The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
Everyone moves to the United States in the hopes of one day gaining full citizenship, thus moving themselves and their loved ones on the path to perhaps a better, more stable life. At least, this is what the American dream stands for, and what many people who work here eventually aspire to. If this sounds like you and you’re interested in securing a green card at some point, then read on for more information.
Continue reading Step-by-Step Guide on How to Process Your Migration
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East Rutherford NJ, After nearly two decades of construction delays and billions pumped in from New Jersey tax payers , New Jersey’s mega-mall American Dream partially opened last October. Six months later, the three-million-square-foot venue was forced to close its doors because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, even as the state continues its gradual reopening, there is still no reopening date for the $5 billion mall. As NJ.com reported, owner Triple Five Group has missed three consecutive mortgage payments and retail tenants are getting out of their leases at the space. On top of that, contractors and subcontractors have filed over $13 million in construction liens for unpaid work.
Continue reading Retail Apocalypse, No reopening plans for NJ’s Xanadu American Dream Mall
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EAST RUTHERFORD NJ, Friday marks the official opening of the American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Nickelodeon Universe, the largest indoor theme park in the Western Hemisphere, and The Rink – an NHL-size ice skating and hockey facility opened to guests, marking the first chapter in the revolutionary destination’s opening.
Don Ghermezian, CEO of American Dream and President of Triple Five, and Ken Downing, Chief Creative Officer of Triple Five greeted guests as they descended the stairs into Nickelodeon Universe. They were joined by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. The crowd of over 2500 was entertained by a host of Nickelodeon characters including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dora the Explorer and the Clifton Mustang Marching Band surprised and delighted guests in a parade through the park led by SpongeBob Square Pants.
Continue reading AMERICAN DREAM UNVEILS NICKELODEON UNIVERSE AND THE RINK
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East Rutherford NJ, we have heard all this before but the “American Dream Mall ‘ aka Xanadu is threatening to be open October 25th of this year .
It will bring thousands of jobs to the area , tourists from all over the world and promises of traffic nightmares for the next 10 generations.
First conceived in 2003 and most likely the single dumbest idea ever conceived by the state of New Jersey .Just what Bergen County needs another Mall. Originally the Sports Authority folly was known as Xanadu. Billed by Governor Christie as the “ugliest building in the world” it’s gone from one disaster to the next and one owner to the next over the past decade.
Continue reading “American Dream Mall ‘ aka Xanadu Opens in October ????
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East Rutherford NJ, NJ TRANSIT can help you reach American Dream, New Jersey’s new entertainment, retail, and dining destination in the Meadowlands, with express bus service every 30 minutes, convenient connections from every train line that serves Secaucus Junction, and easy access from multiple local bus routes.
Continue reading NJ TRANSIT Express Bus Service to the American Dream Mall
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East Rutherford NJ, Today Governor Murphy stood alongside developers to promote the American Dream mega-mall proposal in the Meadowlands. The American Dream proposal includes 109 acres being added to the Paterson Plank Road Redevelopment Area. This project with a mall and entertainment complex was supposed to open years ago. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority would give the final approval on which properties would be added for redevelopment. The Meadowlands is an extremely environmentally sensitive and flood-prone area and the New Jersey Sierra Club opposes this development.
the staff of the Ridgewood
EAST RUTHERFORD NJ, Recognizing the economic significance of the American Dream project to the State and New Jersey’s working families, Governor Phil Murphy today visited with construction workers at the three million square foot entertainment, retail and dining complex. The Governor expressed his appreciation to the men and women of the building construction trades and the Bergen County Building & Construction Trades Council for their contributions to the growth and expansion of New Jersey’s economy.
Continue reading Xanadu : Governor Murphy Touts American Dream Investment in New Jersey’s Economy
John Brennan , Staff Writer, @BergenBrennanPublished 11:41 a.m. ET May 20, 2017 | Updated 10:47 p.m. ET May 20, 2017
In a move that could turn out to be the trigger for turning the long-dormant American Dream Meadowlands into a reality, project operator Triple Five announced late Friday that it has closed on $1.6 billion in construction financing for the long-stalled project.
The deal is expected to set the stage in the coming days or weeks for a billion-dollar bond issuance that would provide the rest of the funding for the 2.9 million square foot first phase of the entertainment and retail project.
By SCOTT FALLON
Posted: Feb. 18, 2017 8:00 am Updated: Feb. 18, 2017 11:54 am
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — When the owners of American Dream unveiled their latest renderings of the Meadowlands mall and entertainment complex in December, some saw the new glass facade as a significant upgrade from the much reviled boxy exterior.
Don Torino, however, saw only death.
The president of the Bergen Audubon Society feared the glass exterior could be deadly to the barn swallows, marsh wrens and dozens of other bird species that migrate through the Meadowlands each year.
Birds slam into buildings at alarming rates. Studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate that buildings with reflective glass kill 303 million birds each year, ranking second only to cats in bird kills. Birds can’t see reflective glass well, mistaking it for clear air space. Like moths, they are also attracted to bright lights at night when they migrate and often cannot sense that those lights are part of a larger structure.
“It’s pretty simple: If you put a glassy building in a place where birds migrate, like the Meadowlands, the likelihood of a bird hitting it is high,” Susan Elbin, director of conservation and science for New York City Audubon, told The Record (https://bit.ly/2m8fdi6).
Ridgewood NJ, According to Rep Scott Garrett (NJ CD5) ,”Washington just can’t stop spending your money”. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report this week that confirms our national debt is spiraling out of control even faster than previously thought. This new projection paints a bleak picture of the United States’ finances as the CBO estimates that deficits will grow for the next ten years, starting with an additional $56 billion in 2016 alone.
