Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The members of Modernize Bergen County need 2,500 signatures by the end of September in order to get their initiative in front of voters.
A group seeking to repeal Bergen County's Blue Laws has collected about 1,200 signatures of the needed 2,500 to get a referendum on the ballot in November. Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua, who founded the group, said their petition was aided by a particularly strong response at Teaneck's Memorial Day festival, where they collected about 400 signatures. "It was fishing in a stocked pond," Shashoua said. The group, called Modernize Bergen County, is setting their sights next on Fair Lawn's upcoming street fair and craft show. The event takes place on Fair Lawn Avenue and Plaza Road from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. "I'm hoping we'll do as well as we did in Teaneck," Shashoua said. The group's efforts have sparked debate around the county. …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Group founded by Westwood woman to collect signatures at Teaneck festival.
A group working to have Bergen County's Blue Laws eliminated through a voter referendum will collect signatures at Teaneck's Memorial Day festival on Cedar Lane. Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua, the group's founder, said they have collected 575 signatures as of Sunday, NJ.com reported. It will take 2,500 signatures from registered Bergen County voters to get on the November ballot. According to the group's Facebook page, they hope to collect as many as 500 signatures at the Teaneck event. Group volunteers plan to setup outside 446 Cedar Lane. The petition can be downloaded here. The push to repeal Bergen's Sunday shopping restrictions picked up after Gov. Chris Christie temporarily suspended the regulations in the wake of Hurricane …
Monday, March 25, 2013
"Modernize Bergen County" is seeking 2,500 signatures to get a voter referendum aimed at repealing blue laws on the ballot in November.
A group of Bergen residents seeking to repeal the county's "blue laws" intend to get 2,500 signatures for a petition by the end of June so they can get their initiative on the ballot in November. The laws prohibit the sale of certain items — clothes, furniture, etc. — on Sundays. Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua, the founder and chair of "Modernize Bergen County," previously told Patch she believed that permitting seven days of retail business each week would create more jobs and increase local tax revenue to counter economic troubles and ever-increasing property taxes. Members of the group also pointed to the difficulty of enforcing the laws because of online commerce on sites like eBay. The group has now just about completed their …
Saturday, February 16, 2013
What if Bergen County towns could opt out of Sunday shopping restrictions?
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Saturday, February 16
Bergen County towns should be able to opt in or out of the county's Sunday shopping restrictions known as Blue Laws, Teaneck Councilman Elie Y. Katz wrote in an op-ed published Monday. "There have not till now been enough politicians with the political will power to take on this sacred cow because the supporters of removing Blue Laws are a silent majority while those who are against any changes to the rules are a very vocal minority. If state politicians do change or alter the rules, they should allow each municipality to dictate their own situation and opt in or out on an individual basis," Katz wrote. Meanwhile, Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua has started an effort called "Modernize Bergen County" to repeal the Blue Laws. Blue Laws…
Monday, February 11, 2013
Blue Laws 'handicap' local businesses, writes Teaneck councilman and former mayor
- OPINION
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Monday, February 11
The following op-ed was submitted by Elie Y. Katz, a council member and former Teaneck mayor. Ah yes, the Blue Laws. When I was Mayor of Teaneck, at the request of many Teaneck residents, I briefly touched the third rail of this "taboo" subject by looking into a referendum question for Teaneck voters. It was not the harsh phone call from the Paramus Borough Attorney, nor the legal threats from mall operators outside Bergen County nor the concern from many husbands about their wives getting an extra day of shopping that made the Council withdraw the question. Rather, it was the fact that we were not legally permitted to offer a referendum question on a law which the state controls. It seems a little strange that in a country which …
Monday, February 4, 2013
The president of the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association said he expects Bergen voters will repeal the county's "blue laws."
The leader of a retail group expects Bergen County will get rid of its "blue laws" prohibiting the sale of certain items on Sundays, according to a report on NJ.com. John Holub, the president of the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, said he believes there is more support to repeal the blue laws now than there was the last time voters considered the issue in 1993, according to the report. "It's not a matter of if they'll repeal, it's just a matter of when," Holub said in the report. "We are light-years away in public sentiment than we were 20 years ago." The blue laws have been debated around the county since Gov. Chris Christie temporarily suspended the laws after Hurricane Sandy. Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua is the leader of…
Monday, January 28, 2013
In a Letter to the Editor, Mitchell T. Horn responds to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera's recent comment that Modernize Bergen County's Blue Law repeal argument is "ridiculous."
- OPINION
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Monday, January 28
Editor's note: This letter from Mitchell T. Horn on behalf of Modernize Bergen County is addressed to Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera and the citizens of the borough: On behalf of the Campaign to Modernize Bergen County, lead by Mrs. Rosemary Shashoua, I would like to respond to the recent public comments calling our argument “ridiculous”. I would like to start by saying that this is an attempt to diffuse the situation and evolve the discussion from an emotional battle to a logical debate. We have the utmost respect for the residents of Paramus and their passionate desire to preserve the peace and quiet in their borough. We also think that the mayor of Paramus is doing an outstanding job and we would do the same thing if we were in his …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Mayor Richard LaBarbiera stands strong in support of the Blue Laws in Bergen County and Paramus and defends the residents who have been criticized for "whining" in defense of their peace and quiet.
Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera is calling Westwood resident Rosemary Shashoua's argument to repeal county Blue Laws "ridiculous." During Tuesday's council meeting, the mayor defended the Blue Laws and the Paramus residents who have been criticized for wanting to keep peace and quiet in this town on Sundays. "Don't worry about Paramus and we won't worry about what you do in your town," said LaBarbiera. "I won't stop whining as some outsiders have challenged us," said the mayor referring to the hefty debates that have been going on in the comment sections of recent articles and on Facebook pages. Shashoua's group "Modernize Bergen County" has the goal of repealing Bergen County's blue laws via a voter referendum on the premise that …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Rosemary Shashoua has started the group "Modernize Bergen County" to allow stores to open on Sundays.
One Westwood resident is fed up with Bergen County's "blue laws" and is working to have the "old fashioned" rules appealed. "All I want is more revenue for the state and more jobs," Rosemary Shashoua said. Shashoua has found some like-minded county residents and started a new group called "Modernize Bergen County" with the goal of repealing the blue laws, the rules which prohibit the sale of items like clothing, furniture and appliances on Sundays. Shashoua said she was inspired to start the group after Hurricane Sandy, when Gov. Chris Christie temporarily suspended county blue laws to aid recovery from the storm. "Nobody had any clothing and nobody had anything to fix up their houses," Shashoua said, referring to residents displaced by …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sunday shopping restrictions set to return to Bergen County following a request by the Bergen County Executive.
Gov. Chris Christie will reinstate Bergen County's Blue Laws, ending a temporary suspension of the restrictions designed to help residents recover from Hurricane Sandy. The Blue Laws will be reinstated Sunday at the request of Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, said Sean Conner, a governor's office spokesman. "At this time, the unprecedented weather events that impacted the residents of Bergen County so greatly have abated and I am respectfully requesting that you rescind [the executive order], effective immediately, thereby allowing the Bergen County Blue Laws to once again be in full force and effect," Donovan said in a letter to Christie sent Tuesday. Donovan had first asked Christie to suspend the retail restrictions, saying …
Debbie
11:00 am on Monday, June 17, 2013
Touche!!!! more ›