Bergen County is about 900,000 people spread over hundreds of square miles. It is also the last remaining county in NJ with Blue Laws. Can someone please contact the counties/towns that gave up their Blue Laws to see what happened? Did accident rates skyrocket? How about employment or business activity? Do those counties regret leaving the Blue Laws behind or have they simply adjusted and moved on? Politics, especially local poiitics, worries me: opinion can be better than facts. Start with knowing the facts, then mix in some opinion, to come to a position. Too often opinion is simply saying what other people want to hear.

Leaving it up to the towns is a thoughtful option...personally, if traffic is the issue, I think spreading it out over two weekend days would make Saturdays less crazy on the roads, with everyone now rushing to get their shopping done on that one day. If it's "religion" that's at the heart of the matter...not only does that appear to be unconstitutional (whatever happened to separation of church and state?) but clearly prejudicial to some towns who have a high Jewish population -- the "holy" day is not always Sunday. How about giving people choice, according to their own needs?

Yes it's time to join the rest of state of jersey!!!!!!

The antiquated blue laws are absolutely ridiculous and it's time for them to go!

Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbieria has been quoted as saying,

"Don't worry about Paramus and we won't worry about what you do in your town."

From that I can only assume that he and the Paramus town council will not stand in the way letting other towns make their own decisions regarding blue laws. Let's make sure they have that right.

The Blue Laws are discriminatory, arbitrary, and counter-productive, while at the same time impose serious negative impacts on local community livability and economic livlihood. For these reasons alone they should be abolished.

It would be fantastic if towns were allowed the choice of eliminating these harmful and inappropriate restrictions, because once this succeeds in just one place, the true nature of the ruse will be seen for what it is and the whole house of cards would soon collapse afterward. Unfortunately, Paramus, out of their own self-interest, will resist this option at all costs, because they clearly see the writing on the wall, and will desperately cling to the status quo, so as to preserve their existing commercial ratable advantage.

If you lived in a town with access to Route 4 or Route 17 you would support keeping the blue laws in place. Quality of life is an issue throughout Bergen County, but especially in those towns. We cannot visit family or go to church or go see a movie without sitting in traffic that is ridiculous on Saturday. Our town police are responsible for our small parts of these roads and are out taking care of that mess instead of helping residents. These blue laws should be for us to decide and not the owners of the stores who do not live here.

It is insane that this law still exists..country in recession and businesses forced to close on sunday..most people who want this law are the ones who alwaysssss complain anyway and their purpose is to block any business or change in town..the ones who barely go out..is time for change and to give those businesses a chance for further growth.

Laura, if we look at a town like Paramus, we see that the residents' property taxes are EXTREMELY low compared to the rest of the county because of all the ratables provided by those businesses. The local police are not responsible for route 4 and route 17, the county PD is and those local police in Paramus are amongst the highest paid in Bergen County and in the entire United States for that matter, once again, precisely because of all those ratables from all those "evil businesses". So, yes, there is unfortunately going to be some cost trade offs to all those benefits the businesses bring...doesn't mean the blue laws should or will remain. Also, opening on Sunday would actually help relieve all that Saturday traffic.

Paramus can and should keep their own blue laws. Paramus is after all the source of all the traffic. If every other town in Bergen County except Paramus lifted the blue laws, traffic on Sundays would not increase appreciably since it would be scattered around the downtowns rather than concentrated as it currently is, toward Routes 4 and 17,

Let's be clear. Paramus holds the cards. No one is fighting to get to Cedar Lane in Teaneck on ANY day of the week, much less Sunday. People want the mall, and Riverside will not satisfy that itch, IMO.

Paramus can keep the blue laws in for form of a township ordinance. Why penalize other towns who would like to have their Main streets fully open for business?

If one sees it as selfish to end blue laws I also see it as selfish to have the expectation that the residents of 65 other towns not have the option for businesses to open.

If anyone has a real problem finding a place to shop on Sunday, they just aren't familiar with the area! Secaucus, Elizabeth, Wayne are all within 1/2 an hour1 Shop there on Sunday's & leave our highways empty! It's a pleasure to get on the highway on a Sunday & I, for one, LOVE the blue laws. Voted FOR them in 1993 (?) & would vote for them again in a second! For the record, I'm an orthodox Jew, I don't find the laws discriminatory in any way & when I see the traffic on Route 4 (as I walk over the bridge)on Saturday, I can only feel sorry for all the yutzes who have to be in their cars, on the highway, on a Saturday. How could anyone want that on Sundays, too???? Pullleeaazzee!!

