Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc.

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Background
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Background

ValleyArts grew out of a process of community engagement that began with a community forum organized by HANDS, Inc. in 2001. HANDS is a non-profit, community development corporation that has been developing affordable housing and helping to strengthen neighborhoods in Orange and West Orange for more than 20 years. After a series of house meetings, focus groups and surveys of more than 650 residents, civic leaders and public officials, HANDS proposed the Valley Revitalization Initiative, a strategic plan to concentrate arts-related housing, facilities and programs in the Valley neighborhood.

Few neighborhoods in New Jersey have as distinct an identity and as rich a history as the Valley neighborhood on the Orange/West Orange border. It was once the hat-making capital of the world and for years has been a destination for a good Italian meal. Today it is an eclectic mix of old houses, abandoned factories, culturally diverse residents, active neighborhood organizations and retail businesses that provide most of life’s necessities. Easily accessible from Midtown Manhattan, Hoboken and Newark via regional rail, the Valley is fast becoming a popular destination for the arts.

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