Payne Dedicates MLK Drive Jersey City Post Office in Honor of the Late Judge Shirley A. Tolentino

Press Release

Today, Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, and Councilwoman Diane Coleman (Ward F) dedicated the Jersey City Post Office located at 369 Martin Luther King Drive, Jersey City, N.J. in honor of the late Judge Shirley A. Tolentino.

In the 113th Congress, Rep. Payne, Jr. introduced and passed legislation naming a U.S. Post Office in honor of the late Judge Tolentino. H.R. 1376 passed the House on March 24, 2014, passed the Senate on July 10, 2014, and was signed by President Obama and became Public Law 113-139 on July 25, 2014.

"It is not a coincidence that the post office to bear her name would be located on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.," Rep. Payne, Jr. said. "There is no better way to acknowledge the exemplary achievements of Judge Tolentino and at the same time provide a permanent monument of possibilities and hope for young women, African Americans, and the citizens of Jersey City. I am proud to stand here today and dedicate this post office to honor her legacy."

Judge Tolentino was born and raised in Jersey City, served as a distinguished jurist in Hudson County for 26 years, and was a trailblazer for women and African Americans as a public servant in New Jersey. Judge Tolentino became the second African American woman to be named as Municipal Court Judge in the State of the New Jersey, and the first to be appointed to the Jersey City Municipal Court. In 1981, she continued to blaze a trail for others, becoming the first African American Presiding Judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court. In 1984, when she was appointed by Governor Thomas Kean, Judge Tolentino became the first African American woman to ascend to the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey.

Later, she was appointed to the original Coleman Commission, which would later be called the New Jersey Supreme Court Task Force on Minorities. During her time on the commission, she became Chair of the Sub-Committee on Juvenile Justice and also served as the Supreme Court Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice and Minority Defendants. With all her professional achievements, she viewed her appointment and time served on the commission as her greatest accomplishment.

Judge Shirley A. Tolentino passed away on October 31, 2010, and is survived by her husband, Dr. Ernesto Tolentino, children, and grandchildren.

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