After 10 years of sitting in an abandoned lot, the once-empty Lackawanna Plaza has been reinvented and is now filled to the brim with local love. The population of small businesses, the Montclair Flea Market, restaurants, and more, Lackawanna Plaza has had a glow-up. The variety of small businesses within the building provides a sense of community. Keep reading for a highlight of the small businesses within Lackawanna Plaza and all it has to offer to Montclair locals.
The History of Lackawanna Plaza
Lackawanna Plaza has had a long history in Montclair. Before becoming the bustling plaza it is now, Lackawanna Plaza was once home to the Lackawanna train terminal here in Montclair. In the 1980s, it was transformed into a shopping mall with a grocery store, as well as retail and office space. At the time, the Pinnacle Companies partnered with the Hampshire Companies to plan the initial Lackawanna Plaza developments within the area. The proposal was not passed until 2019, but it still did not come to fruition due to a lawsuit claiming the space as a historical and architectural landmark.
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In 2021, BDP Holdings, a Montclair-based real estate investment company, acquired the space that had been sitting empty for 10 years. David Placek of BDP Holdings is the new owner of Lackawanna Plaza and had the vision to redevelop the plaza, while preserving its historical and architectural integrity.
Lackawanna Plaza Now
It is not a secret that rent in Montclair can be a challenge for small business owners. Lackawanna Plaza’s new iteration has created a new opportunity for these business owners: Affordable rent and an opportunity to participate in the redevelopment of a historical landmark.
Charles Rosen of Ironbound Farm, one of the many businesses in the Plaza, shared, “I believe this building can be a manifestation of the promise of what Montclair can be: economic and socioeconomic diversity.”
Charles went on to explain to The Montclair Girl how he views Lackawanna Plaza and its sense of community.
He shared that, “Building life in soil is a diverse set of organisms working together. When organisms work together, the system gets stronger. Nature is giving us a model for what community building looks like, and this is what Lackawanna Plaza looks like.”
Upon visiting Lackawanna Plaza, the large sense of community and local love was crystal clear. The Little Shops are pop-ups within Lackawanna Plaza and have an obvious neighborly feel, where all seem eager to lend a helping hand. MG talked to some of these small businesses to learn more.
New Faith Supply, one of the many shops within The Little Shops, is an LGBTQ+ owned archival vintage store owned by 21-year-old Willow Skyfin.
She shared, “Carving out this space was vital to feel connected with the community… starting a business is less scary because it’s a shared space and a sense of community.”
In addition to Ironbound Farms and New Faith Supply, Lackawanna Plaza is home to The Montclair Flea, a host of small restaurants like Little Bear Poké and Burgers Doughnuts Potatoes, both a bar and wine shop called Boozie’s, and tons of other small businesses such as a game shop called The Player Agency, an art gallery called Ria, clothing shops, a charm bar, and more. Many of the businesses are POC-, LGBTQ+-, and/or women-owned.
Photo Credit: Montclair Flea
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Locals can get involved and feel a sense of community through events at Lackawanna Plaza. The Montclair Flea is every Saturday and Sunday from 11AM-6PM. Additionally, the RecRoom in Lackawanna Plaza hosts a variety of events, such as its free pop-up coworking space every Thursday from 10AM-6PM. See more opportunities to get involved and feel the community vibe via the website.
To stay up to date on the latest Montclair + Northern New Jersey news, follow @themontclairgirl on Instagram and TikTok, sign up for our newsletter that shares the top stories in your inbox here, and check out our events calendar.
Pilates Please: Fairfield’s First Women-Focused Reformer Pilates Studio
Every woman is familiar with the uneasy feeling of navigating a space not built with them in mind. And those in male-centered fitness spaces, even more so. In a historically male-dominated environment, women-founded and women-focused fitness spots are hard to come by. Enter Fairfield's first Pilates studio at 24 Little Falls Road Unit D. Pilates Please is a Muslim women-owned reformer Pilates studio that has created a safe space for women of all cultures and backgrounds. Read on for the story behind Pilates Please in Fairfield, New Jersey, and how it's garnered itself as a safe space for women.
