Bloomfield Is Selling 1100 Old Street Signs: Represent Your Block

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Do you think “home décor” when you see a street sign? Here’s a chance to get your own piece of Bloomfield history.

Starting Monday, Oct. 14, the Bloomfield will begin auctioning off 1,178 old street signs to the general public. The pieces of local memorabilia were taken down over the past 11 months as part of an effort to replace every street sign in the township.

The online auction will kick off at 8 a.m. on Oct. 14 and will end at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. The online auction can be accessed at stores.ebay.com/townshipofbloomfield. The bidding will begin at $10 per sign and the highest bidder will be awarded the sign at the time of closing. All winning bid payments must be submitted by noon on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

According to a municipal news release, the auction, operated by local ebay proprietor Daniel Diner with assistance and resources from the Mayor’s Office, Department of Public Works and Parks Recreation & Cultural Affairs, will benefit the Township of Bloomfield. Anyone with questions can call Diana Aviles in the Mayor’s Office at (973) 680-4077.

Pick-up dates will take place in the Civic Center at 84 Broad St. on the following dates:

• Friday, Nov. 1, from 1 to 8 pm
• Sunday, Nov. 3, from 1 to 5 pm
• Monday, Nov. 4, from 5 to 9 pm

If you’re worried that someone else has already snagged your street, all isn’t lost, town officials said. Many street names are represented by more than one sign, including 42 Broad St., 17 Bloomfield Ave., 32 Broughton Ave., 14 Watchung Ave. and 13 Watsessing Ave. signs.

While the majority of the signs are the “modern green” that became widely used in town, some are the older-looking blue color, and two are yellow, Bloomfield officials said.

“When people saw the new signs, they were thrilled, but wanted to know what would become of the old signs,” Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia said.

“I’ve had wonderful calls from friends who wanted to know if I could get them their sign,” Venezia said. “We felt this was a great way for everyone to have a fair shot at getting the sign that they want. I thank Councilwoman Wartyna Davis for the great suggestion to use an online approach to making these signs available.”

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