Updated to add new hours of operation: They are Wednesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. while there is inventory.
For over a century, Flexible Warehousing at 219 Valley Street in South Orange has accumulated and stored abandoned items from all over town – but now that the five-story historic warehouse is owned by PSE&G, the family is holding a “liquidation sale” this summer to get rid of the building’s contents.
PSE&G bought the building in July 2025 for a reported $6 million, and PSE&G spokeswoman Kathy Hennessy-Riley told Village Green that the utility is “always on the lookout for suitable properties within our territories for future use.”
“PSE&G acquired the property for future use in an area where demand for power has grown. If needed in the future, the site may be used for building a substation which would be subject to site plan review and approval.”
The power substation behind the storage units that are part of the warehouse (Photo by Laura Griffin)
While the Cioppettini family said they were told that in the coming year the building, also known as South Orange Storage, would be demolished to extend the power substation that sits behind it, South Orange Village Administrator Julie Doran told the Village Green there is no demolition permit for the building and any application for one has to go through an approval process that includes going before the land use board.
Meanwhile, Monica Cioppettini said, the family needs to clear out the 137-year-old warehouse that has been in the family ever since Monica’s grandparents bought it in 1959 and passed it onto her father, Nicholas Cioppettini, in 1986, she said.
From left, Nina Cioppettini, Nicholas Cioppettini, and Monica Cioppettini, standing in front of their family’s business, SOS/Flexible Warehousing (in a Polaroid photo courtesy of the family)
Monica and her sister, Nina, grew up helping their parents host a sale every summer to get rid of some of the things they collected, but they have not had one in over a decade. Monica, who now lives in Georgia, has spent the last three weeks in New Jersey helping her family organize over ten years worth of storage.
“Because the building just sold, we only have the summer and a little bit of the fall to get rid of everything,” Monica said.
There are four floors of furniture, kitchenware, books, records and knick knacks open for the public to explore, ranging in price and organized by type of item.
“There is a price point for everyone and we are open to negotiate,” Monica said.
Nina added that while this is the start of a new beginning and chapter, she is “very sad to see this place go…it’s the end of an era,” she said.
“I’d like to thank the South Orange community for their support over the years,” Nicholas Cioppettini said. The liquidation sale will last until the end of the summer.
The Warehouse is open Wednesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “until we run out of inventory.”
Opening a restaurant? SOS/Flexible Warehousing has some dishes for you. (Photo by Skylar Smith)
An old storage unit inside the warehouse. (Photo by Skylar Smith)
A hallway of individual storage units in the historic warehouse. (Photo by Skylar Smith)
Vintage cassette tapes, CDs, records and books are available for purchase. (Photo by Skylar Smith)
Lots of furniture is for sale. (Photo by Skylar Smith)
The property was purchased by PSE&G for future use. (Photo by Laura Griffin)
The front of the building at 219 Valley Street in South Orange. (Photo by Laura Griffin)
