Mall Rats
As a kid in the ‘80s, going to the mall was a huge deal. We’d save money to play video games in the arcade, buy pizza in the food court, and even throwing stars from the martial arts kiosk. If we had extra money from a birthday or Christmas, maybe we’d buy something extra special, like a pair of Guess jeans or a Swatch watch.
Today, I’m assuming kids in East Rutherford, New Jersey, also love going to the mall to shop (only for significantly less cooler clothes). Just not on Sundays.
The massive American Dream mall, located in East Rutherford, boasts an indoor ski slope, an artificial surfing wave pool, roller coasters, and 120 big-name retail stores. The mall is housed in Bergen County, which still has a “blue law” on the books, or one which restricts or prohibits certain activities, like the sale of non-essential goods on Sundays, which includes appliances, furniture, and clothing.
Blue laws trace back to the 1600s and were modeled after English Sabbath canon to promote a day of rest. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is constitutional for states to create laws requiring a day of rest. Despite the ruling, by the 20th century, most of these laws were either repealed or simply ignored.
New Jersey, however, remains one of the few states that still enforces blue laws in specific areas. They used to be far stricter and were enforced statewide. Business operations were not only banned, but also leisure activities and nonessential travel. Twice Bergen County voters previously rejected efforts to end the Sunday shopping ban, once in 1980, and again in 1993.
Officials from Paramus, another major shopping city located in Bergen County that has three large malls and miles of strip malls, recently sued Ameream, LLC, the Delaware-based company that owns the American Dream mall. The lawsuit, filed in Bergen County Superior Court, accuses the mall and its stores of violating the county’s ban on selling clothes on Sundays.
The American Dream mall opened in 2019, and is adjacent to MetLife Stadium, where the NFL’s Jets and Giants play. The borough of East Rutherford and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) own the land the mall is located on and lease it to Ameream. As a result, these landlords were also named in the suit.
The plan was that the retail stores within the mall would close on Sundays, but the theme parks in it would remain open. However, due to the big crowds in the area, particularly on game days, retailers in the mall have reportedly been open for business for a while.
“These businesses, with the encouragement and support of the mall’s ownership and the acquiescence of the other defendants here, have violated the law hundreds if not thousands of times since January,” the suit read. Paramus Mayor Christopher DiPiazza asserted that American Dream had “promised on record” that it would follow the county’s blue laws once it opened.
American Dream countered that Bergen County’s blue laws don’t apply to the complex, because it sits on state-owned property, which is not subject to county ordinances. “It is well established that Bergen County’s Blue Laws do not apply to property owned by the state,” a spokesperson for the mall said. “American Dream is on state property where retail sales have occurred on Sundays for decades.”
Mall officials characterize the lawsuit as “a meritless political stunt driven by private competitors’ interests,” and said, “We look forward to our day in court.”
In the mall’s defense, given how the Jets and Giants fared last year, I would rather go shopping than watch them play.
Reg P. Wydeven
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