Bayonne, New Jersey

Bayonne is a city located in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 61,842. The City of Bayonne is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.

According to tradition, the city derived its name from 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; the more likely story is that, when the land was purchased for real estate speculation, they called it Bayonne because it is on the shores of two bays, Newark and New York, hence Bay-on, or "on the Bays."

Bayonne is connected to Staten Island by the Bayonne Bridge.

The current mayor of Bayonne is Joseph V. Doria, Jr, who is also New Jersey State Senator for the 31st District. Doria's first term started in June 1998 and ended in June 2002. His second term began in June 2002 and will end in June 2006, if he decides not to run for re-election.

Geography

Bayonne is located at 40°39'60" North, 74°7'4" West (40.666552, -74.117680).

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 is water. The total area is 50.04% water.

Former Mayors

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 unconsecutive terms from 1927-1931 and 1943-1947.

Henry Meigs 1869-1879
Stephen K. Lane 1879-1883
David W. Oliver 1883-1887
John Newman 1887-1891
William C. Farr 1891-1895
Egbert Seymour 1895-1904
Thomas Brady 1904-1906
Pierre P. Garven 1915-1919
Homer Axford 1919-1923
Robert J. Talbot 1923-1927
Bert J. Daily 1927-1931
Lucius F. Donohue 1931-1939
James J. Donovan 1939-1943
Bert J. Daily 1943-1947
Charles Heiser 1947-1951
Edward F. Clark 1951-1955
G. Thomas DiDomenico 1955-1959
Alfred Brady 1959-1962
Francis Fitzpatrick 1962-1974
Dennis P. Collins 1974-1990
Richard A. Rutkowski 1990-1994
Leonard P. Kiczek 1994-1998
Joseph V. Doria, Jr. 1998-Present
Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 61,842 people, 25,545 households, and 16,016 families residing in the city. The population density is 4,241.1/km² (10,992.2/mi²). There are 26,826 housing units at an average density of 1,839.7/km² (4,768.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 17.81% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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

In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $41,566, and the median income for a family is $52,413. Males have a median income of $39,790 versus $33,747 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,553. 10.1% of the population and 8.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.9% of those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Transportation around the city is a large asset to the community which has several modes of transportation.
Walking and driving an automobile is the most widely used form of transportation in the city. However, a majority of the citizens do not drive, therefore bus transportation is provided on three main streets of the city: Broadway, Kennedy Blvd. and Avenue C.

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which was completed around the year 2000, has been a popular form of transportation which currently has stops throughout Bayonne, through Jersey City and Hoboken and finally Weehawken. Stations in Union City will be completed in the near future.

Facts

The main street in Bayonne is known as Broadway, after the avenue in New York City.

The Bayonne Bridge, which connects Bayonne to Staten Island and vice-versa, was completed in November of 1931.

The Former Military Ocean Terminal, located on the Eastern Side of Bayonne is now home to television and movie studios for shows such as HBO's Oz (1997-2003), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

On mainstreets of Bayonne, film productions such as Hysterical Blindness (2002), Mortal Thoughts (1991) and Swimfan (2002), were all shot on location in Bayonne.

One of Bayonne's most popular and oldest banks is Pamrapo Savings Bank, which was established in 1887 and has several branches located throughout the state of New Jersey and in Bayonne.

The Bayonne Bridge and some of the downtown streets were filmed for the making of The War of the Worlds.

References and Links

(http://bayonnenj.org) "Official City of Bayonne Website"

External links

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