Vailsburg, Newark

Vailsburg is a neighborhood in the West ward of Newark, New Jersey. As of 2000, Vailsburg has a population of 34,348. There are 8,386 families living in 12,270 housing units, of which 11,456 are owner-occupied. There are 814 vacant units in Vailsburg. Vailsburg is divided into Upper and Lower Vailsburg by Sanford Ave (Lower Vailsburg is to the east).

Vailsburg had existed as an independent municipality, and was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 28, 1894, from portions of South Orange Township. Vailsburg was annexed by Newark on January 1, 1905."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 132.]

In the mid-1890s, Vailsburg had been proposed as one of the municipalities that would form a "Greater Orange", in an effort to avoid piecemeal annexation by an expanding Newark. ["SHALL THE ORANGES AGAIN BE UNITED; A Question That Is Causing a Lively Discussion in Four New-Jersey Beauty Spots. SOME FEAR AND SOME WANT A GREATER NEWARK Others, Who Are Strongly Opposed to an Orange Reunion, Would Prefer It to Being Swallowed by the Big City. ARGUMENTS OF CONSOLIDATIONISTS AND OPPONENTS The Proposed New City Would Have a Population of 50,000 and a Valuation of $62,500,O00 -- Newark Politicians May Take the Oranges Piecemeal -- Women Strong for Union -- The "Antis" Argue that Each Section Can Best Manage Itself.", "The New York Times", March 3, 1895.]

Vailsburg was the last independent suburb to be annexed to Newark, in 1905, during a failed attempt by the mayor of Newark to absorb Kearny, East Orange, Belleville, and Harrison. The district today stands out from the rest of Newark like a peninsula and is separated from the rest of the city by the trench of the Garden State Parkway.

One major landmark of Vailsburg is [http://www.essex-countynj.org/p/index.php?section=parks/sites/va&ImgLoc=images/va Vailsburg Park] . The land for Vailsburg Park was originally "Electric Park," an amusement park owned by the Krueger brewing family. The residents of Vailsburg believed that Electric Park harmed the peace of the neighborhood and lobbied to have the amusement park converted into a park for passive recreation.

Vailsburg has a significant stock of Dutch Colonial and Victorian inspired homes, most of them having been built between 1945 and 1947. Upper Vailsburg consists largely of single-family homes, while Lower Vailsburg consists of both single-family and two-family housing units. The area is also home to the Ivy Hill Apartments, New Jersey's largest rental complex. Vailsburg has some abandoned property and other signs of urban decay, but many parts of it feel suburban. Its commercial streets, particularly South Orange Avenue, have undergone street-scape improvements recently and many businesses have renovated their storefronts. Many mom-and-pop businesses line the avenue, giving the sense that entrepreneurial activity is greater than most other neighborhoods of Newark.

The Vailsburg branch of the Newark Public Library is located in this neighborhood.

References

External links

* [http://www.newarkhistory.com/southorangeave.html A tour of South Orange Avenue on www.newarkhistory.com]