Garden State Plaza

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox shopping mall Garden State Plaza (officially Westfield Garden State Plaza) is a shopping mall located in Paramus, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Owned and managed by Paris-based real estate management company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the mall is situated at the intersection of Route 4 and Route 17 near the Garden State Parkway, about Template:Convert west of the New York City borough of Manhattan.<ref name=NJ.com>Queally, James; Sherman, Ted; Grant, Jason (November 5, 2013). "Garden State Plaza shooting suspect killed self in mall, authorities say". NJ.com.</ref> Opened in 1957 as the first suburban shopping mall in New Jersey,<ref name=Record2019>Anzidei, Melanie. "Westfield Garden State Plaza's transformation a sign of changing times in retail", The Record, May 6, 2019. Accessed November 13, 2023. "Westfield Garden State Plaza is no stranger to innovation. In 1957, it opened as the first suburban mall in New Jersey.... Garden State Plaza was born as a one-level open air center in 1957, operated by R.H. Macy. The center’s original anchor stores were Bamberger's, Gimbel's, and J.C. Penney, surrounded by 90 smaller specialty shops."</ref><ref name=NYT19570320>"Garden State Shopping Center Due to Open May 1 in Paramus; It Will Be Largest in Jersey --Bergen Mall Being Built Less Than a Mile Away", The New York Times, March 20, 1957. p. 49. Accessed February 27, 2021. "The Garden State Plaza Shopping Center, being built in Paramus, N.J., will open on May 1, it was announced yesterday. The center will be the largest in the state."</ref> it has 300 stores<ref name=NJ.com/> and Template:Convert of leasable space,<ref name=GSP>Westfield Garden State Plaza Template:Webarchive, Westfield Group. Accessed June 6, 2008.</ref><ref>Westfield Garden State Plaza Template:Webarchive, International Council of Shopping Centers. Accessed June 6, 2008.</ref> ranked in 2022 as the 16th-largest shopping mall in the United States<ref>Rehman, Habib Ur. "25 Largest Shopping Malls in the United States", Yahoo!, December 7, 2022. Accessed November 9, 2023. "16. Westfield Garden State Plaza Retail Space: 2.16 million Square Feet Westfield Garden State Plaza is a shopping center in Paramus, New Jersey."</ref> and qualifying it as a super-regional mall according to the standards of the International Council of Shopping Centers.<ref>U.S. Shopping-Center Classification and Typical Characteristics, International Council of Shopping Centers. Accessed July 31, 2023.</ref>

The mall had sales of $775 per square foot in 2013, almost 75% above the national average.<ref>Na, Myles. "Garden State Plaza addition to include Tory Burch, Microsoft stores", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 4, 2013. Accessed November 9, 2023. "Several international retailers plan to open their first U.S. stores at Garden State Plaza. The mall boasts sales of more than $775 per square foot, compared to the national average of $455, according to Retail Property Insights."</ref> In a study of malls in the United States performed on behalf of CNBC, published in 2018, Garden State Plaza ranked ninth in the nation, based on sales of $950 per square foot.<ref>Remo, Jessica. "This N.J. mall is 1 of most lucrative in country, study says", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 31, 2018. Accessed March 7, 2018. "The study (done for CNBC by analysts Boenning & Scattergood) says Garden State Plaza ranks ninth in the country for revenue-producing malls and put it among the top 10 malls in the U.S. with 'A' ratings and little to no vacancies. The mall has a total asset value of $2.71 billion, which equates to $950 in sales per square foot, according to the research."</ref> Most of the mall, especially retail outlets, is closed on Sunday in accordance with state and local blue laws.<ref name=BCBlueLaw/> Since April 2023, minors under the age of 18 are required to have an adult over 21 supervise them on Friday and Saturday nights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In a borough where half of the property tax revenue comes from retail properties, Garden State Plaza accounts for 10% of the property taxes collected in Paramus.<ref name=NJ20190501/>

As of August 2022, its anchors are Macy's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and AMC Theatres.<ref>Furnas, Dawn. "Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus to undergo ‘transformation’", NJBiz, August 23, 2022. Accessed November 13, 2023. "As part of the project, Garden State Plaza — a 2.1 million-square-foot destination anchored by Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy’s and AMC Theatres — will be reimagined, with the surface parking areas to the west of the shopping center converted into the luxury apartments, plazas, parks, gardens, health and wellness amenities, commercial office space, as well as a transit center – alongside new outdoor shops, restaurants and community event spaces."</ref><ref>"Fitch Affirms RBS Commercial Funding Inc. 2013-GSP", Fitch Ratings, April 26, 2021. Accessed November 9, 2023. "High Quality Asset in Primary Market: Garden State Plaza is a 2.2 million-sf super-regional mall located in Paramus, NJ. The three anchors, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, as well as the major tenant AMC Loews theatre, own their own spaces and are only subject to ground leases."</ref>

