Even before the first graders marched in from Woodrow Wilson School to the 56th Street Senior Center for its St. Patrick’s Day festivities, those attending had come alive with music, singing familiar favorites to the hopping beat of the Bayonne Senior Orchestra.
The event, sponsored by Mary Jane Desmond this year, has become an annual event for a city that had always prided itself on tradition.
The old saying that “everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day” never seemed so true than it did during the sing-a-long with the first graders, who wore Kelly green derbies or flowered hats.
Bruce Bigg, director of the Senior Center, was impressed by the number of people who attended this year Attendees filled the room that had one time served the city as a pumping station and was rescued as an uptown Senior Citizen Center.
Council President Vincent Lo Re was instrumental in lobbying for the center. Opened in October 2002, the 56th Street Senior Center was converted from a pump station, which was constructed in 1919. When younger, Lo Re used to bicycle to the site to look over the building and imagined its potential use.
In transforming it for use by the seniors, the city installed a new roof and new windows, a hardwood floor, a fireplace, and a kitchenette. The exterior grounds include two water fountains and two seating areas. On the western side of the building, there is a recreation area with space on the ground for bocce, shuffleboard, or horseshoes. On the eastern side, the center features game tables. The north side has a picnic area, and the south side, a vegetable garden.
Before the kids arrived, seniors watched the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade on a newly donated 36-inch color TV, part of a donation that was generated though the efforts of City Council President Vincent LoRe, Jr.
Bigg said the Bayonne Senior Orchestra helped make the occasion special as they reeled off both traditional Irish melodies as well as a host of tunes nearly everyone in the room knew by heart.
The St. Patrick’s Day celebration is one several annual events that takes place at the center.
“We need to thank the mayor and council for their continued support,” Bigg said.
Mayor Terrence Malloy said this was a time and a place where the community came together.
Assemblyman and City Councilman Anthony Chiappone cheered on the seniors, wishing them all a happy St. Patrick’s Day.
As always, Margaret Kus and Anne Garatino, twin sisters who have become regulars at the center, dressed in Kelly green and sang along to the songs. Lifelong residents of Bayonne, they live near each other on 49th Street.