To the Editor:
In December of last year I had the pleasure of speaking at Bayonne’s council meeting. I spoke about the importance of a first impression and how the gateways of our city should be welcoming to everyone who comes into our town. I focused on one entrance in particular which is on 58th street and Kennedy Boulevard between Bayonne and Jersey City. At the time a telephone pole had been down for months. It was filled with graffiti and there was garbage everywhere. Instead of saying “Welcome to Bayonne,” it screamed “Filth”! I couldn’t understand how anyone could allow the entrance to look like this when thousands of people use this gateway every day. At the council meeting I learned that there was confusion as to who has responsibility for this section because even though the gateway is in Bayonne, the boulevard is a county road and the New Jersey Turnpike is responsible for an area as well. Due to the various roles and responsibility within these three entities no one was taking on the ownership of maintaining the gateway. Shortly after the meeting the council appeared motivated to tackle the task and within days the graffiti had been covered and 3rd Ward Councilmen Gary La Pelusa had county workers do some cleaning at the gateway. The gateway looked better but still had large amounts of garbage so I decided to hold a cleanup event at the gateway and teamed up with a great initiative called Beautify Bayonne.
The event was held on Saturday April 25 and was a complete success! Over 50 motivated Bayonne residents attended the event and after four hours of hard work the Gateway on John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Avenue C was fully cleaned. Volunteers truly got their hands dirty. We were climbing hills and hopping fences to get every piece of garbage at the gateway, and some of us even had a run in with poison ivy. I’d say driving through the gateway and seeing the difference was worth the itch and all the hard work.
During the event Bayonne’s super hero Captain Bayonne uncovered a handgun, ammunition, and a bulletproof vest hidden in a black plastic bag. I’d be the first to admit it was frightening. However there is good and bad everywhere you go and the fact that over 50 Bayonne residents came out to a cleanup event supersedes the frightening feeling of uncovering a weapon. Who knows, this cleanup might have saved a life by taking a weapon off the streets.
This event would not have been possible without the support of Tony Casas, owner of ACE Hardware in Bayonne, and his amazing staff who donated all the supplies for the cleanup. They weren’t the only businesses we reached out to. However, they were the only ones who responded to the call. I also would like to thank Councilman Sal Gullace for coordinating with the city in picking up all the garbage we collected, and the many business owners, community leaders, Cub Scouts, coaches, teachers, police officers, members of the Cityline Church and the Christian Missionary Alliance of Bayonne who attended the cleanup event and of course the many great residents of Bayonne. Together, by taking individual responsibility and creating awareness about community cleanliness we can make Bayonne one of the cleanest cities in New Jersey.
CORRADO DEVINCENZO