On August 25, at the Bergen County Superior Court, Paramus officials filed a lawsuit against owners of the American Dream Mall, Ameream LLC, the Borough of East Rutherford, and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), for failing to obey Bergen County’s longstanding blue laws, according to USA Today.
The American Dream Mall, located in East Rutherford, Bergen County, is a three-million-square-foot complex featuring retail and entertainment, and it is the second largest mall in the US. It first opened in 2019 after over 15 years of delays, according to The Bergen Record. Being in Bergen County, the only New Jersey county to still have blue laws, the mall is required to uphold these laws, which prohibit the sale of nonessential items on Sundays, but starting at some point in 2024, the mall began allowing stores to stay open on those days.
Paramus Mayor Christopher DiPiazza spoke on the subject, saying, “This puts our shopping centers, our malls, our retailers at a disadvantage, an unfair disadvantage, and with that can hurt the taxpayers and the residents that I serve,” as reported on CBS.
Paramus is home to many shopping centers, such as Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park, and Bergen Town Center, which have all adhered to the blue laws since their openings. While it may be helpful for some to be able to shop at the American Dream on Sundays, it does hurt the many retailers of Paramus and others in Bergen County.
In mid-August, the mall made its opinion public with a large billboard on the side of the mall reading, “ALL STORES OPEN SUNDAYS.” Gregg Schwartz, a spokesperson for the mall, said the lawsuit is a political stunt and stated that “It is well established that Bergen County’s blue laws do not apply to property owned by the State,” according to The New York Times. The land is owned by the NJSEA, a state-managed agency, making the land a state-owned property.
While the current mayor of East Rutherford, Jefferey Lahullier, failed to comment on the lawsuit, the previous mayor, James Cassella, did comment. Cassella claimed that he is unsure whose job it is to enforce the blue laws, adding that “They certainly don’t have blue law police running around.”
There are varying opinions on the subject, and THS students expressed their views.
“I don’t think that American Dream Mall should be sued,” Amanda Forman (’27) said. “As a teen myself, I normally get bored, especially on Sundays, so having the option to go to a mall, like the American Dream, could be great. ”
“It makes sense that the mall is being sued by Paramus,” Ishaan Juthani (’27) said. “Considering the borough of Paramus has malls and stores that have been closed on Sundays for years, it is unfair that the American Dream would get to stay open on Sundays. Either blue laws should be abolished for all, or the American Dream should not be open on Sundays.”
Since the lawsuit was filed, there have been no updates from Paramus or the American Dream.
