N.J. Lawmakers Want Gov. Murphy To Reopen Shopping Malls
NEW JERSEY (CBSNewYork) -- While many businesses in New Jersey are set to reopen next week, malls will not be among them.
As CBS2's Nick Caloway reported Wednesday, some mayors are asking Gov. Phil Murphy to change that.
Malls are the lifeblood of the economy in the shopping mecca of Paramus.
Mayor Rich LaBarbiera spoke with CBS2 at Westfield Garden State Plaza, the largest operational mall in the state.
LaBarbiera said the mall accounts for roughly 10% of the Paramus tax base, which helps fund schools and emergency services like police and firefighters.
"If the mall sneezed, Paramus catches a cold," said LaBarbiera.
Add a global pandemic...and the malls are on life support. Gov. Murphy ordered malls to close on March 17 to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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Non-essential retail is set to reopen as part of Stage 2 of New Jersey's restart on June 15, but malls are not included.
Mayor LaBarbiera, along with the mayors of Elizabeth, Bridgewater, Wayne and Woodbridge, sent a joint letter to Murphy, asking him to consider allowing malls to reopen as soon as possible.
"Hopefully the worst is behind us. And we can continue to open up," said LaBarbiera. "And one of the things that we ask is that he consider is, again, the reopening of the malls -- no different than any other nonessential retail."
Some shoppers said they can't wait to go back to the mall.
"Because if Walmart and Target can open, what? The virus doesn't go to those stores? So, the malls should open," said Diane Raimondi, of Paramus. "People need to make a living and this is disastrous."
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But with coronavirus still a threat, not everyone is ready to go back.
"I don't know if they would be already at this point capable of making all the adjustments and changes that need to be made to keep us safe," said a Bergen County resident.
CBS2 reached out to the governor's office for comment on Wednesday. The staff referred us to a statement made by the governor last week, when Murphy said, "We're not there on malls."
More than 20 million people visit Westfield Garden State Plaza in a typical year.
So far, 2020 has been far from average, but for the thousands of people who rely on the mall for a paycheck, a decision from Murphy cannot come soon enough.
