THE NEW EGYPTIANS

Preserving and changing Bayonne

United Methodist Church

Story and photos by Pat Bonner

For 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.

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.

Finally a Mosque

The Egyptian community has been in the news for the last five years due to the controversy over the new mosque. Since the summer of 2015 when the Bayonne Muslims group first floated the idea of building a mosque at 109 East 24th Street, there was opposition, often from some of Bayonne’s older immigrants.

The Bayonne Zoning Board denied variances for it in 2017, but when the Bayonne Muslims filed a federal lawsuit, the city settled the case and allowed the project to move forward.

Until the mosque is completed, the Muslim community uses the upper floor of the closed Frank South Cove Theatre for services. The mosque or masjid off Avenue F will have ample parking.

It’s difficult to estimate the number of Egyptian Muslims living in Bayonne, but a rough guess is about 750. As American as, well … Americans

Some older residents may be put off by Arabic script on some of the businesses, but Egyptians are assimilating like generations of other immigrants. Boys play catch with an American football on 20th Street. Five young Egyptian Americans from the Virgin Mary parish joined the military last year. New residents have been very successful in academics at Bayonne High School. Each year about a third of the top ten students are Egyptian-Americans. These students are attending top Ivy League schools. For example, Nardeen Khella graduated from BHS in 2017 and headed to Princeton University to major in Molecular Biology.

Ali Hassan may be typical of the younger generation. He came to the United States when he was 9. He assimilated quickly. He swam for the BHS team. He brags that he taught more than 100 people to swim while working at the 16th Street pool. After graduating from High Tech and St. Peter’s College, he worked for Goldman Sachs. He married, bought a house in Bayonne, and now has a three-month-old boy, Adam. Like everyone else, he has trouble finding a parking spot, but he likes living in Bayonne and intends to raise his family here.—BLP

United Methodist Church

Tara Ryazansky profiles an organization that also connects Bayonne to the rest of the nation. GRASP is a support group specifically for people who have lost loved ones to addiction. Bayonne, like every other town in the U.S., has been hit by the opioid crisis. GRASP provides a stigma-free zone for comfort and community.

But Bayonne also loves looking back at its rich history. Pat takes a long stroll down memory lane, all the way to the Revolutionary War when Fort Delancey stood where 52nd Street is today. It’s a surprising yarn.

Sports is big in this issue. We have a pro football player, a wheelchair boxer, and a profile of the Police Athletic League. On the off chance that chess is a sport, we also check in on the Recreation Department’s chess club.

In the education department, Diana Scwaeble tosses the football with Superintendant John Niesz and spends an afternoon with BEN-TV’s film buffs.

But, hey summer is on the way. Catch Pat’s story about Camp Lewis. Be prepared! It’s not just for Boy Scouts anymore!

Be safe, be well, and be in touch.

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