For weeks, residents had been asking the same question.
Why wasn’t Montclair’s most visible banner promoting the FIFA World Cup?
As international teams stayed at the MC Hotel just blocks away and matches were being played at MetLife Stadium, the large banner spanning Bloomfield Avenue near The Clairidge instead advertised Bastille Day 2026 — one of the town’s most beloved annual celebrations. Meanwhile, Lackawanna Plaza and several local restaurants and bars hosted World Cup watch parties, making the absence of broader downtown promotion even more noticeable.
The answer, it turns out, had less to do with soccer than with timing, cost and the way Montclair’s most prominent banner line is managed.
The line had already been reserved by Out Montclair for its annual Pride Festival banner from May 11 through June 13. Although Pride Fest was postponed just weeks before the event, Neil Grabowsky, who manages the banner line through his company, Through the Lens Studios, said there was no practical opportunity to replace it with a World Cup banner. A new banner would have required an organization to initiate and fund the project, create and approve the artwork, and work with Through the Lens Studios to manufacture the roughly 50-foot display and secure a permit from Essex County.
The Montclair Bastille Day banner, another annual commitment, was already scheduled to follow, booking the line solid for weeks — leaving room for coverage of only the World Cup’s final matches, Grabowsky explained.
“Coming into the summer-of-soccer marketing window, there were no available hang days until July 14,” he said. “It would have meant coverage for only the 3rd place match and final. At no point did it make financial or logical sense for the Business Improvement District or anyone else to pay for a banner for this very limited exposure.”
The explanation also revealed something broader: Montclair does not have a single banner program overseen by one organization. Instead, the town has a patchwork of banner systems, some privately managed and others overseen by the Montclair Center BID, NJ TRANSIT or public agencies, each with its own rules, costs and approval process.
Banner System No. 1: The Bloomfield Avenue Banner
Many residents assume the large overhead banner belongs to either the Township or the Montclair Center BID.
It doesn’t.
The cable spans between two buildings owned by Grabowsky Development, the real estate company founded by longtime Montclair property owner Richard “Dick” Grabowsky. Through the Lens Studios, operated by his son Neil Grabowsky, has managed the banner line under an agreement with Grabowsky Development since 2012.
“When we bought buildings on both sides we were lucky to have that banner line present,” he said. “We allow folks to book the banner line for community events.”
Organizations work directly with Through the Lens Studios, which oversees the entire project — from scheduling and manufacturing through installation, billing, permitting and removal. Clients pay Through the Lens Studios.
Why a Banner Can Cost About $3,500
Organizations interested in hanging the Bloomfield Avenue banner should expect to spend about $3,500 for a typical project, according to Neil Grabowsky.
At first glance, that may seem like a steep price for a banner. But Grabowsky said the project involves far more than printing a large sign.
The banner, which measures roughly 50 feet long by 4 feet high when hung, is manufactured by a specialty fabricator outside Montclair that produces oversized banners designed to withstand years of outdoor exposure and the wind loads associated with hanging above a busy roadway. Made from heavy-duty, double-sided material that runs about $8 per square foot, the banner is reinforced with industrial webbing and specialized stitching before being shipped to Montclair for installation — and because it’s folded, reinforced and sewn, the raw material used often exceeds its finished dimensions.
Grabowsky said he’s occasionally allowed organizations to supply their own banners, but the results have rarely lasted. Because those banners typically aren’t engineered for the stresses of hanging above Bloomfield Avenue, they tend to weather or fail after about eight or nine days. By contrast, the banners produced to his specifications are built to remain in place for weeks while withstanding weather and high winds.
The $3,500 cost covers manufacturing, installation, removal, electricity, labor and permitting coordination, plus two recurring charges Through the Lens pays to Grabowsky Development: a $160 weekly line fee and a $75 weekly lighting fee.
Neil Grabowsky recommends that organizations begin the process at least two months before they hope to have a banner installed, allowing enough time for design approval, manufacturing and Essex County’s permitting process.
