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 …
Tuesday, March 26, 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 …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Blue Laws 'handicap' local businesses, writes Teaneck councilman and former mayor
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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 …
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 …
Friday, November 9, 2012
Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera states that although he and borough residents disagree with the ruling the borough will abide it and hopes this will be the final weekend for 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 …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Paramus seeks to enforce Blue Laws after Christie ordered them suspended.
It's been a week since Gov. Chris Christie issued the order to suspend Bergen County's Blue Laws so that residents most impacted by Hurricane Sandy could purchase necessary repair items. And while Paramus has the strictest Blue Laws on the books, County Executive Kathleen Donovan may take the borough to court this week to keep local officials from limiting what stores can be open. Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan had asked the state last Saturday to suspend the county’s Blue Laws as the County struggled with numerous power outages. Christie gave the order on Sunday, Nov. 4 to allow for retail stores to open. The Executive Order is meant to allow the sale of clothing and wearing apparel, building and lumber supply materials, …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Governor says easing Sunday sales restriction will help with storm recovery.
Gov. Chris Christie has signed an executive order suspending Bergen County's Sunday sales restriction, known as Blue Laws. "During this time of recovery and rebuilding, our citizens must have adequate access to the supplies they need to help return their lives to normal – particularly those residents who are still without power,” Christie said in a statement Sunday. “To accomplish this, we are temporarily suspending Blue Laws in Bergen County so that local residents can purchase the essential goods and services they need to continue through recovery period and begin the rebuilding process.” Christie's decision came after Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan requested the Sunday shopping restrictions be suspended. In a conference call…
After the County Executive asked the state to suspend Blue Laws this weekend, Home Depots are open with limited hours but few people.
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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Home Depot stores in Bergen County are open Sunday, but you’ll have to hurry if you want to take advantage of the rare opportunity to shop there. The Paramus store closes at 12 p.m., while Home Depots in Mahwah, Lodi and Hackensack are open until 5 p.m. Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan asked the state Saturday to suspend the county’s Blue Laws this weekend, but it was unclear whether stores like the Home Depot would have enough time to remain open.
Debbie
11:00 am on Monday, June 17, 2013
Touche!!!! more ›