a comment.

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