Irvington remembers its legends

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IRVINGTON — Legends Way was officially unveiled Friday along Nye Avenue and 21st Street.

The nine works of art that make up Legends Way celebrate the township’s history and people. The art adorns concrete walls around the new PSE&G Nye Avenue Substation.

One of two substations built as replacements, the Nye Avenue substation, was designed to provide improved reliability and power capacity for customers and businesses in the surrounding community.

The Township of Irvington requested artwork cover the concrete perimeter walls around the substation so PSE&G commissioned Newark-based arts organization, YENDOR, to lead the beautification effort.

The result is Legends Way, nine pieces of art showcasing prominent citizens, landmarks, and essential events in Irvington’s history and progress.

Council President Jamillah Beasley worked with PSE&G and YENDOR to create Legends Way after PSE&G informed the township of the need to build the new substation in 2022.

“Its about doing something and passing it on to the next generation,” Beasley said.”That’s what this is about.”

Gary Williams, who works in public affairs for PSE&G, said infrastructure can uplift the community it serves.

“We’re not just building a substation but something that can inspire pride,” Williams said. “This project represents what it means to be a good neighbor.”
Mayor Tony Vauss said it was a special thing.

“We honor those who came before us,” Vauss said.

State Sen. Renee Burgess, an Irvington resident, spoke at the ceremony after it was noted that she appears as a little girl standing next to her father in one of the legends portraits. Her father, Ray Burgess, was one of the first African Americans to seek local office in Irvington and he led an effort to get African American representation on the municipal council and local school board. He was also one of the first African Americans to establish a union, United Trades Local 18, and had earned a football scholarship to Winston-Salem University.

“I’m emotional but not sad,” Renee Burgess said, wiping a tear as she spoke. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Burgess said, as did others at the event, that the people portrayed in the portraits helped lead the way for others to follow.

“I’m grateful for all the sacrifices he made for his family and his community,” Burgess said of her father.

Council President Jamillah Z. Beasley, whose father, D. Bilal Beasley, was also immortalized in a portrait on the wall, said all of the legends had made significant contributions to the Irvington community.

“The name ‘legends’ struck me as profoundly fitting,” she said. “Todays unveiling means so much to our township and its residents but also to the families of those it honors.”

Beasley said as a child she sometimes missed her dad because he was doing so much for the community and she thanked her mom for taking care of the family so her father could do what he did.

Beasley’s mother also spoke, saying the portrait was a great honor for her family.

“Bilal we miss you so much but your work is still going on,” she said.

Councilman Tony Vauss Jr. said the community today has the privilege to stand on the shoulders of the legends but they also had a responsibility to build on their legacy.

“I knew everyone on this wall,” he said. “They are all giants to me.”

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) was at the event, speaking briefly to praise the artwork.

David Lyons, a veteran who advocated for tenants rights and eventually won a seat on the council, is among those on the wall. He was reelected five times and chosen as council president in 2016. His wife was at the event.

“I’m very grateful you have honored him,” she said. “He loved the township of Irvington.”

Malcolm Rolling, chief operating officer of YENDOR, said the mural commemorates the responsibilities of stewardship.

In addition to Beasley done by artist Rorschach, Lyons by artist Diego Molina and Burgess by artist Giuseppe Percivati, there are works dedicated to:

• Landmarks of Irvington including Irvington General Hospital, the Castle Theater and Don’s Diner created by Simone Bailey Campbell.

• Lebby C. Jones, who served on the Democratic County Committee, the township council and the Board of Education. She was also involved with the NAACP, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Committee and the Laventhal Avenue Block Association. Her portrait was done by artist Matryce Roach.

• Education in Irvington was honored in a work done by artist Sunae Long, who created a mural featuring various educational disciplines.

• Anna B. Scott, a community leader who worked as an educator for many years and served on the Board of Education, including as president, on the Housing Authority, the Zoning Board of Adjustment and as a West Ward district leader. She was represented by artists Suliman and Yvonne Onque. In the portrait, Scott wears a quilt with patches commemorating all the organizations she worked with.

• A work called “Imagining Irvington’s Future” is one of the panels. It was done by artist Hans Lundy and it celebrates a progressive vision of economic redevelopment and community revitalization.

• Sandra R. Jones, who served on the Board of Education and the township council. She was known for her willingness to take on unpopular issues and for her ethical and responsible leadership. The artist who created the portrait was Zalika Foy.

“All these people, I worked with them. They are the original Team Irvington. We are Team Irvington Strong,” Mayor Tony Vauss said. “It’s come full circle.”