SPRING | SUMMER 2021
and scenes
INSIDE: LAST CALL | SUPER HOOPSTER | DOLLHAUS II
OUR FULL SERVICE PRACTICE INCLUDES: Rocco DiAntonio D.M.D.
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Whoever your heart beats for, our hearts beat for you. A full range of top quality cardiac care in Hudson County. Jersey City Medical Center has a passion for heart health. As Hudson County’s only full-service heart hospital, our premier cardiovascular physicians use innovative technologies to diagnose and treat the entire range of cardiovascular diseases. In partnership with Rutgers Health, our medical teams provide the highest quality critical and surgical cardiac care, and we offer access to sophisticated cardiac research and clinical trials. As part of our dedication to every heart in our community, we’ll continue healing, enhancing and investing in Hudson County, so we can all live better, happier and healthier. Learn more at rwjbh.org/HudsonCounty
We’ve taken every precaution to keep you safe. So if you’ve put off any medical care due to COVID-19, please don’t delay it any longer.
CONTENTS BLP
COVER 26 GREENS AND SCENES A Passion for Plants Photo courtesy of Erin Lewis
FEATURES 16 DOLLHAUS II In Bayonne
22 SUPER HOOPSTER Paul Mucahy
30 SIGNS OF THE TIMES Honoring Black Leaders
22
36 ANGELIC AGRICULTURE From Farm to Table
40 POLISH DELIS Perogis Anyone?
42 A BUILDING IN WAITING A Future Museum
44 BUDDY BASEBALL A League of Their Own
DEPARTMENTS 6 OUR STAFF 8 EDITOR’S LETTER 12 CONTRIBUTORS 34 POINT AND SHOOT Birds of a Feather
38 HELPING HANDS Helping Kids in Guyana
46 THEN AND NOW Massa’s Tavern
48 EATERY Angelina’s
30
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ALL COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS ARE IN PLACE AND BEING FOLLOWED
Spring | Summer 2021 Volume 7 • Number 1 Published twice annually A Publication of Newspaper Media Group
We are Liberty Lutherans Sunday Worship at 11:00 am Social Distancing & Masks are Required | Mass will also be live-streamed
PUBLISHER Perry Corsetti EDITOR IN CHIEF Kate Rounds ART DIRECTOR Terri Saulino Bish ADVERTISING MANAGER Tish Kraszyk SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Ron Kraszyk Jay Slansky CIRCULATION Luis Vasquez FINANCIAL Sharon Metro
GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH pastor.gracebayonne@gmail.com • gracebayonne.org 836 AVENUE C • BAYONNE NJ • 201.339-3685 CORNER OF 37TH STREET AND AVENUE C
Shop & Save while serving your community. New, stylish clothing, gift items, home decor & essentials.
Hours Monday - Friday 10am to 6pm Saturday 10am to 3pm 426 AVENUE C (18th St.) BAYONNE NJ • 201-339-3685
CONNECTED TO CHRIST • CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER CONNECTED TO COMMUNITY 6 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
Bayonne Life on the Peninsula is published by the Newspaper Media Group, 447 Broadway, Bayonne, New Jersey 07002, (201) 798-7800, Fax (201) 798-0018. Email bayonnemag@ hudsonreporter.com. Subscriptions are $10 per year, $25 for overseas, single copies are $7.50 each, multiple copy discounts are available. VISA/MC/AMEX accepted. Subscription information should be sent to BLP Magazine Subscriptions, 166-168 Broadway, Bayonne, NJ 07002. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other unsolicited materials. Copyright ©2020/21, Newspaper Media Group .All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.
Bayonne Life on the Peninsula is a publication of Newspaper Media Group 166-168 Broadway, Bayonne, New Jersey 07002 phone 201.798.7800 fax 201.798.0018
22ND STREET
EDITOR’S LETTER BLP
MEAT MARKET
STOP IN FOR ALL YOUR BBQ DELICACIES
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483 AVE. C (betw. 21st & 22nd) BAYONNE, NJ 07002 WE DELIVER • 201.437.0188 Min. Order $10 • Delivery Charge $2 OPEN: MON. - FRI. 8 AM - 6 PM • SAT. until 5:30 PM MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
Photo by Marie Papp
SERVING BAYONNE FOR 56 YEARS
Let There be Light Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel?
P
ink cherry blossoms on the sidewalk, the scent of budding trees, flowers blooming—and at this writing more than 30,000 residents vaccinated. Looks like light to me, and a number of stories in this issue reflect the promise off spring. Take Buddy Baseball. Sports guru Jim Hague takes an in-depth look at this stupendously popular program for specialneeds kids. But it’s grown into much more. Read the emotional responses of kids and adults of every ability, and you’ll get the picture. It’s farmers market season. Ever wonder who supplies all that fresh produce? Dan Israel talks to members of a family farm who keep us supplied with homegrown fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, back at the condo, high-end plants anyone? Tara Ryazansky caught up with a pair of Bayonne dentists with good hands and green thumbs who launched Rudo Plants & Home. Buy online, and the plants are delivered free. Look for a brickand-mortar shop in their future.
see page 19
8 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
COME FOR GREAT SAVINGS & PEACE OF MIND
PRE-PLAN TODAY HONOR THEM FOREVER Holy Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum 340 Ridge Road North Arlington, NJ www.HolyCross-Cemetery.org
SPRING OPEN HOUSE PRICES EXTENDED TILL JUNE 1, 2021 Holy Name Cemetery & Mausoleum 823 West Side Avenue Jersey City, NJ www.HolyNameCemetery.org
B AYO N N E E X P E R I E N C E The City is Thriving & Ready to Serve You • Great neighborhoods with quality homes & new Luxury Development • New ongoing commercial and residential development • Easy transportation via Light Rail or bus • Beautiful Parks & Waterfront Walkways
• 2-mile Main Street that includes shopping, dining and excellent healthcare • Art and Music Events & Family Entertainment • 3.3125% NJ Sales Tax
Shop, Dine & Play Locally
Hudson County’s Peninsula City is on the Move!
BayonneNJ.org 201 858 6357
Ad is paid for with the use of UEZ funds
JIM HAGUE
DANIEL ISRAEL
ALYSSA BREDIN QUIROS
JIM HAGUE
VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZ
is a Jersey City native, who landed a job with the Hudson Dispatch in 1986. He has been the sports columnist for the Hudson Reporter Associates for the last 22 years.
has studied photography, publication design, and graphic arts. “I’ve been fascinated by photography for 20 years,” he says.
DANIEL ISRAEL is a writer and videographer. He first set foot in Bayonne in 2018. Ever since, his life has centered around the city. When he’s not working, Daniel enjoys relaxing in 16th Street Park and visiting Bayonne’s coffee shops and eateries.
ALYSSA BREDIN QUIROS is an award-winning designer and photographer. Her work is featured in numerous publications. You can see her full portfolio at tbishphoto.com.
VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZ
MAXIM RYAZANSKY is a photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries and published worldwide. A recent transplant to Bayonne, he spends his spare time trying to figure out the best pizza place in town.
MAXIM RYAZANSKY
TARA RYAZANSKY is a writer who moved from Brooklyn to Bayonne. She works as a blogger for Nameberry.com and spends her spare time fixing up her new (to her) 100-year-old home.
B L P
CONTRIBUTORS
TARA RYAZANSKY
12 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
TERRI SAULINO BISH is the art director for The Hudson Reporter’s award-winning magazines and newspapers. Her work includes capturing many of the iconic photos featured in print and online across Hudson County.
Today’s PAL
What Summer Camp is All About!