History

The site at the southwest corner of Route 4 and Route 17 that would become Garden State Plaza was next to a drive-in theater dating back to the 1930s.<ref name=NJ20190705>Pries, Allison. "Garden State Plaza is expanding. See how it went from a drive-in to N.J.'s biggest mall.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 5, 2019, updated September 24, 2019. Accessed February 28, 2021.</ref> Allied Stores and Macy's had discussed a shared project at the site that was abandoned in August 1953, after which Allied Stores pursued development of the Bergen Mall (since renamed as Bergen Town Center), that would be located a mile away on Route 4 and which was scheduled to open in September 1957 with Stern's as its anchor store.<ref>"Garden State Shopping Center Due to Open May 1 in Paramus; It Will Be Largest in Jersey --Bergen Mall Being Built Less Than a Mile Away", The New York Times, March 20, 1957. Accessed February 28, 2021. "Less than a mile from the plaza, the Allied Stores Corporation is building Bergen Mall, another major shopping center. Anchored by a Stern's department store, this center is expected to open around the beginning of September.... Macy's and Allied first became interested in the Bergen County area in the Nineteen Forties. Until August 1953, both had considered constructing one center as a joint venture on the Garden State site."</ref>

R.H. Macy announced the creation of Garden State Plaza in May 1954, establishing a subsidiary that would own and operate the mall.<ref>"Macy Forms Subsidiary; Garden State Plaza Corp. Will Run New Jersey Center", The New York Times, May 5, 1954. Accessed February 28, 2021. "Garden State Plaza Corporation has been incorporated to operate and assume the ownership of the shopping center that will be located at the junction of Routes 4 and 17 in Bergen County, N. J., it was announced yesterday. It will be a subsidiary of R. H. Macy Co., Inc."</ref> JC Penney announced in June 1955 that the company would construct an Template:Convert standalone three-story building as part of the project, with the infrastructure to add a fourth floor, as needs grew.<ref>"Penney Joins Center; Will Occupy 3-Story Building in Garden State Plaza", The New York Times, June 16, 1955. Accessed February 28, 2021. "The J. C. Penney Company will have an 83,000-square-foot store in the Garden State Plaza shopping center under construction at Paramus, N. J."</ref> Constructed by the Muscarelle Construction Company for owner/developer R.H. Macy & Co. as an open-air shopping "plaza",<ref>Karsian, Dillon. "Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape", National Real Estate Investor, May 1, 1999. Accessed February 10, 2021. "Having undergone periodic renovations and expansions since its spring 1957 debut as an open-air center, the property today stands in the superregional class."</ref> total construction costs for the mall were $26 million (equivalent to $Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation/year).<ref name=Record2008>Verdon, Joan. "Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus", The Record, July 27, 2008, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 1, 2008. Accessed February 18, 2022. "The mall, which originally had 90 stores, cost $26 million to build in 1957."</ref>

Garden State Plaza opened on May 1, 1957, as the first suburban mall in New Jersey, with plans to be "the largest in the state". On opening day, Garden State Plaza had 75,000 shoppers. The mall was anchored by a Template:Convert 3-story Bamberger's department store, along with 17 other retail stores and 5,500 parking spaces on a site that covered Template:Convert.<ref name=NYT19570502>"Big Shopping Area Opened In Jersey; 75,000 Visit Paramus Center --3-Story Bamberger Unit Is the Principal Store 17 Connections to Roads Price Range Like Newark's", The New York Times, May 2, 1957. Accessed February 28, 2021. "More than 75,000 persons visited the Garden State Plaza Shopping Center at its official opening today.... Now there are nine large buildings housing sixty stores.... Bamberger's Paramus, as the new store will be known, is in a three-level structure occupying 340,000 square feet."</ref> The formal ribbon cutting ceremony included the mayor of Paramus Fred C. Galda and a local eight-year-old who cut a ribbon with one thousand dimes as a fundraiser for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (since renamed as the March of Dimes), part of an awareness campaign to encourage people to get the polio vaccine.<ref>"Ribbon-Cutting Plan Set For Tomorrow", The Record, April 30, 1957. Accessed March 1, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Instead of the usual satin ribbon used on such occasions, the Garden State Plaza has designed a symbolic ribbon composed of 1,000 dimes to spell out the Garden State Plaza name. Eight-year-old polio victim Barbara Brannon of 193 Alberta Drive, Saddle Brook, New Jersey will be the official ribbon cutter, assisted by Paramus mayor Fred C. Galda. The dimes will go to the Bergen County Chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. This ceremony was conceived, in co-operation with the state offices of the Foundation, to focus attention on the current drive to get everyone in New Jersey inoculated with polio vaccine before the summer."</ref>

