Staten Islander has covered the farmers’ market voucher program for seniors, which begins today and continues throughout the summer through October 27th. Seasonal fresh produce is available, and is grown primarily on local farms. Seniors who qualify for SNAP and other benefits can apply for the vouchers. Seniors who have obtained the vouchers in the past must have used them in order to qualify for them again:
Produce Vouchers Available for Low-Income Bayonne Seniors
Produce market vouchers are available for low-income seniors through the Bayonne Office on Aging. The Market will be open as of Tuesday, May 26th.
The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is designed to provide low-income seniors with access to locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs.
The Bayonne Farmers’ Market is available on Tuesdays from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. until mid-fall. The last date scheduled for the Bayonne Farmers’ Market is Tuesday, October 27. It is located at West 23rd Street between DelMonte Drive and Broadway.
Those eligible for the market vouchers are low-income seniors, defined as individuals who are at least 60 years old and who have household incomes of not more than 185% of the federal poverty income guidelines, or $2,413 per month for a single person and $3,261 per month for a family of two. To qualify, seniors must provide proof of age, income, and residence. Acceptable proofs include driver’s license, Medicaid card, food stamp (SNAP) benefits card, Social Security award letter, pension letter, and current bank statement showing direct deposit of income benefits. There will be no exceptions made for those without proper documentation. If a senior wishes to have a proxy pick up vouchers on their behalf, a written letter from the senior must be provided at the time of distribution. Again, no exceptions.
Vouchers will be distributed at City Hall, 630 Avenue C, in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, June 16th from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm AND Wednesday June 17th from 9:00am to 12noon. This year’s distribution will be done electronically, with seniors receiving a scan code that will be scanned by the farmer for each purchase.
Distribution will continue every Tuesday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the Office on Aging (Room 17) beginning June 23rd until all vouchers have been issued.
For further information, please contact the Bayonne Office on Aging at 201-858-6119.
Residents of Bayonne may be inconvenienced beginning today, as there is water main construction on Avenue E between 32nd and 33rd Street. Residents are advised to avoid this area as there may be long wait times for detours and flaggers. The work is expected to last for four weeks, and will be done only during the daytime hours. On nights and weekends, the street will be reopened. This is a necessary infrastructure upgrade for residents of the area:
Bayonne Proclamation for Apraxia Awareness: Mayor Robert Kubert issued a proclamation for Apraxia Awareness. The goal of the proclamation is to increase the public’s knowledge about childhood apraxia of speech, an extremely challenging speech disorder that affects one in 1,000 children. This condition causes children to have significant difficulty learning to speak and is among the most severe speech deficits in children. Those with apraxia require early, appropriate, and intensive speech therapy. Public awareness about childhood apraxia of speech is essential for families of children with this neurological disorder and the professionals who support them to achieve the needed service for those learning to use their own voice. Pictured left to right: Adonis Martinez, Ethan Martinez, Kirsy Ulloa, Alanna Martinez, Superintendent of Recreation Pete Amadeo, and Mayor Robert Kubert.
Ballot runoff positions chosen for the ballot that begins on June 9th:
City Clerk Draws Ballot Positions for Bayonne Council Runoff Elections in Wards 2 and 3
On Wednesday, May 20, Bayonne City Clerk Madelene Medina held a drawing for ballot positions for the Bayonne Municipal Council Runoff Elections, which will take place on Tuesday, June 9, in the Second and Third Wards. She conducted the drawing in the City Council Chambers. A representative of Royal Printing, the company that prints the ballots, assisted Clerk Medina at the event. The runoff elections are required by law, because no candidate in either the Second or Third Ward received 50% of the vote plus one in the first round of municipal elections that took place on Tuesday, May 12.
To conduct the drawing, Royal Printing prepared printed slips of paper with each candidate’s name and placed all of the slips in envelopes for each office.
In the case of the Second Ward, the only name that needed to be drawn was Melissa Godesky Rodriguez, who finished first, but short of a majority, on May 12. Normally, the candidate who finished second would participate in the runoff. However, both the second- and third-place candidates from the election on May 12, Omar Elgarhi and Salvatore Gullace, declined to participate as the second candidate in the runoff.
In the case of the Third Ward, the only name that needed to be drawn was Tommy Gillen, who finished first, but short of a majority on May 12. The second-place finisher on May 12, Gary LaPelusa, Sr. submitted a letter stating his wish to withdraw from the runoff, followed by withdrawals from the second spot in the runoff by the other candidates from May 12, John Milan Sebik and Patrick Devaney, Sr.
The ballot positions drawn were as follows:
Second Ward: Melissa Godesky Rodriguez- 1A.
Third Ward: Tommy Gillen-3A.
The runoffs would have the legal effect of ratifying the election of the leading candidate in both the Second Ward and the Third Ward.
No write-in votes are allowed in runoff elections.
Runoff Ballot Drawing: City Clerk Madelene Medina held a ballot drawing for City Council runoff elections in the Second Ward and Third Ward. These runoff elections are scheduled for Tuesday, June 9. In both of those wards, the candidates who led in the first round of municipal elections on May 12 will appear on the ballot. They are Melissa Godesky Rodriguez in Ward Two and Tommy Gillen in Ward Three. Runoff elections normally include the top two candidates from the first round of voting. In both the Second and Third Wards, all of the other candidates declined to participate as the second candidate in the runoffs. However, the runoffs are still required by state law in the Second and Third Wards, because no candidate for either Council seat received 50% of the vote plus one in the election held on May 12.
Banner Image: Bayonne Proclamation for Apraxia Awareness. Image Credit – City of Bayonne
City of Bayonne
Bayonne is a community that retains many of the elements of a small town. One and two family homes, small apartment buildings, and small business predominate. There is a population of 62,000 people who take pride in their hometown and its history. Bayonne residents and their ancestors moved to the city from many parts of the world. During colonial times and the first century of the American Republic, the Dutch, British, and Africans were the first groups to arrive after the Native Americans. Subsequent waves of immigrants came from all over Europe, especially between the 1880s and the 1920s. In recent decades, sources of immigration have largely been represented from countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeastern Asia. Each group has left its mark on the cultural, religious and political life of the community.