Judge Rules In Favor of Blue Law Suspension

A Bergen County Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of suspending Blue Laws —meaning Paramus stores will be open Sunday —despite the mayor's efforts to protect the law, claiming it favors the quality of life of borough residents.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera stated Friday that "although the residents of Paramus and I strongly disagree with this ruling we will of course abide it."

"The County Executive says that this will be the last Sunday without the Blue Laws and I intend to hold her to that," said LaBarbiera in a statement.  "The Blue Laws are absolutely essential to keeping Paramus livable and I will never stop fighting to make sure they are always here to protect our quality of life. I thank the many Paramus residents who expressed their support for this fight and their fierce determination to protect our community, which I share."

State legislators Sen. Bob Gordon and Assembly persons Timothy Eustace and Connie Wagner said Friday they have called on the Governor to put an end to the Blue Law suspension after this weekend.

Wagner, who is a resident of Paramus, stated it would be in the best interest of residents to rescind the suspension order after this weekend "in order to help resotre a sense of peace and normalcy to our towns that have been battered by Sandy."

Wagner also argued continuing to suspend the Blue Laws will distract local officials with legal entanglements "that we would be much better off avoiding at this point so we can concentrate on more pressing matters.”

Last week Governor Chris Christie issued an order to suspend Bergen County's Blue Laws so residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy could purchase repair and survival items. The move was supported by County Executive Kathleen Donovan who vowed to take the borough of Paramus to court in order to keep local officials from limiting what stores could open.

Paramus, which has some of the state's largest malls, has the strictest Blue Laws in the county, designed to protect quality of life in the borough by restricting shopping on Sundays. 

Earlier this week, Westfield Garden State Plaza posted on its Facebook page that it will be open on Sunday, 11am to 6pm. The  Bergen Town Center Paramus Park and Shops at Riverside will also be open on Sunday as well.