DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

Your thoughts on Montclair being one of five New Jersey towns to receive a perfect 100 score — as a great place for LGBTQ+ people — in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2022 Municipal Equality Index?

Sincerely,

What HRC Sees

Terrific, not-unexpected news given the work of councilor-at-large/Out Montclair president Peter Yacobellis and numerous others. I’d name them all if I wasn’t worried I’d leave someone…Out.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

You can see many of those names by viewing the Out Montclair website’s board page. Has there ever been a score higher than 100, which is in effect 100 percent?

Sincerely,

Score Vidal

Only for the 1960 meet-up of James Baldwin, Rita Mae Brown, Brandi Carlile, Willa Cather, Angela Davis, Fannie Flagg, Elton John, Billie Jean King, Kate McKinnon, Freddie Mercury, Harvey Milk, Stephen Sondheim, Leonardo da Vinci, Oscar Wilde, and Lil Nas X. That epic gathering received a 1,000 score from the Human Time Travel Campaign for including LGBTQ+ people who were deceased, alive, and not yet born.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

Speaking of deceased, alive, and not yet born, the Lackawanna Plaza redevelopment saga has continued via discussions and meetings — with the Township Council voting December 6 to move the latest proposal to the Planning Board for review. Your thoughts on that proposal?

Sincerely,

Grist Off Grove

Continued mixed feelings. I like that there would be a supermarket, public plazas, a decent amount of “affordable” housing, vintage elements from the former train station, and a spaceport for the “Star Trek” fleet.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

That last feature is highly illogical, Captain. What don’t you like about the proposal?

Sincerely,

Spock Now or Forever Hold Your Peace

I wish the buildings were no taller than four stories, which would of course make the project less bulky and somewhat lessen a traffic increase in a neighborhood that’s not Mister Rogers’ neighborhood because there’s no sweater that large.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

Other possible negatives?

Sincerely,

Not Old Camera Negatives

It’s hard to tell from the not-photo-realistic renderings, but the proposed buildings don’t look like red brick. If that’s the case, it would be a shame because red brick is so intrinsic to the historic Lackawanna look — plus Mister Rogers’ sweater was red.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

Your Mister Rogers references are irrelevant, unless you’re making a veiled comment about how that beloved TV show host was so different from a certain on-leave township manager sued twice for alleged hostile workplace behavior toward women?

Sincerely,

Kind and Not Kind

If the blue sneakers fit, wear them.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

I’m not feeling blue that the Township Council’s December 6 conference meeting was broadcast live and streamed following many legitimate complaints from residents about the TC not being transparent enough. Comment?

Sincerely,

Life Is But a Stream

Seems the TC will make conference meetings watchable for non-in-person attendees at least during colder weather when there’s more of a COVID threat. Those meetings would be held in the first-floor Council Chambers rather than the higher-floor conference room, temporarily avoiding another reboot of “Upstairs Downstairs.”

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

Meanwhile, the DLV Lounge has closed after 50 years of great live music. Very sad?

Sincerely,

A Venue on the Avenue

Absolutely, but what an impressively long run. Heck, the Lackawanna train station was still operating when DLV opened in 1972 — the year Deep Purple for some reason sang “Smoke on the Water” rather than “Smoke on the Watergate.”

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

Many people alive in 1972 are of course now in their 60s or older. Why doesn’t Montclair do a better job with senior services?

Sincerely,

Not Forever Young

The nonprofit group Montclair Gateway to Aging in Place is thankfully applying pressure to try to remedy the failure of those town officials who’ve been effective at not being effective.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,

What score would a hypothetical Human Slights Campaign give some Montclair officials after the township manager controversy, the Glen Ridge fire-deal fiasco, the firefighter-promotion dispute, the Midtown parking deck delay, the interference with the library, last summer’s closing of two municipal pools, etc.?

Sincerely,

M. Barrassed

For some reason, I’m suddenly thinking of Sub-Zero refrigerators…

 

 

Dave Astor, author, is the MontClairVoyant. His opinions about politics and local events are strictly his own and do not represent or reflect the views of Baristanet.