The return of the Red Cross to Bayonne is a happy occasion for BLRA Commissioner Henry Sanchez, who said the loss of the local office 17 years ago had struck a painful note in the hearts of many people. Sanchez, who served as a volunteer as well as member of the board of directors and chairman of the Bayonne Red Cross chapter since 1950, said the local chapter merged with Jersey City in 1987 as part of an effort to create a county-wide chapter. Last year, Hudson’s office merged with Bergen County’s.

Although the original Red Cross office in Bayonne on Ninth Street near Broadway sat vacant for eight or nine years, the Red Cross could not return there because the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) purchased the building four or five years ago for use at as site for Head Start program.

“We’re going to have a grand opening for the Head Start in September,” said Eleanor Tiefenwerth, executive director of BEOF.

The Red Cross operated an office in Bayonne for decades, and was considered one of the more active civic organizations, hosting blood drives and other charity events as well as providing services for seniors and others.

Red Cross of America, to which Bergen-Hudson Chapter belongs, helps victims of house fires and other disasters, as well as provides help to veterans who need to reach hospital facilities.

 

Good reason to reopen

 

The opening of the new office at the Peninsula, Sanchez said, came as a result of working with Vernon Reed, the chief executive officer of the Hudson-Bergen Chapter and Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria.

The attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, figured prominently into the opening of the office since Bayonne – with its variety of fuel and chemical tanks, as well as its prominent location in the harbor – provided good reasons for maintaining an office here.

Nancy Kist, Executive Director of the BLRA, said the space was donated to the Red Cross in Building 51 – which also holds the BLRA and other offices.

The initial lease is for only three months, but this, Kist said, was because the BLRA wanted to get the lease on the same yearly cycle as the rest of the leased properties on the Peninsula.

“We work on a fiscal year and wanted their lease to match up with the others,” she said. “We will give them a longer lease with all the rest. We expect to have them here a long time.”

The donated space would have run about $650 per month, but the Red Cross will still have to provide its own insurance and costs of running the office.

The office will be open three days a week for a time, with hopes to expand the office hours to five days a week in the future.

Sanchez said the operations are waiting on final approval.

“I’m waiting for official notification from Vernon Reed,” Sanchez said. “I e-mailed him and I’m waiting for the approval.”

Sanchez said he is currently seeking drivers for vehicles – volunteers with valid driver’s licenses that have time to help drive veterans to and from Veterans’ hospitals.

“You would just need a New Jersey driver’s license and time to devote,” Sanchez said, hoping to have the service run from month through Friday. “If we get enough people, we might be able to split the shift between mornings and afternoons.”

Any volunteers should send their name and address to Henry Sanchez at 11 Kennedy Blvd. in Bayonne, 07002, and state what days and hours he or she is available. q