The solution to the Blue Law debate is clear....let each municipality determine whether stores should be open or closed on Sunday within their borders.

Anyone from Paramus have a problem with that?

I believe your politicians did the last time that idea was considered.

Laura, some towns CHOOSE to take accident reports on 17 or 4 but they can if so overwhelmed as you say they are by the highways, call the county to cover it as they do in other towns. That is what the county pd does. they are the county's highway patrol!

Laura and Debbie S - Yes, I fully appreciate your concern regarding traffic on RT 4 and Rt 17. My question for you is do you believe that towns other than Paramus have the right to keep their busineses open on Sundays if the citizens of those towns want them open?

Perhaps the citizens of let's say Englewood or Tenafly would like to walk outside and actually buy something without having to drive a half hour to Nyack NY.

Sure, I could drive to the Home Depot in Secaucus, the Ikea in Elizabeth, the mall in Livingston or the Target in Wayne on Sunday. I could do that on Tuesday also. But I live in Bergen County and try to save gas by shopping locally. The logic that tells me I can spend my money elsewhere and waste gas doing it might as well be telling me that we should close all local stores because NYC is right over the bridge and, hey, I hear they have a Costco there.

Voting for or against the Blue Laws should be done by each town individually. There must be a reason that no one else in the country still has the Blue Laws. I think that Paramus is in a unique position. It probably has the highest concentration of malls within concentrated residential areas than any place in the country. Paramus clearly does not want shopping there on Sundays and that is understandable. They make a ton of revenue during the six days, don't need Sunday business and don't want the traffic. What about the rest of Bergen County? Many of the other towns have small store main streets that could really use the option of Sunday shoppers to make a living and help their towns thrive as well. The rest of the towns in Bergen County should be able to decide for themselves.

Some reasons why Bergen County blue laws are great, wonderful & amazing:

* A guaranteed (weekend) day of rest/break for workers, small business’ owners, and local residents.
* No competition, especially from big stores that forces many employees to work (corporate themselves do not work on weekends). Now small business’ owners must be open on Sundays to compete!
* No horrible heavy traffic congestion like rest of the week!
* Quiet & Peaceful Sundays (Remember we are suburban area!)
* Lower crime rate, pollution & litter in our towns and streets.
* Better infrastructure (+ Less money needed to fix roads and highways)
* Significant savings of electricity, gasoline, and other costs.
* Lower property taxes (Open 7 days means more cost in terms of everything)
* Higher Quality of life & Lower unemployment rate (Just like some nations with similar or stricter
blue laws, such as Germany, Austria, Norway, and Switzerland)
* Americans are unfortunately known for working many hours with few or no days off
unlike other western nations. It is selfish, bad, and dangerous for the society and us. Life is short!

Bergen County towns still make more money in retail annually than any other place in the nation - all in 6 days!
Retail stores (Both small and large) come here and open businesses in the county knowing about the blue laws, and they love the location here. Stores are open for very long hours rest of the week anyway, which is more than enough!

@Beth Rosenberg/Saturday, February 16, 2013

You wrote this on a Saturday?

Residents are limited in terms of shoping. They are forced to drive long distances wasting a lot of gas and contributing to global warming.

We need to be more competitive... let the businesses open and compete with others.

Redistributing the traffic to seven days should help ease traffic for the whole week.

Sundays would be peaceful if we can do what we want to do. We live in the year 2013 and in America. We should be free from the tyrany of Bergen county in terms of when we can shop.

Our infrastructure will be better off when the traffic is distriduted over 7 days and the increased revenue can pay for improving our infrastructure.

Our porperty taxes will be lower if the businesses are open seven days a week genrating more revenue for the towns.

Having mroe businesses open an additional day will result in more employment for our residents that would help lower the unemployment rate.

Working over time means we get a higher hourly rate. For a lot of residents who work in stores this would help their bottom line. The stores will have to employ additional help or pay higher rate to the current employees.

Bergen County towns will make more money in retail annually than what they do in 6 days! Stores will open for very long hours and having an additional day will only enhance the quality of life for the residents. It is good for the business and good for the consumers.

We should vote for giving choice to individual towns rather than keeping or not keeping the blue laws. It is only fair and balanced. ;)

Let the towns who want blue laws keep them while giving the freedom to the rest of the freedom lovers......

I believe that each town should be able to decide whether or not they want to uphold the Blue Laws. If Paramus residents still want to keep those archaic Blue Laws, so be it, but the rest of the county should be able to get in step with the rest of the country!

