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Vailsburg is a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey's West Ward. 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.
Once an independent borough (1895-1905), 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 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, one of Newark's largest rental complexes. 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 more economic vitality than most other neighborhoods of Newark.
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