Rep. Scott Garrett lays the blame for slow economic growth and slipping standards of living that are hurting the middle class on deficits, “Lack of economic growth and ever-growing deficits are yet more indications that Washington-first policies are not working. Every year the government spends more money than it takes in, adding more money to our national debt and increasing the threat of a fiscal crisis. We already feel the effects of a sputtering economy in towns across New Jersey’s Fifth District as families struggle to get ahead and create a better life.”
Democrats argue that we need tax increases to balance the budget. In reality, hardworking Americans shouldn’t shell out another penny while Washington continues to spend with no regard for the future of our country. Garrett reminds us ,”The problem isn’t that Americans don’t send enough money to Washington; the problem is Washington spends too much. ”
Garret goes on , “I support balancing the budget like every family has to. To start paying down the debt, we need to cut wasteful spending and hold the government accountable. As a senior member of the House Budget Committee, one of my biggest priorities in Congress is making sure the government lives within its means. My amendment to the Republican Budget calling for sensible spending reforms was the only amendment to gain the support of the full Budget Committee.”
Rep. Garrett summarized , “Spending more money than we have is dangerously short-sighted and continues to stifle the economic future of our country. I will continue fighting to rein-in Washington’s out-of-control spending so our children and grandchildren can have an opportunity to achieve their own American Dream.”
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015, 5:49 PM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Ten more retailers were announced for American Dream Meadowlands on Monday by developer Triple Five, which has set fall 2017 as the opening for the shopping and entertainment complex.
Familiar women’s clothing retailers Victoria’s Secret and Lulelemon are joined by venerable mall stores Banana Republic and The Gap; MAC cosmetics; and a Microsoft computer store. Also on the latest list are Aritzia, Uniqlo, Zara, and Pink.
Triple Five president Don Ghermezian called the latest round of announcements “just the beginning” of a rollout that he said would set a new standard for “the New York metropolitan market.” Ghermezian recently promised to make deals with “SoHo boutique-style” retailers that traditionally have not been found in malls.
The new signups follow last week’s announcement of Hermes as well as news earlier this month that a Saks Fifth OFF Fifth outlet store as well as 100,000-square-foot anchor tenants Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. Ghermezian said the latter two stores would be the largest at the site.
The 2.9-million-square-foot American Dream shopping and entertainment project is to include a 639,000-square-foot indoor water and amusement park currently under construction, as well as a 22-screen movie complex, an indoor snowdome, a 286-foot observation wheel, and other attractions.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/american-dream-adding-10-more-retailers-1.1415006
Compared to their counterparts in recent years, high-school seniors in the mid-1990s appeared to have more faith in social mobility and less confidence in the power of having money.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
JOE PINSKER
JUN 15, 2015
In 1996, when asked a series of questions about the brightness of her future, one high-school senior in an unnamed Midwestern state said, “There’s been extraordinary examples of people that have been poor and stuff that have risen to the top just from their personal hard work … not everybody can do that, I realize, but I think a lot of people could if they just tried.”
In 2011, a survey with identically worded questions was done in the same state, with the same age group. “You can always work hard, but if you aren’t given the opportunity or you don’t have the funds to be able to continue working hard then you never get the chance to get out of where you are,” said one student.
What a difference 15 years makes. In the 1990s, those loosed upon the world after high-school graduation faced a booming economy and relatively sunny job prospects; more recently, high-school and college graduates have faced less hospitable conditions. A study published recently in the Journal of Povertyjuxtaposes adolescents’ perceptions from those two eras, and the results, while qualitative and limited by their small sample size, suggest that young Americans’ outlook on social mobility has gotten bleaker. (The study’s findings align with a more-expansive survey of young people suggesting an erosion of confidence in the American Dream.)
Report of Izod Center deal was ‘error,’ American Dream developers say
DECEMBER 9, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014, 6:40 PM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
American Dream Meadowlands developer Triple Five, which has been touting scores of leases and commitments to the 2.9 million-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex, on Tuesday backed away from a claim about taking over the adjacent Izod Center.
The four-page “Monthly Status Update” distributed to a number of real estate brokers at a shopping center conference in New York this week refers to an intention to “Re-brand Izod Center to American Dream Center in partnership with the owners of Barclays Center & Live Nation.”
But the 33-year-old arena is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, and agency President Wayne Hasenbalg said “that decision hasn’t been made, and we have no conversations with [Triple Five] about that. We are the entity that would decide to whom we turned over operations.”
Alan Marcus, a spokesman for Triple Five, said the arena notice was in error, but said he could not explain how it ended up in the status update. The update, distributed to many attendees at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention at the Javits Center, which ended Tuesday, also listed FAO Schwarz, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and scores of other retailers.
“The only thing that would be accurate to say is that should Izod become available for lease, purchase or otherwise, we would undoubtedly participate in any privatization process, given our commitment to expanding entertainment opportunities in conjunction with American Dream,” Marcus said.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-state-news/report-of-izod-center-deal-was-error-american-dream-developers-say-1.1149225
Why welfare, minimum wage make it harder for poor Americans to succeed
By John Stossel
Published October 08, 2014
FoxNews.com
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson declared “War on Poverty.” It sounded great to me.
I was taught at Princeton, “We’re a rich country. All we have to do is tax the rich, and then use that money to create programs that will lift the poor out of poverty.” Government created job-training programs for the strong and expanded social security for the weak.
It seemed to work. The poverty rate dropped from 17 percent to 12 percent in the programs’ first decade. Unfortunately, few people noticed that during the half-decade before the “War,” the rate dropped from 22 percent to 17 percent. Without big government, Americans were already lifting themselves out of poverty!
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/10/08/why-welfare-mimimum-wage-make-it-harder-for-poor-americans-to-succeed/