STAFF
ACTIVITIES
We Know our Kids Names and their Needs Year Round Adult Certified Staff who are First Aid & CPR Certified
• Swimming 3 days per week 16th St. Pool (Mon., Wed., Friday- Weather permitting) * 4, 5 & 6 year olds in wading pool only (10:30 – 12:30) • Arts & Crafts with a full time art teacher • Cooking Classes • Controlled sports program (basketball, softball, hockey, volleyball & more) • PlayStation and X Box Game Rooms • Annual Summer Play – See Your Child Become a Star! • Weekly Prize Contests – HopScotch, Jump Rope, Football Throw, Big Prize Bingo, Talent Show • Field Trips - Due to COVID there are no scheduled field trips at this time. Should any changes occur, you will be notified
CLASSES Divided by Gender and Age • Carefully blended co-ed play & learning experience for 4, 5 & 6 year olds • Boys & Girls Groups – 7 & 8 years old – 9 & 10 Years old – 11 and 12 years old
MEALS Breakfast, Lunch and a Snack Every Day Fresh cooked, nutritious meals prepared on site Not delivered in containers • Breakfast Samples – Cereal, Bagel or Baked Goods with Fruit • Lunch Samples – Pasta & Meatballs, Sandwiches, Hot Turkey & Mashed Potatoes, Tacos, Sloppy Joe, Hot Dogs & Beans. 2 Vegetables and Fruit are served with every lunch • Milk & Orange Juice everyday Free Popcorn for Friday Afternoon Movies A variety of payment options are available, including Urban League Transportation is Available for Pick-Up and Drop-Off if COVID restrictions allow. Open to Bayonne residents only. Proof is residency is required.
OPEN LONGER HOURS 7:30 am to 4:30 pm BAYONNE PAL | 550 Avenue A | 201.437.6427 or 201.858.6966 Entrance on West 23rd Street Door #7
of Bayonne 926 Broadway (corner of 44th Street) Bayonne, NJ 07002
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DOGS • CATS • EXOTICS • WELLNESS DIAGNOSTICS • SURGICAL • DENTAL • DIGITAL X-RAY ULTRASOUND • IN-HOUSE LAB WORK Dr. Philip F. Frezzo. DVM Dr. Lillian P. Streit, VMD Dr. Richard L. Reed, DVM
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Support Bayonne Business SHOP, DINE & PLAY IN THE HEART OF BAYONNE
BAYONNE’S SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: Broadway from 17th to 30th Street FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE BAYONNE SID, PLEASE CALL 201-858-6357
Photos by Madame Amelia Photography
Ad paid for with the use of UEZ funds
Emma Louise
Dollhaus II Story and photos by Daniel Israel
T
he Dollhaus II art gallery at 23 Cottage Street is owned and curated by resident Emma Louise, who owned and operated the original Dollhaus in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She moved from London to Brooklyn in 1998, hosting elaborate art parties in rented warehouses and clubs. After 9/11, 2001, Louise was lost. “I didn’t know what to do with my life,” she said. “I was sick of renting out these spaces. It’s a lot of work for a night to make art installations, pull in bands, pull in installation artists. I needed my artists to have at least a month.”
Enter the Dollhaus art gallery. “I never wanted to own a gallery, as a child or as a grown young lady,” Louise said. “But it was a natural occurrence from what I was actually doing.” After six years, Louise needed a break. “Running a gallery is a lot of work, with a lot of artists and it’s 24/7,” she said. “Artists are demanding, and shows are every month. It wasn’t really that I couldn’t afford the neighborhood anymore, but the neighborhood was changing a lot.” Louise moved to Canada to pursue her own art before returning to New York City. “I went to live in Montreal and worked on my own stuff and my own little films,” she
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In Bayonne and better than ever
said. “I moved back to New York and kind of had enough of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.” She packed her bags and moved to Jersey City.
To the Garden State “I was one of the first Brooklynites, the Wiliamsburgers, to move to Jersey City,” Louise said. “I needed a big space; I was a largescale painter. I was always looking for another gallery. I’m always attracted to offthe-beaten-path neighborhoods. Williamsburg was that when I was there, so Jersey was the next off the beaten path. So I stayed there and was constantly looking for a new space. By the time I had really settled, the
rents in Jersey City started to get insane.” Louise said Jersey City became expensive because everyone in Brooklyn was moving there. This prompted her to look elsewhere to open a new gallery. “I couldn’t find a place acceptable to me in Jersey City, and I didn’t feel comfortable with the art that was going on, and I’m a bit of a lone wolf,” she said. “So I started to hunt seriously for a space, and I had only ever been in Bayonne once. I saw something that was advertised as a storage space, and it was a good price. Before I even went over there, I said I’m taking it.” But the owner had already rented it to someone else. Louise was persistent. The
renters were also from London, so they found common ground, and the space was hers, sight unseen. That was three years ago, and the rest is history. “I renovated the hell out of that storage space,” Louise said. “The funny thing is, I moved here about a year afterward, and it was kind of like every neighborhood I moved to. When I moved to Williamsburg, it was just big warehouses and not much going on. When I moved to Jersey City, there wasn’t much going on. Then it happened again to Bayonne.”
Cultivating the Local Scene As Bayonne began to develop, so did the art scene. “Things started happening,” Louise said. “I started to meet good artists, the outsider artists of the world. It worked out that I wasn’t the
only one in Bayonne. There was a bit of a thriving situation of weirdos. So I clearly made the right decision.” The gallery hosted a monthly show until March 16, 2020, when it closed due to the onset of the pandemic. “We’re actually selling work, we’re actually getting a name, and I have to close,” Louise said. “I did a Zoom show and tell every week from the gallery of all the different artists that I have shown or was going to show.” Louise said her mantra was: “If it’s from Bayonne, take it home,” reducing prices during the pandemic. “People were so traumatized and so upset, and art was making people happy,” Louise said. “Art was actually keeping some people alive through having a meaning and a purpose. And I was definitely one of those.”
When the gallery reopened in September of 2020, it implemented COVID-19 precautions.
Artist and Gallery Owner Dollhaus II has continued its monthly exhibitions for outsider artists from New Jersey and New York, who are not formally trained and did not go to art school. In April, Louise showed her own work for the first time ever, but only for three weeks. “I’m not one of those people who can stay in one discipline,” Louise said. “I’m a good gallerist, I’m a good curator. I’m good with my artists. I know a lot of people, and I get bored painting on my own. I’m not that selfinterested to carry on with that.” That exhibition titled “Kerfuffle” is a series of
unfinished paintings she began during the stay-at-home order. “I painted this and now I’m a bit better and not so terrified,” she said. “So I’m seeing how I can change and finish these paintings. They’re great, they’re disturbingly fun.” The gallery is open Thursday through Sunday, 2 to 9 p.m. She embraces Bayonne wholeheartedly but hasn’t forgotten her roots. A punching bag in the gallery is an homage to her father who was a boxer. “It’s kind of interesting how I’ve done this 360-degree circle from London to Williamsburg to Jersey City,” Louise said. “And now to the very top of the peninsula in Bayonne. People ask me, ‘Why are you in Bayonne?’ And I say, ‘Why not?’”—BLP
SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 17
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18 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
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B A Y O N N E
Family & Cosmetic Dentistry
EDITOR’S LETTER BLP from page 8 Bayonne has always been a community-minded town. If a family is displaced by fire, Bayonne is there. If kids are going hungry, Bayonne is there. This was especially true during the pandemic. In that vein, Tara penned story about one woman’s helping hands reaching far and wide. We Are Gutsy is an organization, founded by Bayonne’s Janice Hall, that fosters the wellbeing of kids in Guyana, where Hall was born. The closer we get to life as we once knew it, the more mindful we need to be of our safety, and the safety of our fellow citizens. There are ever more vicious variants out there, so get the jab, and enjoy!
