Jon Bon Jovi is one of nine notable New Jersey natives to have rest stop service areas named after them. However, there’s one notable exclusion.
In a press release from N.J. Governor Phil Murphy, the state is renaming nine rest stop service areas after New Jersey Hall of Fame (NJHOF) inductees Bon Jovi, James Gandolfini, Larry Doby, Connie Chung, Whitney Houston, Judy Blume, Celia Cruz, Frank Sinatra and Toni Morrison.
Notably absent on the list is Bruce Springsteen. In a statement from New Jersey Hall of Fame spokeswoman Natasha Alagarasan to NorthJersey.com, “Bruce Springsteen respectfully declined to have a service area named after him. It should be noted, though, that Bruce has been very supportive of the New Jersey Hall of Fame over the years, and is very much a part of the fabric of the Hall.”
Of course, there is slight irony of The Boss having a rest stop named after him, especially after getting arrested for DWI in November 2020 at New Jersey's Gateway National Recreation Area. Perhaps that played into Springsteen’s decline of the honor.