Chapters · Bayonne
“The peninsula of business.”
Bayonne sits on a narrow peninsula between Newark Bay and New York Bay, connected to Staten Island by one of the world's great steel arch bridges. From its working waterfront to its mile-long Broadway shopping corridor, this is a city built by immigrants, shipbuilders, and refiners that never lost its small-town feel.
About the town
Bayonne occupies Bergen Neck, a peninsula bounded by Newark Bay to the west, Upper New York Bay to the east, and the Kill Van Kull to the south. Nearly half its total area is water, shaping an identity forged by ports, bridges, and maritime trade.
Bayonne is part of New Jersey’s Gold Coast, along the Hudson.
Our history
1861–1869
Residents between the Morris Canal and the Kill Van Kull formed the Township of Bayonne in 1861, uniting the villages of Bergen Point, Constable Hook, Centerville, Pamrapo, and Saltersville. It became the City of Bayonne in 1869.
1942–1999
Commissioned in 1942 as a Naval Supply Depot, the base became the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne in 1965 — a key East Coast logistics hub through the Gulf War before its 1999 closure.
2004–2019
The former terminal reopened as Cape Liberty Cruise Port in 2004. In 2019 the Port Authority finished raising the Bayonne Bridge roadway to 215 feet so the largest cargo ships could reach Newark Bay's ports.
Signature landmark
Opened in 1931 and designed by engineer Othmar Ammann with architect Cass Gilbert, the Bayonne Bridge is one of the longest steel arch bridges in the world, linking Bayonne to Staten Island across the Kill Van Kull. Its roadway was raised to 215 feet between 2013 and 2019 for today's largest ships.
Community & culture
Broadway runs roughly three and a half miles through the heart of the city, lined with restaurants, cafes, and shops and home to the Bayonne Town Center business district and its street fairs.
The Centaur Film Company, the first independent motion-picture company in the U.S., was founded in Bayonne in 1907. The city has since hosted filming for productions including War of the Worlds (2005).
Cape Liberty Cruise Port, on the site of the former Military Ocean Terminal, has sailed Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruises since 2004, giving the city a distinctive role in regional tourism.
Hometown notables
Author of Game of Thrones, born here
Film actress
Rock guitarist
Retired Army general, Joint Chiefs chairman
The Bayonne Chapter
The Bayonne Chapter connects the town’s businesses to the full network of the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce — hands-on and local, with the marketing, events, and advocacy of the wider regional chamber behind you.
Chapter contact
📍 607 Anderson Ave, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
Serving Bayonne businesses. Chapter leadership — Chair, Vice Chair, Events & Outreach Coordinators — to be announced.
Join the Bayonne Chapter of the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce and connect your business to the entire Hudson waterfront.
Access your membership profile, directory listing, and event registrations.