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Quality Care…Right Here in Bayonne The mission of the Bayonne Community Mental Health Center is to address the mental health care needs of the people of Bayonne and the surrounding communities.
Services We Offer Include: Outpatient Groups • Managing Anxiety • Anger Management • Coping Skills for Children • Womens Group
• Bereavement • Mens Group • Addictions Group
Outpatient Services • Adult Services • Child Services with Family Sessions • Medication Management • Partial Care Program • Substance Abuse Services • Psychiatric Evaluations
601 Broadway Bayonne, NJ 07002 201.339.9200
bayonnementalhealth.org SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 19
TEMPLE BETH AM A Reform Synagogue
“Coming in the door feels like home.” • First year membership free • High Holiday Services/no fee
• Life Cycle events • Near public transportation • Handicapped accessible
“Friendly atmosphere.” 111 AVENUE B, BAYONNE, NJ
20 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
CALL
201.858.2020 for membership information. Ample Street Parking
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In Memory & Honor of
dplfh.com
Keith D. Pierce, Founder (1955 - 2008) SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 21
Photos courtesy of Rutgers University Athletics
Super Hoopster Paul Mulcahy does Bayonne proud By Jim Hague
A
sunny, warm spring morning at Bayonne’s Edward Clark Park enabled dozens of preteens to forget about the perils and pain of COVID-19. Two of the kids wore bright red headbands. Why? “Paul Mulcahy wears a red head band,” Aaron Hemingway-Ward, 11, answered quickly. “He’s a great player and he’s from Bayonne.” Bright smiling Eddie Charles added, “Yeah, Paul Mulcahy. He’s my man. Just do me a favor. Don’t tell my mom you saw me out here today.” Oops, sorry Eddie. That’s what Paul Mulcahy has become, and not just for Bayonne’s youth. He’s emerging as a role model for everyone, on and off the court. He’s a superstar, a
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do-everything for the Scarlet Knights, who won 16 games last season, competing in the toughest league in the country, the Big 10 Conference. The 6-foot-6 Mulcahy averaged nearly six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, seeing action in all 28 games, leading Rutgers to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1991. Mulcahy has become the best hoopster from Bayonne since Corey Stokes graduated from Villanova in 2011.
GENE POOL Mulcahy comes from strong athletic roots. His father, also named Paul, was a great high-stepping, strong and quick running back at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City. He helped to lead the Marauders to their first NJSIAA Non-Public Group IV state championship in 1989, upsetting the
state’s top-ranked St. Joseph Regional of Montvale 22-21, coming back to win after trailing 21-0 in the first half. “My dad never forced football on me,” Mulcahy said. “I could throw a football pretty well.” His younger brother Teague is a standout baseball pitcher at St. Peter’s and will head to the University of Hartford in the fall on a scholarship. But Paul took to basketball at an early age. “When I was little, I played all sports,” Mulcahy said. “I ran track, played flag football, soccer, baseball. But I started to love basketball, and it’s always been my favorite sport. I think I really got hooked watching Jason Kidd in the 2008 Olympics. I wanted to be like Jason Kidd or LeBron James.”
SPORTS BLP
Paul Mulca Photo By Jim hy Hague
NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE Mulcahy became a regular at the Bayonne Police Activity League and the Jersey City Boys Club, where he played for Frank Burno, former head coach at Marist High School. When the time came to pick a high school, Mulcahy considered his father’s alma mater, as well as the two schools in his hometown, and gave thought to state basketball powerhouses, Hudson Catholic and the now-closed St. Anthony in Jersey City. “Nothing wrong with Bayonne, but I just needed to get out,” Mulcahy said. Around that time he was introduced to Mergin Sina, head coach at Gill St. Bernard’s, a small private coeducational school in rural Somerset County’s Peapack-Gladstone. Sina, a former top-flight college basketball player at Seton Hall in the 1990s, liked what he saw in Mulcahy as a grade school player.
“The first time I saw him, he was about 11 or 12,” Sina said. “He just had a knack for playing hard. Everything was aggressive. His IQ in every aspect of the game was off the charts.” Mulcahy said, “I met Mergin Sina, and he brought up the idea of me going to Gill.” Doing the excruciating commute with his sister Nyla, also a Gill student, helped. “We would leave Bayonne every day at 5 a.m. to get to Newark Penn Station to get the bus that brought us to school,” Mulcahy said. But, “it wasn’t fun, and it was a big sacrifice.” And Gill was no walk in the park. “I went through some tough patches there,” Mulcahy said. “I had an academically tough schedule.”
AND THEN … Just as Mulcahy was trying to keep his head above water as a student, disaster struck. On Feb. 14, 2015, the most devastating event hit the Mulcahy family. A huge fire
destroyed their Bayonne home. Young Paul lost everything. “I have to thank the Bayonne community,” Mulcahy said. “They really came out to support us. We were really fortunate to be surrounded by great people in Hudson County, in Bayonne. The people of Bayonne were so generous.” The family moved into a host of apartments before moving into their current home, a project that took about three years to complete. Around the same time, colleges began to show interest in the lanky kid from Bayonne.
BETTER DAYS “It was a lot of fun,” Mulcahy said. “I got a lot of letters and a lot of recruiting calls from coaches. I would see guys from all these different schools.” Mulcahy had a brilliant career at Gill St. Bernard’s, earning First Team All-State honors as a senior, when he averaged 18.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game. SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 23
SPORTS BLP
he initiated the Grateful 4 Foundation. The 4 is for his uniform number. “I’m just waiting for the NCAA’s approval,” Mulcahy said about the official launch. “I want to be able to spread the idea of gratitude and selfless acts. I want to bring people from all walks of life together and do different things. It’s been an idea of mine for about four years. Hudson County has people from all different backgrounds. I know people would love to help.” Mulcahy said that he plans on having a Day of Gratitude Clinic in the summer, bringing kids together to play basketball and learn about life.
Paul Mulcahy gue Photo By Jim Ha
NBA MATERIAL “Gill is a great school,” Mulcahy said. “I learned a lot there. I definitely became a better student in the classroom.” During his junior year, he made his college choice known. He would play for Steve Pikiell at Rutgers. “I think Coach Pikiell’s biggest selling point was that at Rutgers, I would be able to play close to home in the biggest conference in the country,” Mulcahy said. “It was cool to be a part of the close games in the Big 10. I think the struggles I had at Gill helped me at Rutgers.”
COACH’S KUDOS Pikiell knew that securing Mulcahy’s services was a coup. “We consider Paul to be a superstar,” Pikiell said. “He’s a multi-positional player, and Paul’s smart enough to play the positions. He wins on and off the court. He has all the great qualities you want in a player. He’s really competitive. He knows that losing stinks. He’s also going to work very hard to get better.”
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This past season was a joyous one for Mulcahy and the Scarlet Knights. “I think we made a lot of people happy,” Mulcahy said. “People waited a long time for a season like this.” And people in Bayonne waited a long time for a player like Paul. “He’s a very aware young man,” Pikiell said. “He’s also very humble. He loves kids, and he’s very giving of his time. He’s a great role model.” Ever since he was a kid, Mulcahy wore a headband. It’s become his trademark. “Since I was about five or six, my dad wanted people to remember me, sort of the ‘Headband Kid.’ Mulcahy said. “It’s a way of being myself, but now all my siblings wear headbands.”