Photo Credit: Dina Basha
Behind Pilates Please
Close friends and fitness experts Dina Basha and Hebah Elmiligi have shared a passion for reformer Pilates for years. (This is a form of Pilates that uses a movable machine with built-in weights and straps.) To Dina and Hebah, reformer pilates is more than fitness; it's a “holistic approach to life," Dina shared with The Montclair Girl. "Mentally, physically, and spiritually."
The duo, constantly searching for a studio that fit their needs, would often travel up to 45 minutes to try their hand at different classes and techniques. Even after visiting countless studios throughout Northern New Jersey, finding a home studio that felt right for them proved to be challenging.
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Dina and Hebah are certified instructors with over ten years of combined experience. For years, the two entertained the idea of opening a studio, but they never found the right time because they both worked full-time jobs. After Hebah was suddenly laid off at her corporate job, which she had held for 13 years, the opportunity finally arose to take that leap of faith.
“When something is meant to be, it all just aligns,” Dina said. And that’s exactly what happened. In a matter of three weeks, they found a location in Fairfield that just clicked, one that even came with quirky little details, like the address number matching the sum of their favorite numbers and a “D” being Dina's initial.
On May 5th, 2025, Dina and Hebah opened Pilates Please, marking their business as Fairfield's first Pilates studio and the area's first Muslim women-owned and women-centered Pilates studio.
A Studio For Women, By Women
Before Pilates Please was established, the Fairfield area was home to a Lucille Roberts location, America's first women-only gym with locations nationwide. When this locale closed, Dina and Hebah shared that many of the gym's clientele stopped working out because the only spot that accommodated their needs was gone.
When Dina and Hebah opened Pilates Please, they did it with these women in mind. “We really wanted to create a safe space for women, especially in the Muslim community,” Hebah said, which makes up a large demographic of Fairfield. "We're both Muslim, and a lot of people in our families cover, so we wanted to create a space for people to do Pilates and uncover in a safe space."
Photo Credit: Dhruv Patel
Dina and Hebah go out of their way to make the studio comfortable for its members. During the "for her" classes, which are purely women-only, the instructors pull down the blinds and lock the doors so guests feel safe. Pilates Please also hosts Muslim-focused classes like the new "Arabic Please," which features Arabic music for customers to jam out to while working out.
"I'm so happy I did it and went with my gut," Dina said. "About 80 to 90% of our clients want that safe community, and we can provide that."
Classes
Pilates Please has a variety of classes for locals to try, regardless of experience level. All classes are also offered as "for her." To see the upcoming schedule and book a class, visit this link.
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Some of the classes include:
- Beginner Foundations Please is an introductory course focused on learning proper alignment, breathing techniques, and resistance control on the reformer machine.
- Power Base Please: a strengthening class focusing on core strength, flexibility, alignment, and mental wellbeing.
- Total Body Strength Please is a strengthening class focusing on total-body alignment, core strength, flexibility, and confidence-building.
- Pilates for Her Please is a women-only pilates class held in a private, supportive space. Attendees can uncover, stretch, strengthen, and connect with their bodies in a comfortable environment.
- Reformer with Sounds Healing Please is a wellness-focused class in which the first 15 minutes are dedicated to gentle stretching, and the rest of the duration is a healing session with crystal sound bowls.
- Jumpboard Please is a jumpboard reformer class that combines core-sculpting using the reformer machine with plyometric movement. This class focuses on strengthening the legs, glutes, and core and improving coordination and stability.
To stay up to date on the latest Montclair + Northern New Jersey news, follow @themontclairgirl on Instagram and TikTok, sign up for our newsletter that shares the top stories in your inbox here, and check out our events calendar.