Community organizations interested in hanging a banner across Bloomfield Avenue can contact Neil Grabowsky at neil@grabdev.com or 973-744-5555.
A Banner Line With a Long History
The banner line predates the Grabowsky family’s ownership of the buildings by decades. Grabowsky said one of the earliest known photographs shows a banner welcoming the Apollo 11 astronauts home after the moon landing. Since acquiring the buildings, the family has continued making the line available primarily for civic events and nonprofit organizations rather than commercial advertising.
Grabowsky said the line is generally not rented for ordinary commercial advertising or conventional for-profit promotions.
That history has helped give the banner a quasi-public identity, even though the arrangement is private.
Why Essex County Must Approve It
Although the banner is suspended between privately owned buildings, it hangs above Bloomfield Avenue — an Essex County roadway.
That means every installation requires a county permit — one that Through the Lens Studios applies for and secures on the client organization’s behalf
This year, however, the Bastille Day banner was installed before that permit was obtained.
Grabowsky said the compressed production schedule and a printer’s vacation contributed to the oversight. Janet Pena of the Essex County Department of Public Works confirmed that no permit had been issued for the banner this year.
Grabowsky said he later contacted the county to acknowledge the mistake and understood officials could have required the banner’s removal. He described it as the first time his team had missed the permitting process.
Banner System No. 2: The Downtown BID
The Montclair Center BID does not own, schedule or control the overhead Bloomfield Avenue banner.
It never has.
But the two are not entirely separate. Neil Grabowsky, who manages the Bloomfield Avenue banner line, also sits on the BID’s board of directors — a dual role that puts him on both sides of the town’s banner landscape: as the private operator of its most visible banner, and as a board member of the organization that oversees the downtown pole-banner program.
According to former Executive Director Jason Gleason, the BID has only paid for the overhead banner once — as part of its partnership with the inaugural Montclair Pride Festival in 2022. In that instance, the BID acted as a funding partner rather than the organization controlling the banner line.
Separately, the BID manages more than 170 vertical banner poles attached to downtown light poles and streetscape fixtures.
Unlike the overhead banner, qualifying nonprofit organizations can request pole-banner space at no charge, provided space is available and the banners promote a public event, community benefit or cultural activity. Organizations are responsible for designing and printing their banners, while the BID covers installation and removal.
New brackets for the downtown pole-banner system were installed around 2023, funded through a Main Street NJ grant after the old hardware fell into disrepair. Gleason, who is now a consultant to the BID, said the nonprofit’s banner program has required coordination with PSEG and the Essex County Department of Public Works.
For organizations seeking broader visibility throughout downtown, the pole-banner program may be a more practical and affordable option than the single overhead banner, though it follows a different application process and eligibility requirements. Banners must include the BID logo, and interested organizations should contact montclaircenter@montclaircenter.com or 973-509-3820.
Banner System No. 3: NJ TRANSIT Bridge Banners
The banners displayed on the railroad bridges in Upper Montclair and Watchung Plaza operate under an entirely different system.
Those bridges belong to NJ TRANSIT, which administers its own Bridge Banner Permit Program through its Office of Real Estate Development & Planning.
Applications are submitted directly to NJ TRANSIT and are reviewed independently of the Township and the BID. Contact Rose Marques, Revenue Contract Assistant in the Office of Real Estate Development & Planning, at (973) 491-7451. Additional information and permit forms are available on NJ TRANSIT’s permitting webpage.
Banner System No. 4: Other Business Districts
Beyond downtown, traditional pole-banner systems can also be found in Frog Hollow, Walnut Street, Watchung Plaza, the South End and Upper Montclair.
These tend to be smaller, vertical banners attached to streetlights, utility poles or decorative streetscape fixtures, often used for district branding, seasonal displays, local events and promotional campaigns.
Who controls them can vary by location. In some cases, you need to submit a Special Event Permit Application, which is handled by the town’s Recreation Department. In other cases, approval may be needed from the owner of the pole, a utility company, NJ TRANSIT or another public agency.
