Historical Society announces Men of Achievement, 2016
The Bayonne Historical Society is continuing its 25th Anniversary Year with a Men of Achievement Awards program on Tuesday, April 12. The event will be held in the O’Connor Gallery of the Bayonne Public Library, at 7 p.m. The two honorees are H. Mickey McCabe and Henry Sanchez.
Mickey McCabe is a lifelong resident of Bayonne and has two children with his wife Judy Prout. He graduated from St. Peter’s College in 1972 and founded McCabe Ambulance Service in 1973. Over the last 40 years, his company has grown into a fleet of 18 ambulances and 125 employees. McCabe Ambulance has provided medical services during situations ranging from the 9-11 World Trade Center terrorist attack and Hurricane Sandy to a Papal visit. The company responds to more than 20,000 calls for emergency and nonemergency medical help each year.
President McCabe has received numerous awards. He is involved in many activities and organizations on the local, county, and state level. He sees his greatest career achievement as the creator of what has been recognized as the “Flagship” of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in New Jersey.
Henry Sanchez, who died at age 88 in September 2015, was born in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. At age 15, he tried unsuccessfully to enlist in the Marine Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In 1943 he enlisted in the United States Navy and was trained as a signalman. His unit was involved in the Allied D-Day Invasion in 1944. After the war, returned to his home in Brooklyn, and started working at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. In 1950, he moved to Bayonne, transferring to the Bayonne Military Ocean Terminal. His first position at the terminal was as a firefighter and transportation specialist. He met his late wife Dorothy Krzykowski while working at the facility; they had four children. Henry rose through the ranks and retired as a manager in 1997.
Henry was active in many veterans’ issues and numerous community organizations. He sat on the board of directors for the Hudson County United Way and Pamrapo Bank. At the time of his death, he was the President of the Bayonne Community Museum. He was also a local TV announcer for the Bayonne Memorial Day Parade.
Refreshments will be served during the free public event. Any resident who would like to make a presentation to our honorees should contact Bayonne Historical Society President Meryl Robin at (201) 339-3338.
Bayonne Chamber holding second annual gala
The Bayonne Chamber of Commerce will hold its 2nd Annual Peninsula Gala on Thursday, March 31 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Bayonne Golf Club.
This year’s honorees from Bayonne’s business community include Bayonne Schools Superintendent Patsy McGeehan, the Dan Kane Legends Award; Mickey McCabe, Business Man of the Year; McCabe’s Ambulance Service, Business of the Year; and Mary Ann Rowland, Bayonne Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame Award.
Last year’s gala was heavily attended, and this year’s is on track to surpass 2015’s attendance, a spokesperson said.
Tickets are on sale. Interested parties can register at bayonnechamber.org.
Accident on Bayonne Bridge Saturday morning, March 26
An accident closed the Bayonne Bridge for several hours Saturday morning, police said.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department responded to a car accident on the northbound side of the bridge at 4 a.m. Saturday, according to Port Authority Spokesman Joseph Pentangelo in an online news story. The driver of an Audi allegedly hit a barrier on the bridge, he said.
The driver, reportedly from Bayonne, allegedly abandoned his vehicle, which had four passengers, and allegedly fled on foot, according to the police report.
Officers found the driver at the northeast corner of Hooker Place and Morningstar Road in Staten Island, according to the report.
The driver was arrested and transported to the Staten Island University Hospital North, according to the report.
He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident — serious injury; vehicular assault — injury; obstructing governmental administration; driving while intoxicated; and refusal to take a breath test, the report states.
A 55-year-old woman allegedly seated in the front passenger seat of the Audi was allegedly sent through the windshield and sustained multiple injuries, according to the report.
The three passengers in the rear seat of the Audi, all males in their 20s, sustained non-life threatening injuries, according to the police report.
All four passengers were taken to Richmond University Medical Center, the report said.