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT “I’m more versatile,” Mulcahy said. “I can shoot it better. I’m definitely mentally stronger. I can do anything to help my team.” Mulcahy helps everyone, which is why
“He’s a unique, special young man,” Pikiell said. “Wherever I go, people know who he is.” Sina said, “When that kid steps on the floor, the game literally changes for the better. If you’re a player, and you’re not happy playing with that kid, then there’s something wrong with you. With his work ethic and IQ, he’s a coach’s dream. Don’t be surprised if that kid ends up on an NBA team.” That’s the goal. “There’s a chance I could play in the NBA,” said Mulcahy, who’s majoring in human resources and sports management. “I just want to play basketball for as long as possible.” It’s not surprising that as founder of the Grateful 4 Foundation, he feels gratitude “I’m grateful to the people who helped me along the way,” Mulcahy said. And grateful for being Bayonne’s best basketball player in over a decade. Maybe longer.—BLP
NM-004 0
LANTS implants and
How two dentists nurtured their passion
Rusel Ventura and Domingo Ramirez
By Tara Ryazansky Photos by Erin Lewis
“T
his is my oldest,” says Domingo Ramirez proudly. “Her name is Julietta.” “She’s beautiful,” says Rusel Ventura, his close friend of 10 years. Ramirez isn’t introducing his child. The pair are talking about one of his many plants. “Yes, we gender them,” Ventura says. “They have a gender and a name,” Ramirez says. “And yes, I talk to them.” Ramirez and Ventura are founders of Rudo Plants & Home, a potted plant and home décor business based in Bayonne.
“We both love plants and home décor,” Ventura says. “One day we were sitting on my couch. We just came from this store in Jersey City were we used to buy plants, and we were like, ‘How can we share our love of plants and home decoration with others? I think we can have a little small business doing this.’ That’s how the idea came up.” “Both of us were furloughed from work at that time,” Ramirez says. “The name became RU for Rusel and DO for me. A customer told us that our name means love in an African language.”
Home Grown Ramirez and Ventura were born in the United
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States but grew up in the Dominican Republic where they met at dental school. They were trained in the Dominican Republic and are working on boards to practice dentistry in the United States. “We share two passions,” Ramirez says. “Dentistry and plants.” Rudo Plants & Home began on Instagram, where customers can purchase items with free delivery in Bayonne and Jersey City. Each week the pair drops an inventory list at @rudoplants.home. Their items include dramatically draping plants in hanging containers like String of Fishhooks and String of Pearl and low maintenance options like Snake Plants and cactuses. Each plant comes with detailed instructions, and Ramirez and Ventura are just a DM away. They’re always available to help their customers keep their
plants happy. “We don’t just sell you a plant and say byebye,” Ventura says. The partners have teamed up with local businesses that host popup events. They’ve sold their wares outside The Little Boho Bookshop, Clutch Moto, and at other sites. “People in the Bayonne community have given us a lot of support,” Ramirez says. “We have had a warm welcome in Bayonne.”
Brick and Mortar They hope to eventually open a store in Bayonne. “I think it’s needed in Bayonne,” Ventura says. “We don’t want to just open a plant shop. We want to open a place where people can hang out with their friends.” Ventura has lived in town for almost five years. “Bayonne is growing. I see a lot of businesses coming into Bayonne. The cafes, the bookshop, we didn’t have
those before. It’s important for the community to grow and expand, especially because we are getting a new population coming over; younger people.” Rudo Plants & Home partnered with some of Bayonne’s newest buildings that are gearing up for that influx of residents. They have worked as plant stylists for the lobbies and model units of B22 and Bay One Luxury Rentals. They add greenery in a way that reflects their Rudo Plants & Home aesthetic, which they describe as minimalist boho chic.
Secrets Unearthed Ventura and Ramirez add to the natural beauty of their plants by potting them in SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 27
Rusel Ventura
Domingo Ramirez
cool concrete planters or boho baskets. They’re great gifts because of the attention to detail when it comes to presentation and packaging. They have added fresh and preserved bouquets that have the same high-end look, and have expanded to include outdoor plants as the weather has warmed up, and it’s gardening season. “Taking care of plants became really popular during the pandemic because a lot of people were stuck at home,” Ramirez says. “I think plants are therapeutic, especially now with the pandemic,” Ventura agrees. “You need to create a space that you feel comfortable in. You don’t only come home to sleep. You have to take a deep breath and relax around your plants.” I can only assume that Julietta agrees.—BLP
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Signs of the times On the road to eternity By Daniel Israel
T
he city has recently honored two Black leaders. Edith Ferrell and Rev. H. Gene Sykes had streets renamed after them: West 19th and West 20th Street respectively. The signs stand on the corner of each street and Avenue C. Ferrell and Sykes died last year, leaving behind legacies of love and excellence.
Edith Ferrell
Edith Ferrell and Diane Sondy. Photo courtesy of Diane Sondy
Rev. H. Gene Sykes. Photo by Alyssa Bredin Quiros
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The portion of West 19th Street between Avenue C and Broadway was renamed Edith Ferrell Way in April. Ferrell died on Feb. 8, 2020, just days after her 70th birthday. In February of this year, the city council passed a resolution renaming that portion of West 19th Street for Ferrell. The Flournoy Gethers VFW Post #7470 is on that part of the street, where she was Auxiliary President. Ferrell was born in Virginia and moved to Bayonne after her marriage to Jerry Ferrell. For more than a decade, Ferrell’s leadership and support as the Auxiliary President of Flournoy Gethers VFW Post #7470 enabled the post to maintain its membership in the Bayonne Veterans Community. In 2019, Ferrell was selected to be the Grand Marshall for the Memorial Day Parade. She was the first African American woman and the third woman to be chosen. Ferrell served as a board member for the local chapter of the NAACP, Vice Chairperson of the Bayonne Housing Authority, Committee Member of the Bayonne City Democratic Organization, and member of the Jersey City Black Caucus. She was a former trustee of the Bayonne Board of Education, and past President of the Bayonne Community Day Care Nursery.
Rev. H. Gene Sykes. Photo by Alyssa Bredin Quiros
Until the day she died she was working diligently in the hospital to make a comeback.” Rev. Dorothy Patterson of Wallace Temple AME Zion Church offered a prayer.
Rev. H. Gene Sykes
Edith Ferrell. Photo courtesy of Diane Sondy
At a ceremony renaming the street and unveiling the sign, officials, family, and friends spoke. Ferrell’s son Courtney was presented with a framed copy of the city council resolution and a framed joint resolution honoring his mother by Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti, Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, and State Senator Sandra Cunningham. “Now the block becomes her,” Courtney Ferrell said. “This is a reflection of her life.
