New Banners Brighten Up Downtown Bloomfield

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Dozens of colorful “pedestrian pole banners” are being put on display in Bloomfield’s main commercial district as part of an ongoing effort to transform the downtown area, the Bloomfield Center Alliance (BCA) announced Thursday.

According to a statement from the nonprofit, which works with Bloomfield to promote the downtown commercial district:

“Thanks to a partnership with Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, the BCA has begun the process of coordinating the installation of 50 newly designed colorful pedestrian pole banners within the town’s main commercial district. These banners will be located along key corridors of Bloomfield Center, including Broad Street, Glenwood Avenue, Washington Street and portions of Bloomfield Avenue. The two-sided banner, which includes the BCA name and logo, displays an image of a downtown scene and the phrase: ‘Your Town, Home Town.’”

The banners were completed earlier this year and paid for through a grant from the state’s Main Street New Jersey Program – the same program that helped the BCA secure other streetscape enhancements in recent years, such as sidewalk planters, hanging flower baskets and new color-branded trash receptacles displaying the downtown name and logo.

To date, 22 of the 50 banners are in place, with plans that the remaining ones will be installed by autumn, the BCA said.

The effort got a boost from the newly reborn Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, which has partnered with the BCA in the past, including a recent project to brighten up vacant downtown storefronts with pop-up art installations.

• See Related: This Vacant Storefront In Bloomfield Is Now Home To An Art Display

The design of the banners was spearheaded by Yuichiro Nishizawa, who serves as chair of the Bloomfield College of Montclair State University Division of Creative Arts and Technology.

“This collaborative effort is truly born out of our strong and persistent mutual interest in community building and developing projects that showcase the vibrancy of our institution – as well as the vision and talents of our students,” Nishizawa said.

“We look forward to the full implementation of the banners throughout the downtown district and to future collaborations like this,” agreed Michael Palladino, Bloomfield College of Montclair State University Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

BCA Director Ollyn Lettman thanked the university for its help.

“We hope that local residents and out of town visitors will see these banners and other recent enhancements such as planters and flower baskets as a sign of the continuing transformation taking place in our downtown,” Lettman said.

Bloomfield Councilwoman Sara Cruz, who joined the BCA board this year, also supported the project.

“Like the new banners, there have been several aesthetic enhancements that keep the neighborhood inviting,” Cruz said. “There are more things to come that will attract people to all the great businesses in the Center.”

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