Jersey City Councilman Michael Yun Dies Of Coronavirus

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Jersey City Councilman Michael Yun has died due to complications from covid-19/coronavirus.

Yun was well-known and respected throughout Hudson County, as both a small-business owner and elected official. The news was confirmed Monday by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who said he was "beyond saddened."

On the Council, Yun represented the Jersey City Heights section, where he ran his well-known convenience store. Together, he and his wife, Jennifer (Seong Hee Ahn) operated Garden State News on Central Avenue, a business the couple has owned since 1982.

It was publicized that Yun was suffering from the virus. Fellow Jersey City Council president Rolando Lavarro also contracted coronavirus, but he said publicly that his condition was improving and was isolating at home, according to NJ.com. Yun, however, had to be hospitalized.

Yun is the second Hudson County elected official to die of coronavirus: Longtime Weehawken Board of Education president Richard Barsa died of the virus over the weekend; he was also the town's finance director.

Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli said he counted Barsa as "a great friend and a good man."

Mayor Fulop spoke highly of Yun on Monday.

"He was a family man, a great businessman and a tireless advocate for Jersey City throughout his nearly three decades of public service," said Mayor Fulop in a statement. "More than that though, he was a great husband, father, and grandfather as he never missed a chance to share how proud he was of his family. This is devastating for all of us here, as Michael was part of our Jersey City family. We will miss him and we will continue to aggressively fight against this pandemic, now in his honor.”

Yun immigrated to the United States from his native South Korea. He was a founding member of Jersey City’s first Special Improvement District (SID) in 1992 and served as both the president and chairman of the board of the Central Avenue SID for more than twenty years.

Yun can also be credited with making the Jersey City Heights an attractive bedroom community for New York City: He successfully led efforts to establish the first commuter bus line from Central Avenue to New York City, the 1099, according to his council profile on the Jersey City website.

"The Heights," as the area is known, is now an attractive place to buy real estate. Thanks in part to the efforts of Councilman Yun, property values in the Heights have soared, and the area is home to hundreds of young families.

He also helped form the group Save Christ Hospital, to save the Heights' local hospital. The hospital's owner, CarePoint, has been on the brink of bankruptcy for months.