The portion of West 20th Street between Broadway and Avenue C was renamed Rev. H. Gene Sykes Way on Easter Sunday. Friendship Baptist Church, where Sykes was pastor, is there. Henry Eugene Sykes was one of the first residents to die from the coronavirus on April 4, 2020. His wife Fannie died on April 25. Sykes became pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in 1992, after nearly two decades of work in the ministry throughout North Jersey. Sykes moved the church from its old location on West 20th Street to its current spot down the
SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 31
The Sykes family and city officials with the street sign honoring the late Rev. H. Gene Sykes. Photo by Daniel Israel
Rev. H. Gene Sykes. Photo by Alyssa Bredin Quiros
Courtney Ferrell with the street sign honoring his late mother. Photo by Daniel Israel
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Edith Ferrell. Photo courtesy of Diane Sondy
block, and oversaw the renovation and expansion of the church, including the construction of a 500-seat sanctuary, a daycare center, and the establishment of a soup kitchen. Sykes served on the Bayonne Housing Authority for many years, was a member of the Bayonne Interfaith Clergy, and held leadership positions in the local chapter of the NAACP. He founded the Bayonne Community Action Project, which advocates for the creation of affordable housing, and the Build America Association, which operates an early childhood development center. Fannie Sykes served as First Lady of the church for 27 years, also working as the general secretary and special assistant to the pastor. Following a memorial service at the Friendship Baptist Church during Easter service, members of the congregation poured out of the church to the corner of East 20th Street and Avenue C, where city officials gathered with the Sykes family to rename the street and unveil the new sign. John Sykes, son of Gene and Frannie, pulled the cover off the sign, revealing the tribute to his father, and was presented with a proclamation declaring April 4, 2021, Rev. Sykes Memorial Day. Assemblyman Chiaravalloti presented the family with two additional proclamations honoring the couple. John Sykes spoke on behalf of the family: “If there is anything that we can take away from the life of Rev. Sykes, it is devotion to God and service to others.” The ceremony concluded with a few lines from Sykes’s favorite song, “Amazing Grace.” Sykes and Ferrell epitomized the words amazing and grace. Their eternal embrace can now be felt along Avenue C in midtown. The signs are a reminder for young people of two remarkable role models.—BLP
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Photos courtesy of the Angel Family Farm
Angelic AG R IC U LT U R E From family farm to Bayonne tables By Daniel Israel
L
izbeth Angel, 30, lives in Bayonne, but from April to November, she’s a farmer at the 16-acre Angel Family Farm in Goshen, New York. The farm offers a community supported agriculture (CSA) program to Bayonne residents. The family began farming in 2006, starting when Lizbeth was 14, returning to Brooklyn for the winter to work “regular” jobs. Her dad Fily works with specialty cheeses. Her mom Ana works as a nanny. Lizbeth was a nanny before becoming a substitute teacher.
Brooklyn Beginnings Lizbeth moved to Bayonne in 2017. The rest of the family lives in Park Slope. The family ran a taco stand at Red Hook Park.
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The Angels began farming after seeing a commercial for the New Farmers Development Project, part of Grow NYC, calling for immigrants who had a farming background. Fifteen years ago, unused land was available in upstate New York, but there was a shortage of farmers. Fily, from Mexico City, didn’t have a farming background. Ana was from the small Mexican town of Progreso in the state of Puebla, where people lived off the land. “My mom had been away from home for so long, it was something that was attainable to her like her home,” Lizbeth said. “So she convinced my dad to do it, and they invested every last penny on the farm.” The Goshen area boasts fertile and wet soil that’s good for growing, unlike New Jersey’s clay soil. “Clay soil is good for growing some things but not most things,” Lizbeth, said. “That’s what makes the black dirt region valuable. It’s perfect for growing a large variety of vegetables.”
A Rough Start The Angel family includes Ana, Fily, Lizbeth, her brother Henry, and sisters Jennifer and Maria. It wasn’t easy at first. “We were sleeping in our car,” Lizbeth said. “We were using the bathroom at gas stations. It was horrible.” But things got better. “My family was able to purchase their own land and agricultural equipment,” Lizbeth said. “Two years ago, we paid off our last tractor.” Now the farm is expanding to include a greenhouse and walk-in cooler. But a lot of the crops go bad. “It’s really sad,” Lizbeth said. “A lot of it goes bad because we don’t have proper storage. So we’re in the middle of that right now.” The family is working to get electricity to power the cooler. They try to sell as many vegetables as possible, lowering the prices so they won’t go to waste. They’ve developed lifelong relationships with customers and markets.
“We consider our customers family,” Lizbeth said. “When the pandemic hit last year, we didn’t know if we were going to be considered essential or nonessential.”
Pandemic Problems “A lot of our customers moved out of the city, so we went from having a hundred members to having zero members sign up for community supported agriculture,” Lizbeth said of the Brooklyn program. “But we were lucky enough to find some nonprofit organizations that wanted to work with us, so they ended up buying vegetables from us and distributing to immigrant families and lowincome families.” Lizbeth said they tried to join the farmers market in Bayonne but that the city already has a farmer for that. But residents can join the Angel Family Farm’s CSA for farm-to-table vegetables. “In New York the farm-to-table idea is what people are looking for,” Lizbeth said. “People self-educate. I don’t feel like it’s part of the Bayonne culture yet. It’s been a little tough explaining the concept, but I feel like people are starting to sort of get into it. In New York, if I post something on Facebook, people will just email me and my dad. But here in Bayonne, it’s more like I’ve had people send me a message asking to call me about it.” Lizbeth sets aside time to phone
Bayonne residents. The CSA has many Bayonne members, with a goal of 50.
How it Works “We go to the farm at the beginning of the season,” Lizbeth said. “We start planting all the seeds, and we start our seedlings. Once the bounty is here, we deliver the vegetables weekly.” The CSA season runs 18 weeks. Residents can choose to get a delivery for all 18 weeks or receive a delivery every other week, totaling nine weeks. To sign up or for more information, call Lizbeth Angel at 917-690-4033 or visit angelfamilyfarmcsa.com. They grow beats, beans, mini broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, and more. They just expanded to include eggs. “We have chickens and ducks this year,” Lizbeth said. “So we’ll be having eggs. More information on that will be available once we get a sense of how many eggs we’re getting per week.” They also collaborate with an orchard down the road from the farm. “If you want to add on fruit, they grow peaches, apples, nectarines, and they make cider that will be available as an add on,” Lizbeth said. Deliveries run to October 21. Depending on surplus, the farm can do wholesale. But the farm gives preference to CSA members and those who shop at farmers markets.
Looking Ahead The farm doesn’t use pesticides or chemicals on their plants, doing “bug control manually.” “I’ve always felt strongly about the disparity between good quality food and the people who have access to it,” Lizbeth said. “So a lot of times, my mom will only take markets with lowincome families, not the more affluent neighborhoods. Good food can be very easily available, and they just may not know about it.” Bayonne is catching up. “But I do still feel like Bayonne is not like Jersey City or Hoboken,” Lizbeth said. “So that’s why it’s important to me to bring this here. Some people are not willing to listen.” Lizbeth hopes to expand the business further in Bayonne. “In the future I would love to have a storefront in Bayonne where we could sell added-value products like maybe granola,” Lizbeth said. “Maybe we’ll even have a juice bar where we’ll use our own vegetables that we grow. Maybe people can pick up their vegetables there. We could also have vegetables available throughout the week versus just once a week. That’s my dream.”—BLP
SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 37
HELPING
Janice Hall Founder & Chair
Janice Hall returns to her roots By Tara Ryazansky Photos courtesy of We Are GUTSY
B
ayonne real estate agent Janice Hall is gutsy. She’s determined to help kids no matter what. Hall is founder of We Are GUTSY. “I know gutsy means a lot of things to a lot of people, but to us it’s always in caps,” Hall says. “It stands for Guyanese United to Serve our Youth. Our mission is to foster the wellbeing of children, through coaching and mentoring, so they can develop civic minded attitudes and behavior, so they can become positive citizens of Guyana.” That’s where Hall is from. She moved from Guyana to Bayonne in 2000. She founded We Are Gutsy in 2018. In 2019 she gathered approximately 40 teachers, social workers, and parents in Guyana for training in We Are GUTSY techniques. “We sat them down, and we did training in core values like strength and integrity and honesty,” Hall says. They then bussed the caregivers along with 160 kids ages 3-12 for a weeklong pilot program. Hall says it was a huge success, though the pandemic caused the organization to pivot and provide resources online only for now. She plans to return to Guyana next year. “It’s only COVID that stops me.”
Seeds are Sown Hall says that she saw a need for the organization because of the high rates of child neglect reported by Guyana’s Child Care and Protection Agency.
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Guyana Kids Get Coping Skills
Children participate in the first workshop in Guyana. “When a child is neglected in those formative years, they do not develop the ability to cope with life,” Hall says. “They have to cope with growing up in order to succeed in school, in the workplace, in relationships, and in life. That’s why I founded this organization.” To help children you have to help their parents. “There are many socioeconomic factors that contribute to this,” Hall says. “We’re not saying they’re bad caregivers, or they’re bad parents, we’re saying they just need help,” Hall says. “A lot of them don’t know it.”
