Montclair Local

Reach Out Montclair and Gabrielle Gives will host an Essex County Community Drive on Saturday, Oct. 17, offering free groceries, clothing, haircuts and other supplies to local families. The event will take place from noon to 3 p.m. at the Wally Choice Community Center, 49 Maple Ave. in Montclair. The afternoon will feature a grocery giveaway, clothing drive, free haircuts, backpacks and hygiene supplies. Families can also enjoy face painting, music from a DJ and other activities.

A barn at Gorgeous Goat Creamery in Stockton, New Jersey, where the farm produces goat’s milk cheeses, soaps and lotions. (MARY CONNOLLY/MONTCLAIR LOCAL) Montclair offers a taste of New Jersey’s farms and artisanal food producers right in our backyard, thanks to places like Ironbound Farm Market at Lackawanna Station and the Montclair Farmers Market on Walnut Street. These markets offer a convenient way to explore what New Jersey has to offer.

Alfred Berutti, an electrical engineer, magazine editor and longtime Montclair resident, died peacefully on Sept. 30, 2026. He was 98. Mr. Berutti was a husband, father, grandfather, World War II veteran, engineer, writer, gardener and a man who could fix just about anything. He took up running in his 50s and, over 30-plus years, won many trophies, often as the only guy in his age bracket. He survived an explosion, various power tool mishaps and getting hit by a car at 94.

Get kitchen inspiration and a peek inside some gorgeous local homes at A Taste of Glen Ridge – 2026 Kitchen Tour, Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour is scheduled for five hours, giving you plenty of time to explore each of the homes. Each kitchen on the tour features a chef graciously donating light bites for guests to sample. Proceeds from the tour will be used to benefit the Glen Ridge School District’s community-building initiatives.

Montclair Kimberley senior running back/linebacker Alex Scuorzo (8) has been nominated for Week 4 of the 2026 USA Football Heart of a Giant Award. The voting period is now open for Week 4 nominees and will be live until October 18.

Halloween isn’t just for kids. Grown-ups can enjoy plenty of spooky fun in the area, too. From costume parties and haunted houses to creepy cocktails, ghost stories and horror films, we’ve rounded up Halloween events worth getting dressed up for this October.

Flexible traffic bollards are up as part of a chicane, a curving roadway design intended to slow traffic on Upper Mountain Avenue in Montclair Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (MATT KADOSH/MONTCLAIR LOCAL) Montclair is taking a new approach to driving home the 25-mph speed limit on Upper Mountain Avenue. “The majority of drivers do not drive 25 on this road,” Ladell Robbins, 51, said, while standing outside his home on the two-lane stretch.

Montclair High School (ADAM ANIK/FILE PHOTO) Montclair High School students are adjusting to restrictions on phones and personal computers, but not everyone agrees that taking away their devices is the best way to keep them focused in class. Some students believe high school should be a place to learn how to manage distractions and use technology responsibly. At least one teacher, however, says the restrictions are already making a difference in the classroom. The policy, announced Aug.

Montclair should not rezone downtown for a substation before the public knows why it was chosen. Disclosure: My wife and I own 201 Claremont Avenue, next to the proposed site. I have lived in Montclair for 32 years. On October 6, neighbors filled the Council chamber with yellow signs opposing a proposed substation. They support a reliable grid; they want evidence that downtown is the right location.

The Montclair Police Department. (MICHAEL STAHL) A 65-year-old Montclair man was arrested after allegedly chasing another man with a large knife near the Salvation Army on Trinity Place, according to the Montclair Police. Police responded to the area Oct. 6 after receiving a report of a dispute between two men. A caller told police that one man had been chasing the other with a large knife. Responding officers located both men, who police said were intoxicated.