North Jersey Artists & Leaders Invited to Shape National Heritage Area Future

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation will host Community Conversation: National Heritage Area in New Jersey on June 3 from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. The free public gathering will bring together artists, cultural organizations, business leaders, and residents to discuss the proposed North Jersey National Heritage Area initiative.

The initiative would encompass seven counties — Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex — and focus on four central themes: innovation and industry, suburbia and planned communities, transportation and infrastructure, and immigration and migration. Organizers say the designation could strengthen heritage tourism, support cultural organizations, and contribute to regional economic development.

Participants attending the June 3 conversation will be invited to identify historically and culturally significant sites in their communities and discuss opportunities connected to the proposed National Heritage Area designation. The effort is being led by the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation in collaboration with the North Jersey National Heritage Area Council, a coalition of more than 80 partner organizations.

If approved by Congress and administered through the National Park Service, the designation would provide federal funding opportunities, support jobs connected to arts and culture, and encourage preservation initiatives throughout the region. Organizers also cite the initiative’s potential impact on community development and cultural entrepreneurship.

The discussion will be facilitated by Leonardo Vazquez, executive director of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, alongside heritage and planning specialists August Carlino and Dr. Nancy Morgan.

Supporters of the initiative include former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean, U.S. Representative Thomas Kean Jr., and organizations including the New Jersey Preservation Alliance, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, and Hudson County Community College.