I feel that the leaders of the Borough of Paramus have encouraged a hysteria about the idea of Sunday shopping, frightening the residents about what would happen if the stores were open then. I do believe it would be anticlimactic - some of the current Saturday shoppers would switch to Sunday and there would be two weekend days that would be about equal, where traffic is concerned.

Blue Laws have outlived whatever usefulness they might have had, and it is vitally important that county residents stay on top of this issue and make their opinions heard.

Councilman Katz of Teaneck deserves great praise for having the courage to articulate a thoughtful response and inject a welcome dose of reason. Too many other politicians simply remain silent, rather than challenge the irrational fears, ignorance, and outright hysteria surrounding this issue.

The blue laws are a holdover to a time in which most households in Bergen County consisted of a husband who worked and a wife who stayed-at-home and could shop during the week at her convenience. Perhaps "Beth Rosenberg", is lucky enough to be in that minority. The rest of us have to scramble to do our shopping on the one day a week where we are home and the stores are open. No wonder the traffic is so terrible on Saturdays. People who can't shop on Saturdays, by dint of religious or personal preferences, have to get in their cars and export their buying power to jurisdictions outside of Bergen County.

While I support the right of towns like Teaneck to opt out of the Blue Laws, I am also highly supportive of the right of towns like Paramus to retain their blue laws in full force. I hate the mall traffic as much as anybody. As long as Paramus retains their blue laws, allowing other towns to opt out of the blue laws is not likely to generate alot of traffic congestion ion Sundays. The biggest source of traffic congestion on Saturdays is due to the concentration of major retail outlets in Paramus. With towns opting out, Sunday traffic will be dispersed countywide, generally serving local rather than regional demand.

New idea - allow townships to vote on rescinding blue laws but require Paramus keep them. All traffic will be internal so rte 4 won't get clogged. And since the malls would HAVE to be closed, local towns' business districts will benefit.

Union Yankee-65
02/19/2013

For the record: The whole present issue is about commerce in Begen County-State of New Jersey state statues which allow or grant to the various counties and municiplities within the state in which, by referendum of the voters Sunday sales are prohibited, in my opinion discriminates against local business and corporations operations livelihood and sustainance. Thus, by the very act by the State of New Jersey legislating and the enactment of state statute 'Blue Laws' and to thereby constitute a direct of regulating intrastate activities per se is indicative of the regulation of commerce which would be a violation of federal law to which the federal government claims to regulate in-state commerce citing the "dorment" [Commerce Clause: {Article 01, Section 03, Clause 3, of the United States Constitution]] This present matter should prove very interesting since in my opinion, and I am nearly 100% sure, since that- the federal government trumps the state-

Vinney-A concerned resident of the State of California-

02/20/13

From: Vin-

To: Mark Ruckhaus-

In reply-It is the principle and the law of the matter-This matter could pose serious adverse implications not only to the residents within the State of New Jersey and various municipalities and counties within the state but possibly to other states: This truly matter is a matter of immediate concern and brings the high possibility of judicial proceedings (a court of jurisdiction) being filed against the State of New Jersey. In my opinion the State of New Jersey granting through the enactment and legislation with respect to: state statute [Title 40A Municipalities and Counties-40A:64-1/Certain Sunday sales prohibited] 40A: 64-1/64-5] (Blue Law) various municipalities and counties within the state seems to be unlawful under federal law.The US Supreme Court finding that businesses done even at a purely local level could become part of a continuous "current" of commerce that involved the interstate movement pf goods and services. So, once again in my opinion-there is the possiblity that the state of New Jersey could be in the business of regulating intrastate activities? [Commerce Clause: {Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3}] of the United States Constitution.

This matter, obviously is a matter requiring adjudication before the courts. (A court of jurisdiction.)

Vin-

From: Vin-
To: Mark-

In my opinion: This matter is not about a choice about a referendum , either for ratification or rejection by the voters of the County of Bergen, but the unconstitutionality with respect to the state code. And no, I don't believe for a moment that this matter has to be a case of 'hardship' in order for it to heard before the courts. I believe that there will be standing in the matter-Once the plaintiff files a complaint with the New Jersey State Attorney Generals' Office I think you are going to see just the beginning of a long-waging court-proceeding-

02/22/13

From Vin:
To: Mark

Should this matter proceed to juducial proceedings, and I highly think that this may be the case: It is only a matter of time in my belief-the standing on behalf of the plaintiff will be; (A) Unconstititutionality with respect to New Jersey state and/in violation to the United States Constitution. [Commerce Clause] (B) Violation of Religious liberties.-

Obviously, this is a federal jurisdictional matter-

It will be quite interesting once this case is filed in the courts and judicial proceedings commence to see the course of the outcome. I understand that there are other individuals presently in the County of Bergen and may God bless their efforts in doing so, attempting to secure enough votes for a referendum to repeal the municipal and county 'Blue Law' ordincances. However, I believe that route being utilized is somewhat impractical in that we are dealing with issues in conflict and in violation to the United States Constitution and need to be adjudicated before the courts. An illegal referendum procedure enactment by the State of new Jersey?

