Three members of the Bayonne City Council are demanding that Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop stop disparaging their city and apologize to the people of Bayonne. Fulop has been railing against a type of architecture known as a “Bayonne Box” for the past few weeks, inciting unnecessary anti-Bayonne sentiment. But today he went too far — Fulop referenced sayings that are offensive to many Bayonne residents in a tweet today, saying that “if it comes from Bayonne leave it alone.” and “14A stay away.” 

“I’m from Bayonne, and so are my wife, my kids, my family, my friends and my constituents, so when the Mayor of Jersey City badmouths Bayonne I get pretty upset,” said Second Ward Councilman Sal Gullace. “Our city is in the middle of a total revitalization, with new developments bringing in millions in new tax revenue and creating a brighter future for our community. The last thing we need is a neighboring Mayor reinforcing old stereotypes and publicly attacking our city’s image, and I expect Mayor Fulop to apologize.”

First Ward Councilman Tom Cotter added, “I grew up in a ‘Bayonne Box,’ and so did a lot of my friends in town. If Mayor Fulop has a problem in his city with construction that’s fine, but for him to drag Bayonne through the mud just to make a point shows what little respect he has for us.”

Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski further stated, “It’s one thing to make fun of a building design. It’s something totally different to insult the people that live inside them. You would think that Mayor of Jersey City, one of the biggest in the state, would have other issues to deal with besides insulting thousands of Bayonne residents.”