My Best of 2015 in Photojournalism

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JAN. 12, 2015 — Former Gov. Brendan Byrne, 90, spoke at a book signing event at City Hall. The book was “New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne: The Man Who Couldn’t Be Bought” written by author Donald Linky. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

SECAUCUS, N.J., JAN. 16, 2015 — Students  of Secaucus High School social studies teacher Michael Gehm were engaged in a lively discussion. Gehm was nominated for a LifeChanger of the Year Award. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J.. JAN. 26, 2015 — Two men spread salt on the steps of the Brennan Courthouse on Newark Avenue during a snowstorm. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Commuters waited for a bus outside the Grove Street PATH station. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., JAN. 27, 2015 — A man removed snow from his car on 15th Street during a snowstorm.

BAYONNE, N.J., JAN. 27, 2015 — Two people were found dead inside a two-story home on West 10th Street. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

The body of one of two people found dead is removed from the house. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Neighbors watched as the bodies of two people found dead are removed from the home. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., FEB. 16, 2015 — Firefighters battled a five-alarm blaze, which ripped through two attached homes in Bayonne on West 34th Street. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

An elderly woman was led away from the fire scene. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MARCH 4, 2015 — Funeral Mass for former Mayor Anthony R. Cucci at Holy Rosary Church on Sixth Street. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MARCH 4, 2015 — A firefighter surveyed the damage to a tractor trailer, which went up in flames in a Kellogg Street parking lot just off Route 440. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MARCH 5, 2015 — Attendees checked their phones and took in the view during a break in The Third Annual New Jersey Gold Coast & Spring Multifamily Summit at Maritime Parc. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MARCH 5, 2015 — Snow covered trees and a bench in Liberty State Park during a winter storm. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

The Statue of Liberty was barely visible through snow falling at Liberty State Park during a winter storm. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MARCH 5, 2015 — Jersey City Firefighter Wilfredo Rodriguez removed water from hoses to keep it from freezing inside as he and his fellow firefighters collected their gear after battling a two-alarm fire at Liberty Self-Storage, a facility on Morris Pesin Drive inside Liberty State Park during a winter storm. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MARCH 24, 2015 — Viewing and funeral service for Alnisha L. Jones, 36, at Porter Memorial Church of God in Christ in Jersey City. Jones was stabbed to death on March 16 inside her Long Street home. Her husband, Thomas McManus, was charged with her murder. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J. MARCH 27, 2015 — The wake for former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Charles T. Epps Jr. was held at Zion Baptist Church on Bramhall Avenue. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

KEARNY, N.J., MARCH 31, 2015 — The Most Rev. Bernard A. Hebda, coadjutor archbishop of Newark, performed the religious rite Washing of the Feet on prisoners during the Inmates Lenten Retreat at Hudson County Correctional Center. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., APRIL 2, 2015 — Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson spoke during the 2nd Annual Prisoner Reentry Conference at St. Peter’s University. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., APRIL 3, 2015 — Various congregations — comprising Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Protestants and Roman Catholics — performed the Stations of the Cross by visiting 14 sites of violent incidents in Jersey City over the last year on Good Friday. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., APRIL 3, 2015 — For the 15th year, the Youth of St. Henry Parish staged a Living Stations of the Cross at the church on Good Friday. This year, Jesus Christ was portrayed by Alan Gleeson. Scott Fahley, Jack Santo-Pietro and Jake O’Donnell, were especially remembered as the three other young men who have played the role in the past. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

KEARNY, N.J., APRIL 17 , 2015 — Union City’s Jose Tavarez ran to home plate during the baseball game against Kearny. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Kearny’s Mike Hyde was safe at second base as Union City’s Jonathan Rosario failed to make the catch. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., APRIL 21, 2015 — Cherry blossom trees bloomed along 37th Street on Avenue A. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J. APRIL 21, 2015 — People came upon an unusual springtime sight at West Hamilton Place when it was transformed into a winter wonderland as foam was sprayed on trees and sidewalks for a commercial photo shoot. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MAY 1, 2015 — Alishia Colon’s mother, Waleska Figueroa, cried as she testified during the trial of Cruz Martinez, of Hazleton, Pa., who was accused of killing Colon in her bedroom on Belgrove Drive in Kearny on Jan. 17, 2013. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Alishia Colon’s family and friends attend the trial. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

