Milltown is in a small community with 7,000 residents occupying 1.6-square miles in central New Jersey. Public safety is a major concern in the working class neighborhood near the site, which originally was built to provide housing for workers at the operating plants. During its 120 years of operation, the site had a variety of uses, including rubber, printing, and synthetic textile manufacturing. Warehouses and assembly businesses remain on the site. There have been large fires on the site and repeated problems with vandalism, vagrancy, vermin, and flooding. The site also has had a negative economic impact on the neighborhood and the whole community.