In mid-April, We Are GUTSY led an online workshop for parents. “We were discussing parenting styles,” she says. “We asked them what parenting style they thought they had. There are four parenting styles mainly: permissive, authoritarian, authoritative and uninvolved. Almost everyone thought they were authoritative, which is ‘Let’s discuss it’. By the end of the discussion when we showed them what these styles meant, almost all of them realized that they were authoritarian, ‘Do this because I say so.’ That’s how I grew up.”
Nalini Tiwari Marketing Chair
Burnel Mingo Treasurer
Lourdeth Ferguson Secretary
Carla Meertens, Lead Educator
Neil Bacchus Fundraising Chair
Deanna Butters
Dire Consequences
Silver Linings
Hall says that she would have benefitted from We Are GUTSY when she was a child. “I learned through trial and error in life through a lot of not so pleasant experiences how to cope,” she says. “I remember at age 14 or so a female relative of mine, a lovely young lady who I really looked up to committed suicide, and I remember feeling so distraught because she had indicated that she was going to do it, and she had attempted it before. Yet there were not resources to help her. I remember thinking, ‘Why couldn’t they have prevented it?’ And then right in my school, as this was going on, one of my classmate’s siblings also committed suicide. These things bothered me.” Hall says Guyana has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. “We think that if we can get the children in their formative years to learn values and respect and resilience, then we think we can help to prevent all of the other issues that the country is grappling with.”
One unlikely outcome of the COVID-19 shutdowns is that We Are GUTSY has the undivided attention of parents. Though internet access can be spotty in the developing nation, Hall says that there’s been a great turnout for positive parenting online workshops. “Parental involvement is key to determining the outcome of children,” she says. “They’re doing the best they can, but we know that they need help, and we want to give that to them. We find that they haven’t resisted. We’re encouraged by that.” For Hall, it’s personal. “I chose Guyana because it’s where I was born,” she says. “It’s my homeland. The need is there, and the resources are limited. If not me, who? I don’t think any of us should forget where we come from. I always felt that if I was ever able to do something like this, I wanted to do it. Fortunately my real estate career gives me the opportunity to help.”
You can donate to We Are GUTSY at wearegutsy.org. Hall says it’s self-funded, volunteer-run, and they hope to grow. “I would love to see our curriculum in every school in Guyana,” she says. “About 70 percent of Guyana is underpopulated or not populated at all. Eighty percent of the country is covered in rain forest. So it’s beautiful, and vast, and most of the people live on the coast. The original inhabitants live out where it’s difficult to get to. “My dream is to be able to get to those kids because they also need the help.”— BLP
Sylvie Fouet (r) and Aleema Nasir SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 39
Marta Wozniak, owner of Sawa Deli.
Various polish meats are for sale at Sawa.
Kielbasa and other Polish specialites at Sawa
Pierogis Anyone? Celebrating Polish Delicacies Story and photos by Daniel Israel
P
olish immigrants began arriving in Bayonne in waves from the 1880s until the 1920s. There were subsequent waves after World War II and in the 1980s. Polish immigrants were looking for work. At that time, Bayonne was an oilrefining and manufacturing giant with many industrial jobs. While the Polish community isn’t what it used to
be during the height of immigration, there is still a thriving population of Poles in Bayonne. Along with their culture, they’ve brought something that has become a staple in the city: Polish delis. Bayonne: Life on the Peninsula caught up with the owners of some Bayonne delis, many of whom opened during the most recent immigration wave.
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We couldn’t speak to all of them personally, often because our Polish isn’t as good as theirs. But here are a few of Bayonne’s top spots for authentic Polish specialties.
Sawa Sawa Deli, at 586 Avenue C, has been a staple in Bayonne for 30 years. Marta Wozniak became owner four years ago and has been proudly running the store
ever since. A Bayonne resident of 16 years, Wozniak is originally from Poland. Wozniak said that though a lot of Polish people have moved away, there is still a sizeable population who frequent the store. She also has non-Polish regulars, who love the delicacies of Poland. Customers come for the fresh-made pierogis, fried fish, barbeque ribs, tribe soup, stuffed cabbage, and babkas. The Polish candy
Find strudles, cakes and breads at Warsaw.
A deli is nothing without its meat slicer.
and other groceries make the deli a must-stop for anyone, Polish or not.
Alex and Terry’s Alex and Terry’s Deli, at 798 Broadway, has been around since the 1950s. Leo Lyp moved from Poland and has owned and operated the deli since 1992, almost 30 years. Lyp runs the iconic deli with his parents. Lyp noted that a lot of people in the Polish community are moving out of the city, and that things are not like they were 10 or 20 years ago. While the city is changing amid waves of immigration from countries in Asia, Africa, and the Mideast, many mem-
bers of the Polish community who left Bayonne return for the holidays and buy their favorite holiday fare and Polish staples. The chruschiki at Alex and Terry’s is to die for. Get there early if you want to sample some of their traditional hot pastrami, potato pancakes, cheese babka, corn beef, or pierogis. They sell fast.
Two More Favorites Among other Polish hotspots are Warsaw Deli at 795 Broadway and Henry’s Deli at 488 Avenue C. Bayonne’s demographic may change, but the Polish influence and Polish delis are here to stay.—BLP
SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 41
All it Needs is Some Stuff The building is ready and waiting Photos and Story By Daniel Israel
T
he Bayonne Community Museum at 229 Broadway preserves history and makes history. According to the city’s Public Information Officer Joe Ryan, the building was constructed for the Bayonne Trust Company as a
The onshore interpretative center morphed into the concept for the Bayonne Community Museum. The city acquired the bank building under Doria’s administration in 2001. After a series of mergers, Fleet Bank no longer needed it and donated it to the city for $1.
bank in 1912. The Vermont granite-clad structure with its ornate Beaux-Arts-style architecture stands as a “temple to money.”
A Battleship Museum? Establishing a Bayonne museum stemmed from efforts by Mayor Joseph Doria to have the battleship USS New Jersey dock in Bayonne. In the late ‘90s, the city was in the running to become the ship’s permanent home. If it came to Bayonne, there was a push to have an onshore interpretive center. The city did not get the battleship, which is now berthed in Camden.
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Making History During the pandemic, the events space found other uses. For a period of time, the Bayonne Community Museum served as virus testing site. And when the vaccine rollout began, the city set up its second point of vaccination at the museum. The site proved to be quick and easy to use.
Renovations restored the building to its current state. The original banking features were replaced, stripping the building of ‘70s fixtures and a drop ceiling that hid an elaborate stained-glass window, which was restored. An architectural firm was brought in to recommend paint for the interior to match the original.
The Bayonne Food Bank distributed food here during the pandemic. Photo courtesy of the Bayonne Community Museum
Its success, alongside an expansion in vaccine eligibility and dosage allotment, led to the city to establish a third point of distribution at the Korpi Ice Rink. But the museum will once again find itself an events space as the city continues to recover from COVID-19.
From Museum to Event Space Funding wasn’t available to make the museum dream a reality. Under Mayor Mark Smith, the city began using the building as an event space and venue for cultural activities. It’s housed events with the Division of Recreation, rotating art exhibits, musical and theatrical performances and rehearsals, spoken word poetry, and receptions and awards dinners. The city owns a collection of historic items currently in storage that will be merged with the collection of the Bayonne Historical Society. While plans are in the works to exhibit these artifacts, the pandemic put the effort on hold.
