If you've been wondering about the two new bus shelters on Bellevue Ave, kudos are due to a group of private citizens and members of the Upper Montclair Business Association, for the financing and construction of the beautiful structures. UMBA's Valerie Fischer and Eileen Sheehan, who masterminded the idea, first proposed that the old, rotting bus shelters,"eyesores in the community", should go. The new shelters became the focus of the UMBA's 2005 beautification efforts. DeCamp Bus Lines were the first to endorse the project with a "generous" check, followed by Nutley businessman, Frank Turano, of Kitchens by Turano.
"Montclair has been good to me, and I wanted to give back to the community," Turano told the Baristanet. John Way provided the architectural plans. "The response was wonderful (to the first shelter) so we immediately went to work on a fundraising campaign for the second one," Sheehan told us. Contributions from local businesses, individuals, and a small grant from the town sealed the deal for the second construction. A celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for the spring.
















This is very good. Way to go, UMBA. I doubt there's a whiner among you. Terrific precedent for improving the town, as opposed to bitching and moaning about it, or having the town lavish taxpayers' money on red bricks and such. I hope others are inspired by your initiative.