Preserving and changing Bayonne
United Methodist Church
Story and photos by Pat Bonner
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or the last few years there’s been a lot of talk about the new high rises and condos and how the expected influx of wealthy young professionals would change Bayonne. However, during the last decade or more, a different group of newcomers—Egyptians—is making its mark on Bayonne. Egyptians in most cases are preserving what we have and like but also transforming the footprint. If you buy coffee in the morning or newspapers or cigarettes or run out for a quart of milk at night, it’s likely that you bought these items from an EgyptianAmerican. From Hanna’s on First Street, to White Rose on 13th and the Boulevard, 2M on 30th and Broadway, or Sina America on 54th and the Boulevard, many Bayonne convenience stores are owned by Egyptian-Americans. At least three Egyptian-owned grocery stores selling fresh vegetables and fruit are on Broadway and Avenue C. They have taken over old stores or opened new ones. One of the benefits of living in a city is walkability. These Egyptian-American businesses are providing services within walking distance for most residents. Without them, many more empty storefronts on Broadway and elsewhere would mar the cityscape.
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Immigrant Origins Twenty-first-century immigrants are no longer drawn by one large company, like Standard Oil. But they are coming for jobs, many setting up their own businesses. One of the first Egyptians to settle in Bayonne is Khaled Aly. He arrived about 40 years ago and got a job at Judicke’s Bakery. He bought the bakery 20 years ago and kept all the recipes. It still specializes in European baked items and sweets. In a bow to the increasing Egyptian market, it also sells baklava on weekends. Another early settler is MagdyEl- Nagger who came to the United States in 1984. He bought a convenience store on 44th and Broadway in 1995 and continues to run it, seven days a week about 18 hours a day.
Christians and Muslims Coexist In Egypt, most of the population is Muslim. But in Bayonne, the large majority of Egyptians are Christian, called Coptics or Copts. The Coptic Church split from the Roman Catholic Church centuries ago over a difference in dogma. Most of the newer residents are Copts. This is because of recent discrimination in Egypt against Copts by the majority Muslims and an easing of immigration restrictions for Copts by our federal government. Most Egyptians in Bayonne show no prejudice
against their Muslim or Coptic neighbors, despite any discrimination in Egypt. Here, Muslim business owners freely employ Copts, and Coptic business owners freely employ Muslims.
Religion Rules Most Bayonne Egyptians are deeply religious. Father Bishoy Malek Sadek was sent to Bayonne in 2004 to set up a new parish, Virgin Mary & St. John Coptic Orthodox Church, for the burgeoning Coptic population. At first, he rented the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on 21st Street, and then he bought Friendship Baptist Church on 20th Street. He refurbished the old church and constructed a new one next door. It holds services in Arabic and English on Sundays in the two churches. There are 950 families in the parish. From the line of strollers outside the church on Sundays, it seems many of these families have babies or toddlers. The Bayonne skyline has been changed by the domes of St. Abanoub & St. Anthony, at the city line. This large church on the old Boulevard Pool site, serves Copts from Bayonne and Jersey City and has a summer festival attended by thousands. The Wesley United Methodist Church on 46th Street has been taken over by an Egyptian Protestant denomination. The building’s façade has not been changed, just the sign.