The site will be available for cultural events since the vaccine distribution there has ceased. The hope of displaying historic exhibits has not died. One day, with the right funding, the building will become the museum Bayonne has always wanted—BLP.
SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 43
A LeAgue of Their Own
Everyone loves Buddy Baseball
Story and Photos By Jim Hague
W
hat started as a small idea has morphed into a spectacular event that brings the city together for needy kids. Since Pete Amadeo took over as Bayonne’s supervisor of recreation, he’s looked for ways to benefit children with special needs. “We were doing sports for special needs on a monthly basis,” Amadeo said. “We were having clinics for basketball, soccer, hockey, you name it. We were working well with the Board of Education organizing the events.” In 2015, a parent suggested a baseball league, much like Little League, for children with special needs. “Let’s do it,’” Amadeo said. That’s how Bayonne Buddy Baseball was born. The pandemic wiped out Buddy Baseball for 2020, but the league came roaring back in 2021, complete with an Opening Day parade in early May, where some100 boys and girls marched from 8th Street along Broadway to the field on 11th Street and Avenue E, aptly named “Bayonne’s Field of Dreams,” a dirt and grass field. The Bayonne High School marching band led the way, residents lined the streets and cheered, much like the St. Patrick’s Day parade, but not as green. Hearing the cheers, the kids felt the love and embraced the support.
in. I was really excited that we could do it.” The league fields six teams, ages 3 to 21, that play Saturday mornings. “We take everybody who wants to play,” Amadeo said. “We have different age groups. We play two innings, and everyone gets a turn at bat, hitting off a tee and then running base to base. We have a couple of kids in wheelchairs.” “The kids just love to get dirty,” Amadeo said.
Community Comes Together
Set in Stone
The Bayonne Police Department and Fire Department volunteer. The Bayonne High School athletic teams instruct and help. The parade kicks off a five-week season. “It’s been a home run,” said Amadeo, who played baseball at St. Peter’s Prep and New Jersey City University. “It’s great to see everyone coming out to chip
The Field of Dreams has a monument park, just like Yankee Stadium. The kids’ names are on bricks, much like CitiField, where the Mets play. Every kid who has played in Buddy Baseball has his or her name on a brick. Proud sponsors have bricks where the American flag flies. In 2019, the television network SNY, owned and operated by the New York
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Bayonne Supervisor of Recreation Pete Amadeo shows off the personalized bricks in Monument Park as part of Bayonne’s Buddy Baseball League.
Mets, provided the program with a $5,000 grant. Maureen Brown is the principal at Woodrow Wilson School, which has a program for autistic children, many of whom play Buddy Baseball. “You meet the parents of these kids, and you hear what they want,” said Brown, who has spent the last 12 years at Wilson, first as vice principal and then principal. “The parents just want their children to be treated equally.” Tom Jacobson is director of health, physical education and nursing vocational for the Bayonne Board of Education. Amadeo and Brown met with Jacobson to see if Buddy Baseball could become a reality. “Maureen and Pete just ran with it,” Jacobson said. “Dave Hoffmann wanted to get his kids involved.” Hoffman is head baseball coach.
Kelly Cullen wears her pink Buddy Baseball T-Shirt with her daughter Angelica Romero.
Jacobson was floored by the community support. “When we started this, I didn’t know how it would be received,” Jacobson said. “But it just started to grow more and more. The parents have interest, the kids obviously love it. It really is an example of what can happen when people truly want to work together.” Brown agreed. “It makes me so proud and happy to contribute in some small way,” she said. “You can’t teach passion, and these kids have passion to play baseball.”
Impassioned Players Kelly Cullen, an athlete at the nowclosed Holy Family Academy, has a daughter, Angelica Romero, 22, who’s autistic. Romero, a diehard New York Yankees fan, counts the days for the parade and the Buddy Baseball season. “She actually checks the weather to see if it’s going to rain or not,” Cullen said. “The smile never leaves her face.” Angelica loves the parade and the marching band. When the games begin, she said there’s one thing she looks forward to. “I love when they call my name,” Angelica said. “And I like when I can throw the ball. I get happy and excited when I play.” Cullen loves what the games do for her daughter. “She’s a sports girl,” Cullen said. “She wishes the season was longer. It makes her feel special. She gets treated like any
Colin Schaefer (left) manager and player for the Bayonne High School baseball team is also a player in the Bayonne Buddy Baseball program. (Right) Bayonne High head baseball coach Dave Hoffmann.
other kid and gets the same opportunity as others. It’s really something for those kids to look forward to. We all look forward to it. When you go to a Buddy Baseball game, it’s a cordial wonderful experience. And Pete treats those kids like they’re his own.”
Emotional Moments Taylor Redondo was born with cerebral palsy and has been using a wheelchair since he was a toddler. “I grew up in a sports family,” said Melissa Redondo, Taylor’s mother. “When I was told my baby would never play sports, I was devastated. But Buddy Baseball allowed my son to be part of a team.” Taylor’s jersey has special meaning. “He knows when I take it out, he’s going to see Pete,” Redondo says. “Every time I get ready to take him to the Field, my eyes well.” Redondo is especially appreciative of Bayonne police officers Kevin Occino, Ricky Killmer, and Melissa Morales. “Since day one, they’ve been there for Taylor,” Redondo said. “Now, they’re part of our family.”
Utility Kid Colin Schaefer, 15, is also autistic. He has his own weather channel and provides weather reports for Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis.
Schaefer is manager for the Bayonne High baseball team. Head Coach Hoffmann finds a variety of tasks for him. “Coach Hoffmann is great with me,” Schaefer said. “We’ve been working together for a long time.” But everyone knows where Colin is on Saturday mornings. “It’s something I look forward to,” said aspiring meteorologist Schaefer. “It’s great to hear the crowd cheering. This means everything to me to be able to play.” And what is Schaefer’s position of choice? “I play everywhere,” he said.
Loss for Words Dad Rich Schaefer, who works for the Board of Education’s custodial staff, said, “Sometimes, there are things that are not for Colin. But the way he’s treated and these kids are treated, words can’t describe.” Rich Schaefer had his doubts in the beginning. “Getting all these kids together, I thought was going to be tough,” he said. “But when you show these kids that you want to be here helping them, it’s a joyous moment. It’s like the World Series. And it just keeps getting better and better. I think I can speak for the other parents, well, you can’t describe what it means to us.” Amadeo agreed. “It’s hard to put into words how you feel,” he said. “The way the kids play together and help each other, it’s the best program we have.”—BLP SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 45
THEN
Photo courtesy of Massa’s Tavern
LAST CALL for Massa’s Tavern Regulars and relatives say good-bye to a beloved bar By Tara Ryazansky
M
assa’s Tavern is a small bar. You might pass by without noticing it. But it holds a lot of Bayonne history. Now, the owners, bartenders, and regulars get ready to say goodbye. “It’s too bad that Bayonne is losing the corner bars,” says bartender Mike Lisk, a cousin of the owner. “I’ve heard people throw out numbers, like at one time Bayonne had maybe a 100 corner bars. I can’t really vouch for that number, but they are dwindling. Massa’s is a major casualty. The customers will talk about other bars. They’ll sort of share the lore.” The lore of Massa’s starts just after the end of Prohibition. “In 1934 my great grandfather, Joe Massa, applied for the liquor license,” says John DeCesare who owns the bar with his wife Erin. “He happened to be second in line that day, so he got the second license. We still have
46 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
that. I’ve been told that we’re the oldest continually family-owned business in Bayonne,” Erin says, “They used to have all these ordinances about women being in the bar, so they would sit downstairs. The backroom downstairs, which is a storeroom now, was where the women had to drink. They had to ring a bell to have the drinks brought to them. There’s so much history here.”
