When Is a Mall Open and When Can It Be Open on Sundays?
It was conceived as the Meadowlands Xanadu, with construction beginning in 2004. Under that name, much like Citizen Kane’s mansion of the same name (below), it was never completed. There were ownership changes, construction delays, and finally staged openings beginning in 2019. First, there was the indoor theme park. Next came the water park. Third was the ski slope. The full mall, with 350 retail stores and 100 restaurants, was slated to open in March, 2020.
Eventually, the full site opened as the American Dream Mall. With 450 stores and 100 eateries, in addition to the other attractions mentioned above. But controversies and struggles persist for the venue, including two legal controversies.
Unfortunately, I can’t find any links to the relevant legal documents. Here’s a video that explains why a judge ordered American Dream to pay $13 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs). Basically, American Dream was claiming that the obligation to pay did not kick in until the mall was 100% occupied. A Bergen County judge disagreed and ordered back payments from the date the mall first opened in 2019. Surrounding communities are also seeking PILOT payments, so the fun will continue.
In addition, Christopher Maag and Lauren Hard report in The New York Times that Paramus, New Jersey is also suing the Mall for violating the local Blue Laws by selling merchandise on Sunday. The Act to Suppress Vice and Immorality dates from 1798 and imposes fines of up to $5000 and up to six months’ incarceration for any person who violates it. The Act prohibits the sale of “clothing or wearing apparel, building and lumber supply materials, furniture, home or business or office furnishings, household, business or office appliances.” Such laws have been repealed in most U.S. localities, but not in Paramus. If the fines are levied per occurrence, Paramus is going to be fully funded for some time.
The Mall has a large billboard facing the New Jersey Turnpike that brags “ALL STORES OPEN SUNDAYS,” as if to thumb its nose at pious residents who think that sales on Sundays are a serious threat to New Jersey’s efforts to suppress vice and immorality. The Mall, however, is not without a defense. It argues that it is situated on state lands and thus is beyond the reach of the county’s laws. Unfortunately, according to the Times’ reporting, the Mall’s owners pledged back in 2012 that the Mall would comply with all existing blue laws. Estoppel?
New Jersey counties that have elected to retain their blue laws are not necessarily being censorious. The real issue is traffic. Said one resident, “It’s so wonderful driving around without all that traffic.” There is something rather odd about this logic. You don’t want people driving so that you can enjoy driving? Perhaps eventually some Yogi Berra logic will take hold: The Mall? Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded! On the other side are the shoppers, for whom being able to shop (and swim and ski and surf) on Sundays is a major convenience. And then there is the argument that having the Mall open on Sunday creates job opportunities.
Paramus has also sued various state entities and subdivisions: Bergen County, the borough of East Rutherford, and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, all of which are turning a blind eye to the Mall’s violation of the blue laws. It is unclear who or what entity has the authority to enforce the blue laws. Does the Mall have an argument that the blue laws are void by desuetude?