The City of Jersey City is honoring late Ward D Councilman Michael Yun with a bronze statue outside of his old office at 366 Central Ave., with an unveiling scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 6th.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
” … The Family and Friends of Michael Yun wish to donate a bronze statue to beautify the Central Avenue streetscape thereby celebrating the American Dream and Michael Yun’s memory,” the resolution, approved by the city council on March 20th, says.
Yun, a South Korean immigrant who moved to Jersey City in 1980, was elected to the city council in 2013 and then re-elected in 2017. He ran as an independent both times.
He tragically passed on April 6th, 2020 due to complications from COVID-19 at 65 years old, with the unveiling of his statue coming exactly four years later to the day.
“As we come to the four-year anniversary of the late great Councilman Michael Yun’s passing, we remember everything he stood for and represented,” Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh, Yun’s successor, told HCV today.
“This bronze statue is a fitting tribute to his legacy as a man who was not just content seeking and attaining success in business or in politics, but a man who gave back to his community, and truly made the American dream a reality. He lived it, achieved it, and this statue will inspire generations to come to help achieve the American dream, and to maintain the promise of America.”
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Heights resident who unsuccessfully backed two candidates against Yun in the aforementioned elections, expressed enthusiasm that his legacy will be memorialized in this fashion.
“Michael Yun was not only a councilman but he was an immigrant, an entrepreneur, a community organizer, an activist and a proud husband, father, and grandfather. He had such a significant impact on Jersey City that this recognition is fitting,” he said.
The American Dream is a myth.