No Food, No Frills The building is older than the bar, which was once a candy store. John’s family purchased it around 1908 when they first immigrated to the United States from Northern Italy. It’s been updated over the years and is currently for sale. “It’s been hard for us to walk away from it,” John says. “We were closed for eight months because of COVID. My mother is aging and needs more care. It
just seems like the right time for so many reasons. It’s hard to be the person to step away from it because it has been here for so long. When I walk in here, even after being away for a long time, it just seems like it’s timeless. No matter what goes on out there you still have the same crowd of guys in here just having a drink. It’s a blue-collar bar, all locals.” “There’s nothing like it anymore,” Erin adds. “That’s why it’s such a loss that we are closing. It’s no frills, no food, just good friends coming in to drink. It’s like being at home in your living room. Everyone knows each other. It’s just such a wonderful vibe and such camaraderie. There’s loyalty. People have been coming for years and decades and decades.” “I’m not planning on selling the liquor license,” she says. “That’s not part of the sale. My dream and my goal is to bring it back at some point.”
NOW
Photo by Daniel Israel
Uncle John Before Erin and John took ownership of the bar, it belonged to his father, John DeCesare, Sr. “My uncle, this was his life, Massa’s Tavern,” Mike says. “He was a sort of larger-than-life person. It was almost like my uncle was on a stage when he was behind the bar.” Bartender Tommy Walsh agrees. “When he bartended, it was like a show. He could get that place yelling and laughing. It was always entertaining, and he knew it. He relished every minute of it.” “People really loved him and his personality,” Mike adds. “My personality isn’t quite suited for bartending compared to him. He was very gregarious, and he would sort of reel you in as soon as you went into the bar. I’m more reserved. It takes me awhile to warm up to people.”
Local Celeb Mike is also known as “AP Mike” on The Best Show with Tom Sharpling which originated on WFMU. The call-in show, now released independently, boasted guests like Martin Short and Andrew “Dice” Clay.
“Mike made us kind of famous on The Best Show,” Erin says. “He started talking about us and referencing Massa’s on the show.” “My strategy was to make Massa’s as popular as Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken from The Cake Boss,” Milke says. “They had lines going down the block.” Though he didn’t’ reach Cake Boss status, “People did come in to visit me if they were in town. I had one of the callers who was from Alabama, and when he flew up here, one of his first stops was Massa’s Tavern. I wish I brought more people in. I’m going to miss it.”
This Far from Stardom “We’ve had brushes with fame,” Erin says, noting that a Chuck Wepner movie scouted the bar for a potential location. “We wound up being too small to even fit their equipment.” But what Massa’s lacks in size, it makes up for in memories. “Tommy is the heart and soul of Massa’s.” Erin says. Tommy, who lives upstairs, is quick to assign that tribute to John, Sr. “The first time I walked into Massa’s, I was young,” Tommy recalls. “It was all
old Italian men, and they looked at me like, ‘Who the hell is this young kid?’ I went in there with a friend of mine. We came in one night after work, and I just fell in love with the place right there. They used to sell food at the time. They had strips hanging from the ceiling that used to catch flies. This guy ordered a cheeseburger and French fries. No sooner than he had the plate of French fries put on the bar, that paper sticky strip fell from the ceiling right into the French fries. The guy without missing a beat, pushed his glasses up his nose and yells down to the kitchen, ‘Hey Marie, I said French fries not French flies!’ The whole place went nuts. I went, I love this place, and I’ve been going there ever since. That had to be 1978.” Tommy went from regular to bartender. “I had to throw a guy out once because he was bothering two of my patrons,” Tommy recalls. “He left, no trouble, and I went about doing my business. I’d say around ten minutes later he comes back and he sits down at the bar like nothing ever happened. I said, ‘Didn’t I just throw you out of here, pal?’ and he says, “Oh, was that today?’”—BLP
SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 47
Angelina Borrello
A NGE LINA’S By Tara Ryazansky Photos by Max Ryazansky
T
he bar at Angelina’s is covered in cards, photos and tchotchkes. Some are from customers, some are political, some feature Angelina’s family. It’s a little bit busy, but then again, so is the owner, Angelina Borrello. Angelina’s is a one-woman show for the most part. Her son, Jon Paul, makes the occasional appearance, she says, joking that he doesn’t help out enough, but in the same breath, adds, “He’s a great mixologist, a great personality.” He’s been helping her since he was a little boy, “At three years old he would stack up crates and climb up and cut the calamari with big knives,” Angelina says. Other than that, she’s been doing things in her particular way since 1975. Some things have changed recently because of COVID. Her cousin, Mary Ceretta, helped Angelina get her menu posted on social media, and this has helped her find a new generation of customers. Angelina now requires all her dine-in customers to place their orders by phone before they arrive. This new method suits her well. She doesn’t have to run back and forth taking orders, and customers
48 • BLP ~ SPRING | SUMMER 2021
are less likely to get antsy waiting for their meals. Plus, she says, the new generation is super appreciative of her food.
Portion Control? Nah Tonight, Angelina brings out a feast. The menu hasn’t changed in years. It’s classic Italian. She starts with a salad of Tomato, Basil and Onion with Mozzarella. Fresh
and delicious, it’s perfectly paired with a crust of Italian bread. It’s like bruchetta in a bowl. The servings are so large that I wonder aloud if it’s meant to be family style. Nope. “All of my portions are huge. I don’t know why. I guess I just have a heavy hand,” Angelina says, bringing out an enormous bowl of Zuppa di Mussels
She worked her shift and was talking with the Italian owner afterward. “He said, ‘I no wanna be here no more. I wanna sell.’ So I made him an offer.” Just like that, Angelina became a restaurant owner. She threw herself into learning the industry with no background. “It was survival. It was a chance, but it was a struggle.”
Home Schooled “I didn’t really know how to cook, but I had eaten at fine restaurants in New York City,” she says, and had paid attention to what she liked. She set to work creating and perfecting her menu. “I did one dish at a time. Whatever I did they liked. I guess it was innate.” She would cook from 4 o’clock until midnight six days a week, often with a line down the block waiting to get a seat. “When they
EATERY BLP tasted my food, they went nuts,” she says. “They said it was worth the while to wait. It’s the taste, the quality, the portions.” After ten years of running her restaurant at that location, the lease was up. By that time it was 1985, and Angelina had a 3-year- old son. The building next door to their house was available. She jumped at the chance to work so close to home. Angelina’s has been there ever since. The little kid who helped chop the seafood grew up and built the door marked with an A for Angelina. He also built a tiki bar out back, and I hear he makes a mean frozen margarita.—BLP
ANGELINA’S 928 Broadway 201-823-3322 angelinasristorante.com
in white wine with parsley and garlic. They’re piled high. “Somebody counted them once and said there was 120,” she reveals. Next there’s Eggplant Parmesan, thinly sliced and layered with a fantastic red sauce. There’s Penne with Vodka Sauce, the pasta cooked to al dente perfection and the sauce creamy and flavorful. The Chicken Francese is my favorite of the trio. It’s lemony, buttery, and delicious. Everything is so good, and there’s so much of it!
Seize the Day It’s hard to believe that Angelina doesn’t have a culinary school background. Her journey into the restaurant business started 47 years ago on the stoop next door. She was sitting outside when her neighbor, Lucille McInerney, who at that time owned Cafe Savoy, later Mediterraneo, mentioned that there was a restaurant that needed someone to fill in as a waitress. “So I put on my uniform and walked up there to 1256 Kennedy Blvd,” Angelina recalls. She arrived at a large restaurant called Fossie’s Delicatessen that she had never noticed before off of 57th Street. SPRING | SUMMER 2021 ~ BLP• 49
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