Partners in drug distribution conspiracy each sentenced to more than 18 years in prison
Two New Jersey men who were partners in a 29-month drug distribution conspiracy involving cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy and methylone, were each sentenced to more than 18 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Last week Christopher Castelluzzo, 31, of Bayonne was sentenced to 240 months in prison. Luke Atwell, 34, of Hamilton, New Jersey, was sentenced to 220 months in prison. Both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute methylone, cocaine, MDMA, and marijuana following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, who imposed the sentences in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial Atwell and Castelluzzo were partners in a drug-dealing conspiracy that spanned 29 months. In March 2013, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted an investigation resulting in the seizure of more than six kilograms of methylone at a drug mill in East Orange that was tied to Atwell and Castelluzzo. About a month later, in April 2013, agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), seized 2.9 kilograms of methylone that Atwell intended to pick up at the Manville, New Jersey, Post Office. Agents replaced the package with a dummy package, which Atwell picked up and placed in the car he occupied with Castelluzzo. Following the arrest of both defendants outside the Manville Post Office, agents searched various electronic devices of the defendants and uncovered email communications establishing a drug distribution conspiracy dating back to 2010.
Turnpike Update: Traffic Reversal on 53rd Street
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority and its contractors have provided new information to the City of Bayonne about the reconstruction of the area around the 14A toll plaza.
On Monday, March 28, the City of Bayonne reversed the temporary direction of traffic on 53rd Street between Broadway and Avenue C. On a temporary basis, traffic on that portion of West 53rd Street had been running westbound towards Avenue C. Effective Monday, March 28, traffic on that portion of West 53rd Street has been restored to its traditional eastbound direction. The Bayonne Police Department assigned officers to assist motorists to drive eastbound again between Avenue C and Broadway. Once again, vehicles should now be driving from west to east, from Avenue C towards Broadway, on the portion of 53rd Street between Avenue C and Broadway.
In the toll plaza area, workers are continuing with new east toll lane construction. Renovation work is moving ahead at the existing toll plaza building. At a point in April to be determined, toll lanes one and two will be opened, and toll lanes three and four will be closed. During the weekend of the opening, northbound Avenue E will be reduced temporarily to a single lane between 52nd Street and the toll plaza to implement this change.
On the ramps between the toll plaza and the Turnpike’s Hudson County Extension, widening work continues. Concrete is being placed for bridge and wall parapets along Frontage Road (along the City Line) and on Garfield Avenue bridge and grading embankment slopes for topsoil and seeding. Roadway and embankment grading will be performed in advance of paving in early April. Local street level work on Kennedy Boulevard, Avenue C, and Garfield Avenue bridges will continue, with some lane closures required. Single daytime lane closures will be used when needed. Temporary support towers will be located below the Avenue C bridge. Sidewalk passage will be maintained. Work continues on a variable message sign at the base of the Turnpike’s Newark Bay Bridge. A temporary barrier curb along the ramp west of Avenue C will be removed by Memorial Day or earlier. The ramp work zone will switch to the left (median) and all traffic pushed to the outside shoulder by late April 2016.
Construction continues on the new connector bridge approach retaining walls near 53rd Street. Work is taking place in a dedicated work area. New bridge pier construction activity will continue, along with work on drill shafts for the new structure. Deep foundation work will continue along the New Jersey Transit tracks in the old gas station property at the very northern end of Avenue E. New bridge column and pier cap construction will continue near 51st Street and Avenue E.
At the intersection of Route 440 and Pulaski Street, drainage and other utility work are continuing. Northbound and southbound Route 440 traffic has been shifted outward to create a median work zone. Temporary traffic signals at this intersection were activated on Wednesday, March 23.
Pier and column work continue for the forthcoming new connector bridge between the Turnpike and Route 440. Deep foundation work continues for the new ramp over Route 440. Deep foundation construction for the new connector bridge is beginning. The 440/Pulaski jug handle has been shifted onto temporary pavement. Structural steel erection for the new connector bridge along Avenue E will begin in mid-May. In late June or early July 2016, there will be a need for towers for the structural steel.