PHOTO CAPTION - Bayonne Waterfront Tour:  U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s 2024 summer Garden State tour included a visit to Bayonne’s former Military Ocean Terminal.  Among the stops on the tour was the Cape Liberty Cruise Port.  Pictured left to right: State Senator Angela McKnight, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Captain Thomas Hinderhofer (Royal Caribbean Cruises), Assemblyman Will Sampson, and Congressman Rob Menendez. 

On August 12, U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey brought his annual summer tour of New Jersey to Bayonne, where he visited four important locations at the former Military Ocean Terminal.  Hosted by Mayor Jimmy Davis, Booker was joined by Congressman Rob Menendez, State Senator Angela McKnight, and Assemblyman Will Sampson.  The group visited the Bayonne United Parcel Service (UPS)Facility, Bayonne Dry Dock, the Cape Liberty Cruise Port, and the site of Bayonne’s future ferry terminal.

At the UPS facility, the elected officials walked around the 878,126 sq. ft. facility, which processes 500,000 packages per day.  It opened in 2023. UPS officials explained that the Bayonne facility is expanding.  In the near future, they expect it to pass a package hub in Secaucus as the largest of its kind in North Jersey.

While visiting the Bayonne Dry Dock, the group saw a tugboat and various other vessels being repaired and cleaned.  Originally a Navy dry dock built for World War II, the maritime maintenance operation has been run by the Cranston family for twenty-five years.

At the Cape Liberty Cruise Port, the officials walked through the passenger reception and security areas and saw the jetways that passengers use to board the cruise ships. In response to a question from Senator Booker, Captain Thomas Hinderhofer of Royal Caribbean Cruises explained that the Cape Liberty Cruise Port handles 840,000 passengers per year.  Along with New York City and Miami, Bayonne is one of the top three passenger ship ports on the East Coast.  The cruise port has operated in Bayonne since 2004.

The group finished the tour by visiting the site of Bayonne’s future ferry terminal. That facility will be located in the middle of the southern shore of the former Military Ocean Terminal.  Recently, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agreed to sell the future ferry property to the City of Bayonne. 

“I am blown away by the amount of economic activity happening in Bayonne, which has created hundreds of jobs, and strengthened the local community,” said Senator Booker. “I would like to thank Mayor Davis for his hard work and leadership that has helped create so much opportunity here in Bayonne. I look forward to continue to work with the city and the local and state representatives, to continue to bring home historic levels of federal investment into our state’s infrastructure and our communities.”

“Throughout every neighborhood of Bayonne, we see a strong, vibrant economy at work,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “I’m grateful that Senator Booker, Mayor Davis, our local partners, and I were able to witness the impacts of historic funding from the federal government here in the 8th District. From infrastructure, to transportation, to small businesses, Bayonne is thriving.”

Mayor Davis concluded, “I would like to thank Senator Cory Booker and Congressman Rob Menendez for taking this tour of Bayonne’s thriving waterfront. The City of Bayonne will continue to work with them, our state legislators, and Hudson County officials to make economic progress for the people of Bayonne in the years ahead.”