Gary La Pelusa Sr.
Gary La Pelusa Sr. was born and raised in Bayonne N.J. and has devoted his life to his community. He is the son of the late John and Marie (DeSantis) La Pelusa.
As a child Gary was an alter boy and sang in the choir at St. Vincent De Paul Church. He was also a member of cub scout Pack 25.
Gary is a proud graduate of Washington School and Marist High School. At Marist he was a member of the National Honor Society and a recipient of the 4-year perfect attendance award in High School.
In High School and in the cub scouts, he participated in several coat drives, toy drives, food drives, and to raise money for other charitable organizations. He has volunteered as a lector and taught CCD at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Bayonne.
An avid baseball fan and player, Gary helped guide several teams to Championships in the Bayonne Little League, Pony League, and Babe Ruth League. tragedy, Gary is very optimistic about his future and the future of Bayonne. He believes he is a truly blessed man. He is very thankful to the many good people who helped him achieve so much in life.
Gary received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Seton Hall University. While working his first, full-time job, Gary would help others with their lawns and gardens. This eventually turned into a full-time business, starting in 1990. Gary La Pelusa Landscaping became a family business when Gary married Cherie, in 1991. Currently, the landscaping business is still going strong with David La Pelusa as a full partner.
The La Pelusa family grew with the additions of Gary Jr., David, Jennifer, and Gianna. Gary is very proud of his children and three grandchildren.
In 2004, Gary decided to run for the elected position of Democratic Committeeman for the 3rd ward, 11th District. He won in a very heated race and has held the position ever since. 2023 marked his 20th year of service as an elected official in the city of Bayonne.
In 2006, Gary ran for 3rd ward Councilman and won the first of his 4 terms. In 2022, he was elected as the Council President by his Council Colleagues.
Some of his accomplishments as Councilman are:
• Catching several companies and making them pay their share for taking large amounts of water from city hydrants.
• The re-measuring of corners and curblines resulting in the creation of 19 parking spaces along Kennedy Boulevard.
• Helping save Bayonne Hospital in 2008 as the city council liaison to the judge in Newark and helping coordinate the sale to a new entity.
• The re-furbishing of almost all of Bayonne’s city parks, including receiving $5 million to refurbish Russell Golding Park in 2026.
Gary’s favorite thing to do as Councilman is to help people, especially his constituents.
In 2005, started the Gary La Pelusa Association as a charitable. Civic, political, and social organization. The association consists of dedicated members who really care about their city and helping others. The GLP Association put on a free fall festival at Dr. Morris Park for 10 years, before Covid. They have continuously organized toy drives, the food distribution and donations. One of their favorite donations is to our city parks. The GLP Association has donated 5 flagpoles and flags to various parks that never had a flagpole. The most recent, in 16th St. Park, by the bandshell.
Gary is a member of many organizations such as The Elks Club; Knights of Columbus; Trustee in the Sicilian Club; The Masons; Past President of the Sons of Italy; and a past member of the St. Vincent de Paul Finance Board.
Gary became the manager of Parks for Hudson County in 2018. He oversees a crew creating new landscape projects and maintaining their appearance. Gary has dedicated to creating new gardens and had his workers install more color to each of the 9 County parks.
In 2021, Gary designed and helped install a 3,000 plant garden in Stephen Gregg County Park in Bayonne. It was dedicated in a ceremony in June 2022 and named The Cherie La Pelusa Memorial garden, in honor of Gary’s deceased wife, Cherie, who died from Covid-19, in 2020. They were married for 28 ½ years.
In 2025, Gary was the recipient of the NAACP Freedom Award and was Bayonne Italian Heritage Parade Grand Marshall.
Gary continues to help and serve the community. Every June, Gary Volunteers, giving a walking tour and history of Gregg Park. In the past, he ended the tour with the participants potting and planting of flowers, grown and raised in the greenhouse at Lincoln Park. He works tirelessly every day to make Bayonne and Hudson County, a better place to live, work, and play. In spite of some family tragedy, Gary is very optimistic about his future and the future of Bayonne. He believes he is a truly blessed man. He is very thankful to the many good people who helped him achieve so much in life.
Gary became the Director of the new, Hudson County Landscaping Division in 2025.