Vin-

:

02/22/13

From; Vin
To:Mark

I did submit to the County Executive of Bergen County a letter of concerning the State of New Jersey State Code [40A Municipalities and Counties-40A:64-1/Certain Sunday sales prohibited] (Blue Law) although with my understanding that with respect to the matter, it is beyond the scope and jurisdiction of the county in that it is the State of New Jersey that legislated the code to begin with and that any resolvement forthcoming would of course be directed through judicial proeedings against the state. The County of Bergen including the City of Paramus have only implemented such ordinances because the State of New Jersey to begin with sanctioned sanctioned such legislation. Therefore the state (and I know that these laws have that having been around for quite some time for and whatever reason that they were enacted) would justly and legally be held accountable. Not the municipalities or counties therein. These 'Blue Laws' are no doubt the result of antiquated Puritanical laws. The people of New Jersery should not under any circumstances have to submit to such state applied repressive measures when it comes down to having to deny a person or business means of livelihood. It doesn't matter how many days of the week or what day of the week. Civil and religious liberties here at stake!

Vin

Vin,

I hate to ask you this as you're from California, but why do you care so much about what goes on 3,000 miles away? Forgive me, but are you from the ACLU? If so, what about my liberties, such as enjoying a quiet Sunday without all that nasty traffic? You've got 6 days; give me 1. That's more than fair.

Though the laws are a result of antiquated puritanical laws (no disagreement with you there), that they're here NOW is another reason entirely. As memory serves me, it wasn't the temperance police who pushed for those two votes in '80 & '93 and the population of the county isn't exactly filled with them, either. Simply put, it appears people are quite content with a "closed" sign for most businesses on Sunday.

If civil and religious liberties are at stake, I'm amenable to those folks who observe their sabbath on other days to close for those other days (which would be very profitable Friday, Friday night and Saturday) and open Sunday. How does that sound to you?

And, about those shoppers who can't shop on Friday and Saturday? Tough. Why? Because, as traffic is generally so congested most of the week around here and Saturday is generally awful, too, to make a trip to a nearby mall outside of the county may take as much time, or even less, than navigating the roads around here on a normal day. You can burn the same amount of gas and time crawling along for five miles as you can driving 15-20 miles to Willowbrook or the Palisades Center on a much quieter Sunday.

02/23/13

From: Vin-
To: Mark-

As a fellow American I am quite concerned about the current plight that the citizens of the County of Bergen as well as all municipalities concerned therein are experiencing with regards to the Blue Law ordinance enforement. American citizenry should not have to tolerate such repressive measures when a business owner or corporation primary means of livelihood (01) is obstructed from conducting normal business operations be it Sunday or givn day of the week. Opponents to the repeal of the these ordinances claim problems wth traffic congestion: Problems? Why not resolve the issue with traffic control merasures? Most municipalities and counties with the Union usually have no problem do so!

But, to deprive a man of his livelihood, should he own a small or large business is on any given day of the week is unthinkable!

Think about it squarely opponents-

Vin-

Vin,

The "plight" not to be able to go shopping on Sunday? Come on, sir.

And the "plight" about the third most profitable mall in this country not being able to open on Sunday. Oh, woe is me!

If the Sunday thing is an issue for religious reasons for some folks, as I've said, I'm amenable for them to open Sunday in return for closing on their sabbath. Would that be a fair trade off for you?

As far as traffic control, this isn't California with four- and five-lane freeways all over the place. The roads around here, specifically Routes 4 & 17, which slice through Paramus and where a lot of the big shopping is done in the county, were built in the 1920's & '30s. Fortunately, the bottleneck at the 4 & 17 intersection was fixed fifteen or so years ago, but the roads are still heavily congested. But if you have ideas for traffic control, I'm all ears. And, if one of those solutions involves limiting when and where people can drive at a given time, you can just throw that one out as it will be limiting their civil liberties, right? :-)

Then again, maybe it'll take someone from 3,000 miles away to solve what you think are our problems. If you have solutions, other than taking two legal votes, the second with a larger plurality than the first, and dragging them into court, I'm, very willing to listen. Have at it!