ELLIS ISLAND, N.Y., MAY 7, 2015 — Members of the press previewed the new post-Ellis Island wing of The Peopling of America Center called “The Journey: New Eras of Immigration” which focuses on immigration from 1954 to present times, at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. Pictured is the Citizenship Gallery. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., MAY 12, 2015 — The ball knocked the cap from the head of Ferris’ Joey Colon as Marist’s Andrew Villacis slid safely into second base during the Hudson County Tournament quarterfinals at Lincoln Park. Marist won, 7-4. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Marist’s Thomas Petrosino collided with and was tagged out by Ferris’ Mohamed Ahmed at third base. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., MAY 21, 2015 —  McNair’s Terrence Cando, left, and Orlando Robledo dove for the ball during NJSIAA North 2 quarterfinals. Bayonne defeated McNair, 25-18, 25-14. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JUNE 11, 2015 — Tempers flared and chaos erupted in court after Gregory Eady was sentenced to 75 years in prison for a double murder and carjacking, prompting Sheriff’s officers to separate one of the victim’s family members who tried to lunge at the killer as he was led out of the room. Eady pleaded guilty to the June 9, 2014, murders of Jamal Cooks, 22, and Shawn Spencer, 21 — both of Jersey City — who were shot multiple times while in a vehicle on Van Nostrand Avenue between Bergen Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JUNE 15, 2015 — Severo Gerena showed the rusted fire escape, which gave way beneath the feet of residents fleeing a two-alarm fire in a four-story apartment building at 500 Garfield Ave. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Juan Jose Cid showed the charred kitchen inside his first-floor apartment at 500 Garfield Ave. where the fire was believed to have started. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JUNE 25, 2015 — Families and dignitaries welcomed home 160 soldiers of the New Jersey Army National Guard’s Alpha Company, 2-113th Infantry Battalion, after a nine-month deployment in the Persian Gulf, with a ceremony held at the Jersey City armory. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Ssgt. Guy Luerssen, 29, of Brooklyn, played peek-a-boo with his two-year-old son, Oliver. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Sgt. Jesse De La Cruz, 29, of Passaic, kissed his mother, Mari Gumann of Vernon, as she held his daughter, Khloe, who was born just before he was deployed. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JUNE 26, 2015 —  In a rare courtroom moment, families of victim and killer united in grief at fatal DWI crash sentencing. Here, Luis E. Garcia, 24, of the Bronx, with his lawyer, Joel Silberman, appeared at his sentencing for the vehicular homicide of Ron Hill II, of Jersey City, at Hudson County Superior Court.

Ron Hill II’s sister, Terina Johnson, wiped away tears as she read her statement during the sentencing.

Ron Hill II’s father, Ron Hill Sr., is comforted by his mother, Hattie Hill-Spry, as he listened with his wife, Pam, right, to Superior Court Judge Joseph Isabella during the sentencing. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Garcia is led out of the courtroom by Sheriff’s officers after his sentencing. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

After the sentencing, a member of Luis E. Garcia’s family, offered her condolences to Ron Hill Sr.

Grieving family members and friends of the vehicular homicide victim, Ron Hill II, and convicted killer, Luis E. Garcia, crossed the courtroom aisle and hugged and cried in each other’s arms, offering each other condolences. Pictured are Hill’s grandmother, Hattie Hill Spry, left, mother, Pam Hill and father, Ron Hill Sr., hugging members of Garcia’s family. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Pictured are Hill’s father, Ron Hill Sr., left, and uncle, Frederick Hill, hugging members of Garcia’s family. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Pictured is Hill’s grandmother, Hattie Hill Spry, right, offering her hand to Garcia’s family. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JULY 1, 2015 — St. Peter’s Prep held its Football Performance Camp for sixth to ninth graders. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JULY 10, 2015 — Daisy Santiago, 9, of Bayonne, participated in Coach Richard Glover’s 13th annual All Access to Life Football Camp at the Ed “Faa” Ford Athletic Complex at Caven Point. More girls have participated in the camp this year than in previous years. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JULY 14, 2015 — Boys ages 8 to 15 years old participated in the St. Peter’s Prep Baseball Skills Camp at the Ed “Faa” Ford Athletic Complex at Caven Point. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., JULY 29, 2015 — Adam Amrani, 5, tried to catch water in his mouth as he played at the Pershing Field sprinkle park during a sizzling hot summer day with temperatures reaching the low 90s. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., AUG. 4, 2015 — Family and friends said their final goodbyes during the wake and funeral service for 16-year-old Ronald Witherspoon Jr. at Mt. Olive Baptist Church. The Lincoln High School student was shot in the head in the early morning hours of July 22 on Belmont Avenue. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Dawn and Ronald Witherspoon Sr. close the lid on the casket of their son, Ronald Witherspoon Jr., at the conclusion of his funeral.

