Bayonne steps in after landlord has woman's cancer banner removed

The city of Bayonne has come to the rescue of a woman with Stage 3 breast cancer who was told to remove a prayer banner hanging from her apartment.

Janelle Green, 38, hung the banner that reads “Stop and say a prayer. A person battling cancer lives here." The banner was given to her at a fundraiser by friends. Green said her landlord texted her and told her to remove the banner.

Green brought attention to the request on a series of TikTok videos but complied with the request.

"No sympathy, no compassion, nothing. Just callous," the 10-year resident said.

Green, who is a pediatric nurse at Bayonne Medical Center, told News 12 she has to have chemotherapy three times a week.

But once Mayor Jimmy Davis heard about it, he decided to make sure everyone could see it. He and his friend, cancer survivor Pam O'Donnell, walked to Green's home near City Hall on Friday afternoon.

"My words to her were 'no one in Bayonne fights alone. We stand shoulder to shoulder, help each other and stand side by side with each other.' I told her to give me the banner and I will hang it from City Hall," Davis told New Jersey 101.5.

The mayor said it will hang from a balcony next to the Ukrainian flag.

Mayor Jimmy Davis and Janelle Green's banner at Bayonne City Hall (Mayor Jimmy Davis)

Who is the landlord?

Davis said he does not know the landlord.

"Personally I was blown away by it. I couldn't believe that a landlord would actually do that to someone with cancer," Davis said. "I haven't reached out to him. It's a personal house, you do what you want to do, I'm not letting someone from Bayonne get hurt by this."

A call by New Jersey 101.5 to the person who Green identified as her landlord was not returned Friday afternoon.

Green later posted on her TikTok account that she was "thankful" and in "disbelief" at the mayor's gesture.

"I cannot believe we made it this far," Green said.

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis and Janelle Green share a hug (Mayor Jimmy Davis)

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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