Action by the Bayonne City Council on Feb. 17 will likely save the historic Atlas Yacht Club near Fifth Street, and is also expected to bring significant revenue to the city from the sale of unused land nearby.
The council voted to ratify the actions of Mayor Mark Smith by formalizing an agreement with the yacht club as well as allowing the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority to formally take control of unused land in the area for possible resale.
“A significant number of Bayonne residents are part of Atlas. They have kept the place well-maintained.” – John F. O’Halloran
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“This allows us to keep the yacht club and possibly generate significant revenue from the sale of the other land,” he said.
Former coal dock
The site is part of the former Port Johnston Coal Docks, which were built on Constable Hook in Bayonne in 1864 by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. At the time of their completion in 1866, they were the largest coal docks in the world and employed 200 men, mostly Irish immigrants. Their job was to empty coal from railroad cars onto barges for shipment across Upper New York Bay to New York.
“Port Johnson supplied most of the coal to the entire region,” Gallo said.
The site fell into disuse in the 20th century, and the area includes the wrecks of several historic sailing vessels.
Gallo said the Atlas site had some environmental issues, which is part of the reason the city agreed to lease that portion of the property to the club.
John F. O’Halloran, a Bayonne attorney who represents Atlas, said he has been working out the details of the lease with Town Attorney Charles D’Amico, but said that the council action was needed before the agreement could be finalized.
“The club has been on that site since the 1930s without any formal document,” O’Halloran said. While the club has paid fees to the city over the years, this agreement formalizes these and he said the club will take on certain responsibilities regarding the maintenance of the site.
The club was started by a group of fishermen in the 1930s who built over 70 small shacks along one of two former Port Johnson piers.
“The other pier has deteriorated,” Gallo said.
In the midst of chemical and oil storage tanks, the cove where Atlas resides has water access into the Kill Van Kull and through that to both New York and Newark Bays.
Many of the residents in the club took it upon themselves to clear the water of junk that was sometimes dumped into the water.
O’Halloran called this a positive story for that part of Bayonne.
“A significant number of Bayonne residents are part of Atlas,” he said. “They have kept the place well-maintained.”
Gallo said the council action sets the stage for future auction of the land around the club, and believes the lease will be signed with Atlas for more than 50 years.