Where in Union City do you go to see the city honor a musician? For more than twenty years the answer was one address. Celia Cruz Park sits on Bergenline Avenue, and since it was dedicated in 2004 Latin stars have been recognized there with a star on what the city calls Union City's Walk of Fame.
As of late September 2026, that answer comes with an asterisk. Two music honors went up on ordinary corners away from the Bergenline plaza, one at 32nd Street and New York Avenue and one at 48th Street and Hudson Avenue. The city's music tributes now run along blocks people use for school pickups, laundry runs and the walk to the bus, as well as through the plaza built for them.
A Thursday on New York Avenue
The first dedication was held on a Thursday at 32nd Street and New York Avenue. According to Hudson TV's report published September 27, 2026, Mayor Brian Stack and the Board of Commissioners honored the singer Fefita la Grande in front of a large crowd. She received a city proclamation, and then a street sign was unveiled naming the corner Fefita la Grande Way.
That corner is a single avenue block west of Bergenline, and close to the stretch where the Walk of Fame has always been. Even so, the honor is no longer on the plaza. It sits on a residential cross street, at eye level, where you would look to check which block you're on.
Sixteen Blocks North, a Hometown Name
The second dedication came the next day, a Friday, at the corner of 48th Street and Hudson Avenue. Dominican artist Jose Alberto, known as "El Canario," received a proclamation from the city and a street sign of his own. Hudson TV reported that Alberto grew up in Union City.
This is the corner that changes the map. At 48th and Hudson, the honor is sixteen numbered blocks north of Fefita la Grande Way and well past the Celia Cruz Park end of Bergenline. It also honors a performer from Union City on a corner in the city he grew up in. In the report, both honorees said they were overwhelmed by the decision to stamp their legacies for future generations.
Where the Honors Lived Until Now
Before those two signs, the record lived in Celia Cruz Park. Coverage disagrees slightly on the address. A 2012 Jersey Journal report put it at Bergenline Avenue and 32nd Street, and Hudson TV's 2022 coverage placed it at Bergenline and 31st. If you head to Bergenline in the low 30s, you'll find it.
No complete public roster of the stars turned up in our research. The recipients that local news has documented cover a wide range of music and media:
| Year reported | Honoree | Detail from coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Paquito D'Rivera | Honored at the same ceremony as the three entries below |
| 2012 | Ana Margarita Martinez Casado, Alfonso "Pochi" Vasquez | Same ceremony |
| 2012 | Las Hermanas Marquez, Trini and Nerza | Merengue duo |
| 2012 | Telemundo 47; Jesus A. "Manito" Perez | Perez described as a local business owner and friend of Celia Cruz |
| 2021 | Felipe Rose | The 56th star, a founding member of the Village People |
| 2022 | Tony Orlando | Of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" fame |
Felipe Rose's 2021 ceremony carries the strongest hometown thread of the group. Union City and the Celia Cruz Park Committee unveiled his star, and Hudson TV wrote that he "came home to Union City to receive the honor." He spent 40 years with the Village People before going solo in 2017, and he has named his mother, a dancer at the Copacabana in the 1940s and '50s, as his influence. Five years later, the El Canario sign honors a performer with the same Union City roots, this time on a corner far from the park.
A Calendar That Never Kept to Spring
The city's own history page says Latin stars are recognized at Celia Cruz Park "every Spring." The ceremonies in the record don't follow that schedule very closely. Rose's star was unveiled on a Saturday in October 2021. Orlando's came on a Saturday in June 2022. The two street signs went up on a Thursday and Friday in late September 2026.
The new honors have been arriving on the honorees' calendars more than on a fixed spring date, and with little advance notice in the coverage we found. Local news has been the most dependable way to hear about them. Hudson TV covered both 2026 corner dedications and the earlier star ceremonies.
A Self-Guided Loop for a Free Afternoon
All of these spots sit on a north-south line, so one walk covers them:
- Celia Cruz Park, Bergenline Avenue around 31st Street. Start with the Walk of Fame and look for the names in the table above.
- The UC ART sculpture, Bergenline between 30th and 31st Streets. The city says this piece by artist Lucio Fernandez was dedicated at the site of a planned Plaza of the Arts.
- Fefita la Grande Way, 32nd Street and New York Avenue. Walk one block west of Bergenline to the newest sign on the south end of the route.
- International Plaza, 38th Street and Palisade Avenue. This is the city's ceremonial plaza, and it's on the calendar again in November.
- War Memorial Plaza, 46th Street and Broadway. This summer it hosted the 24th annual Union City Theatre Festival in the Park, on Thursday evenings from July 9 through September 10.
- The El Canario sign, 48th Street and Hudson Avenue. End at the honor for the hometown artist, the northernmost stop on the route.
The route also runs near the city's long performance history. The Park Theatre is known for its annual Passion Play, first performed in 1915. Union City Performing Arts Center, a 960-seat theater, opened in 2009. City history also records that Harry Houdini and Fred Astaire performed in Union City during its vaudeville years.
What's Coming Up on the Same Streets
The fall calendar puts more events on these blocks. The Union City Children's Halloween Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. on 15th Street between Bergenline Avenue and New York Avenue, with free rides, candy and children's activities. On Thursday, November 19, at noon, International Plaza at 38th Street and Palisade Avenue hosts the city's Celebrating Puerto Rican Heritage Month event. The city's online calendar is updated regularly, so check it before you go.
More public space may join the route in the future. In June 2026 the city put its Ellsworth Park improvement project out to bid. The scope covers new paver walkways and a plaza, drainage, lighting, utilities, irrigation and landscaping. A two-level waterfall was listed as an optional add-on. The contract allows 180 days of work once the city issues a Notice to Proceed. No start date has been published, and no completion date either.
The city's 2026 Summer Concert Series offered free live music in locations across the city with chairs provided, and used the William V. Musto Cultural Center at 420 15th Street as its rain location. City history also describes summer park performances of drama, comedy and poetry, along with concerts of classical, jazz, rock, salsa and merengue music.
Michael Check has spent years learning Hudson County one block at a time, and that includes the corners that have recently gained new names. If you'd like to know what your own block's history and recent changes mean for what your home is worth, MC Luxury Living can get you an instant home valuation or set up a private consultation.
