How do the historic storefronts along Bloomfield Avenue's "Montclair Mile" rate in the vision of "Main Street New Jersey?" As a follow-up to Montclair winning partner status in the state program that helps rejuvenate downtowns, the architectural eyes and cameras of the program reps were here yesterday to assess the scene. From The Star Ledger:
The start of the tour had some stumbling blocks, one of them Montclair Video, a store with bags of Sour Patch Cotton Candy, something Flurry said could appeal to children, visible in the window alongside a handwritten sign reading "Bachelorette Party Favor Center" and swinging doors marked "Adults Only" just inside the main entrance.A couple doors away was The Inner Eye Boutique, whose product line includes Gravity Vortex water pipes, which are smoking devices, and where patrons are buzzed in.
"The vice niche," Main Street New Jersey's Buehler said. "There's something for everybody. ... But what a great building."
Vice niche...A new MEDC neighborhood designation? Some stores were singled out who apparently had "the look." The visitors went ga-ga over Diamond Cycle, Trattoria Rustica's imported Italian leaded transoms, and of course the Hinck Building. They gave a thumbs down to the paint job at Banco Popular, signage, dangling fire escapes, and paled at the thought of stuccoing Montclair Antiques Center on Church Street...Mayberry we'll never be, but can our downtown be saved?
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Read the comments from this group in the paper this morning and they made me laugh out loud. There's one part about a fire escape that they don't see as being structurally sound. Wouldn't the MFD make that determination after inspecting the building? These yokels are just spewing bafflegab in a condescending manner. A crock of brown matter.
Wonder how they rated Pilgrim Medical Center?