BAYONNE, N.J., AUG. 20, 2015 — The Bayonne High School football team practiced at Don Ahern Veterans Stadium. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., AUG. 28, 2015 — A tractor trailer crashed into a utility pole at Logan and Freeman avenues, knocking out power in the area. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., AUG. 31, 2015 — Micah Jones, 11, who will be entering fifth grade, read aloud the book “Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo” to barber Abraham Castillo of The Booth Barbershop, during the Books & Clips free back-to-school haircuts event organized by the Dr. Ercel F. Webb Elementary School (School 22) for its students. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

NEWARK, N.J., AUG. 31, 2015 —  Mourners attended the wake and funeral for Bishop Thomas Donato, the pastor of St. Henry in Bayonne and vicar of Hudson County, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., SEPT. 23, 2015 — Using roller brushes, workers painted the ‘wings’ of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City which was still under construction. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Inside the oculus or main concourse of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub during construction.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., OCT. 9, 2015 — Funeral for Shyheem Anderson at Monumental Baptist Church in Jersey City. Anderson, who would have turned 28 years old on this day, was fatally injured in a crash on the Carson-Nguyen Bridge. The father of a 5-year-old daughter graduated from Ferris High School in 2006 and had been playing semi-pro football for the New York Kings. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., NOV. 2, 2015 — Third-grade students at the Learning Community Charter School experienced first hand the Google Expeditions program, an app that works on a smart phone and tablet using Google map technology and panoramic photography of different places around the world. A cardboard box over the smart phone uses 3D lenses to create a 360-degree virtual reality experience. Using the tablet, teachers can point their students to particular features of an expedition. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

KEARNY, N.J., NOV. 5, 2015 — Kearny defeated Randolph, 1-0, in the NJSIAA North 1, Group 4 quarterfinals at Harvey Field. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., NOV. 6, 2015 — Gigi, the 32-foot-tall giraffe sculpture on Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise ship, Anthem of the Seas, which is docked at Cape Liberty. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., NOV. 11, 2015 — Officials, including Mayor Steve Fulop, used a sledgehammer to pound on the wall of a building which will be demolished in order to erect an eight-unit building for homeless veterans on Ocean Avenue during a groundbreaking ceremony on Veterans Day. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., NOV. 20, 2015 — A car knocked over a traffic light and crashed into a fence at Ocean and Van Nostrand avenues .(Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., NOV. 23, 2015 — Police investigated a shooting on Old Bergen Road near Neptune Avenue. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., DEC. 1, 2015 — The Jersey City Department of Health & Human Services, the Jersey City AIDS Task Force, and Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health held an HIV/AIDS awareness walk from the medical center to City Hall where a program was held to commemorate World AIDS Day. Here, participants walked up the staircase to attend a memorial service in the council chambers. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Here, participants held candles and spoke out the names of HIV/AIDS victims during a memorial service. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., DEC. 3, 2015 — Leaders of the Muslim community, together with leaders of other interdenominational religious groups and local politicians, spoke out against presidential candidate Donald Trump’s remarks about thousands of Muslims cheering in Jersey City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, during a press conference led by CAIR. Here, Nihad Awad, executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), seen through the viewfinder of a television camera, spoke during the press conference. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., DEC. 8, 2015 — Bob Budiansky, who worked as writer, illustrator and editor for Marvel Comics for approximately 20 years, and is best known for the work he did on The Transformers, spoke about his career to students at the Franklin L. Williams Middle School and answered their questions. He also signed autographs and gave a drawing demonstration to a select group of accelerated art class students. Since 2006, Budiansky has been the recreation director of the Borough of Fanwood and continues to produce art commissions in his spare time. Here, Budiansky listened as a video about his 2010 induction into the Transformers Hall of Fame played on the screen. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

A student listened to Bob Budiansky speak at Franklin L. Williams Middle School. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CITY, N.J., DEC. 11, 2015 — The Jersey City Fire Department promoted 11 firefighters to the rank of fire captain, including the city’s first Filipino-American fire captain, and two fire captains to the rank of battalion chief during a ceremony at City Hall. Fallen Firefighter James Woods was also posthumously promoted to the rank of fire captain. Here, Fire Chief Darren Rivers presents Woods’ family with his captain’s badge. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

Captain Richard Gorman kisses Woods’ youngest daughter, Jenna, 6. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

BAYONNE, N.J., DEC. 15, 2015 — Cora Kerton, seen here at her home with pet cockatiel, Koi, is a Jersey City police officer who was paralyzed after an accident in March and is struggling to pay her bills. A friend has set up an online fundraiser to help get her a new bed. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)

JERSEY CTY, N.J., DEC. 22, 2015 — Students at A. Harry Moore, a school for those with physical and learning disabilities, received toys, hats and gloves from Santa Claus, and got to sit on motorcycles when members of the Wicked Riders motorcycle club paid them a visit for their annual holiday toy giveaway. (Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal)