The Bayonne City Council awarded a $2.4 million contract to upgrade a special needs baseball field on Avenue E, commonly known as the 11th Street Oval, at Wednesday evening’s meeting.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I am very excited that construction will start soon on transforming the 11th Street Field into a Field of Dreams for our great Buddy Baseball program,” Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement this afternoon.
“I would like to thank our Congressional representatives, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the Hudson County Open Space Fund, and local developers for providing the funding for this $2.4 million project. I look forward to the completion of this important facility for our special needs kids.”
The contractor with the successful bid is Picerno-Giordano, of Kenilworth, which the governing body approved unanimously (5-0).
The goal of the project is to create an appropriate facility for Buddy Baseball, a program for children with special needs. The upgrades will include a new playing area, dugouts, bleachers, fencing, and handicap access to and from the field and playground.
Recreation Superintendent Pete Amadeo spoke to the council about Buddy Baseball and thanked all of the levels of municipal government that worked in partnership to fund the upgrades to the 11th Street Oval.
Several of the Buddy Baseball players, along with their mascot, accompanied him at the meeting and they all stood together at the podium.
All of five council members, along with several other Bayonne officials, waved with foam fingers to show their support for Buddy Baseball.
City Planner Suzanne Mack stressed the importance of providing opportunities to special needs children, saying, “It changes their lives,” while Francesca Giarratana, chair of the Hudson County Open Space Committee, represented the county at the meeting.
The Buddy Baseball League, a program in Bayonne’s Recreation Division, began in 2015.
The league is specifically for Bayonne’s developmentally and physically challenged youth, helping them to enjoy the full benefits of baseball in an athletic environment structured to their abilities.
