the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Paramus NJ, Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza has announced that the borough is considering legal action against the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford for operating on Sundays—potentially violating Bergen County’s Blue Laws.
In an interview on WOR 710AM’s “Mendte in the Morning”, DiPiazza emphasized the need for a level playing field, arguing that while malls and shopping centers in Paramus remain closed on Sundays, American Dream remains open, creating unfair competition just eight miles away.
Paramus vs. American Dream: The Blue Laws Debate
Bergen County’s Blue Laws, which date back to the 17th century, prohibit the sale of non-essential retail items—including clothing, furniture, appliances, and cars—on Sundays.
While Paramus retailers, including Westfield Garden State Plaza and Paramus Park Mall, strictly adhere to these laws, American Dream continues to operate retail stores on Sundays.
Mayor DiPiazza warned that legal action may be pursued to enforce compliance:
“It’s all about having a fair, level playing field. Our malls and shopping centers follow the Blue Laws, but American Dream is open on Sundays. That’s unfair competition.”
A Controversial Issue: Should Blue Laws Be Enforced?
The enforcement of Bergen County’s Blue Laws has been a long-standing debate. While supporters argue the laws help reduce traffic congestion and provide a day of rest, opponents claim they are outdated and hurt businesses.
Online discussions have also fueled speculation. A Reddit user shared their experience at American Dream Mall on a Sunday:
“I was expecting a quiet day since Blue Laws are in effect, but instead, the mall was PACKED. 95% of shops were open and fully processing transactions.”
Despite this, American Dream’s official website lists Sunday retail hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., indicating that businesses may not be following the county-wide restrictions.
Mayor DiPiazza: Paramus Malls Could Open on Sundays Too
In response to the American Dream Mall’s Sunday operations, DiPiazza hinted at a potential shift in Paramus’s long-standing Blue Laws policy:
“They should be careful what they wish for, because if Paramus malls open on Sundays, American Dream will probably be a ghost town shortly after that.”
While open to discussions with American Dream representatives before escalating the issue to litigation, DiPiazza made it clear that Paramus is ready to take legal action if necessary.
“For decades, our malls have been closed, and it’s been a level playing field. Now, suddenly, it’s not.”
What’s Next?
As Paramus considers legal action, the debate over Blue Laws enforcement in Bergen County continues.
Will American Dream be forced to close on Sundays, or will Paramus retailers push for a rule change that allows them to compete?
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Paramus is a way better run town than Ridgewood
If the mayor had a set up balls, he would try to revamp the law open up on Sunday have a day like Wayne does and just maybe Paramus wouldn’t lose a tremendous amount of business on a Sunday to other locations, not only are they loose business on a Sunday to these other locations that are open. Monday and Tuesday R slow days.. how can you have a law from one county to the next? It’s so stupid, that’s an old Dutch law. One most broken County was farms and Sunday was church day, well now you have a mix of people in religion and they don’t give a shit about anyone’s religion. This is about business religion should not get in the way of a law just like the old Ebeneezer never had a TV, or they will put the TV in the closet, right
Business profits should not get in the way of the quality of life for the persons that live in that town. Mondays and Tuesdays might be slower business days but the traffic in Paramus is still ridiculous. Sundays seem to be the only day traffic is relatively light. Repeal of the blue laws might not adversely affect the quality of life in other towns as they don’t have wall-to-wall businesses and three major highways running through them. It’s fine if you have a small downtown with a few stores. It’s another thing when you have a huge amount of businesses and major traffic volume.
Paramus should not repeal it’s blue laws even if the rest of the county does. Paramus residents matter.
If you chose to live in Paramus because the quality of life is better on Sundays that is just plain foolish. Many Paramus residents have businesses themselves that could bring in a lot more money if they could be open Sundays.
Let’s see. Keep building new stores, further congest the highways and back roads and smile about it. Greed overrules quality of life. Foolish. Enough said.
How would you like to live in a town where 265,000+ vehicles pass through it daily? And now we want to make the problem worse.
Money will win out in the end.
More stores, more apts, more ppl, more cars, same roads. You do the math