Nineteen additional stores opened by that fall. Fifth Avenue women's clothing store Russeks opened a store in September 1957.<ref>"Russeks Plans Paramus Store," The New York Times.</ref><ref>"RUSSEKS' BRANCH SET," The New York Times.</ref><ref>"BRANCH IN PARAMUS OPENED BY RUSSEKS," The New York Times.</ref> Stage II of the mall opened in 1958, including JCPenney, Mack Drug, a Safeway grocery store, and Neisner's variety store.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 1958, long-time Macy's rival Gimbel's acquired a building site in the mall for a Template:Convert 3-story anchor store, which was completed in 1960.<ref>"Gimbels Buys In Macy's; Rents Land for Store in Rival's Paramus Plot", The New York Times, September 5, 1958. Accessed February 28, 2021. "Gimbels rented land from a Macy subsidiary, the Garden State Plaza Corporation, in the Garden State Plaza Shopping Center, Paramus, N. J., to build a 240,000-square-foot, three-level store. A unit of L. Bamberger & Co., a Macy division, is one of the many stores already operating there."</ref> It was called "the largest shopping center in the world."<ref name=Record2019/>

Garden State Plaza drew much business from nearby New York towns and cities, whose shoppers wandered across state lines to take advantage of New Jersey's lower sales taxes and its policy that exempted clothing purchases from sales tax. By 1961, it was the world's largest mall.<ref name=Record2008/>

In 1975, the mall began a multi-phased, years-long project that would fully enclose the mall, converting exterior passageways into covered spaces. The project, budgeted at $20 million, would add Template:Convert of retail space, bringing the total to Template:Convert upon completion.<ref>Savage, Ania. "Garden State Plaza Will Enclose Mall", The New York Times, February 23, 1975. Accessed February 28, 2021. "The Garden State Plaza, the oldest and one of the largest shopping centers in North Jersey, is scheduled for a $20‐million expansion and facelift.... About 400,000 square feet of merchandising space will be added to the 1,357,000 square feet that now exist. And a roof will be put over 120,000 square feet of walks and promenades, thus providing a year‐round, climate-controlled shopping area about 10 city blocks long."</ref>

A $21 million construction project in 1981 converted access tunnels into a second level for the mall, added Template:Convert of retail space.<ref name=NJ20190705/>

The mall was enclosed between 1981 and 1984 in response to competitive pressure from newer fully enclosed malls such as the Willowbrook Mall in nearby Wayne.<ref name=retailtraffic>Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape Template:Webarchive, Retail Traffic, May 1, 1999</ref> Later in the 1980s, a lower level was added by converting a former basement truck tunnel into retail space. The existing JCPenney basement was given a new entrance on the lower level, but since the floors were at slightly different elevations, that entrance features the shortest escalator in North America, at a height of six steps.<ref>Hill, Jeffrey. "Taken for a Ride: The insanity of escalators". Next American City. Summer 2008. Accessed February 11, 2011. "By contrast, the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, boasts the world's shortest escalator pair in front of its JCPenney, at a comical height of six steps. Kids play on them while adults use the more practical, non-moving staircases to the left and right."Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1987, Gimbels' parent company, BATUS, which had been selling off its Gimbels' stores, sold its Garden State Plaza location to Associated Dry Goods. Associated reopened the store as the new headquarters for its Hahne's department stores. Hahne's had previously been headquartered at its flagship store in downtown Newark, which the company wanted to close.<ref>"11 Gimbels Stores Are Sold By Batus", The New York Times, June 18, 1986. Accessed February 18, 2022. "The Gimbels store in Paramus, purchased by Associated Dry Goods, will reopen in March 1987 as the headquarters for Hahne's department stores, an Associated chain, according to John Manos, a company spokesman. Associated plans to close its current headquarters in Newark because it is unprofitable."</ref> In the mid-1990s, a Nobody Beats the Wiz store was added as an out-parcel to the mall site; it later became a Best Buy store that closed in 2018.<ref>'26 Wiz Stores Will Be Closed in 2 Months", The New York Times, August 19, 2002. Accessed February 10, 2021.</ref> The site was then occupied by a toy store called Toy City, owned by Party City.

On September 7, 1990, Nordstrom opened a $37 million, Template:Convert, three-level store constructed on the former Gimbel's/Hahne's site.<ref>"Nordstrom's put customers first", The Sunday News (Ridgewood, New Jersey), August 26, 1990.</ref><ref>Karsian, Dillon. "Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape" Template:Webarchive, Retail Traffic, May 1, 1999. Accessed February 11, 2011. "In May 1990, Nordstrom debuted in New Jersey by constructing a $37 million, 272,000 sq. ft., three-level store on the former Gimbel's site."</ref> In 1991, the luxury department store chain Lord & Taylor opened a store in the mall, which was its seventh in the state at the time.<ref>Barmash, Isadore. "Lord & Taylor to Bolster Presence in New Jersey", The New York Times, January 12, 1989. Accessed February 18, 2022. "Lord & Taylor's parent, the May Department Stores Company, said yesterday that it would convert four of its Hahne & Company stores in New Jersey to Lord & Taylor stores this fall. Lord & Taylor will also open a store in the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., in 1991, giving it a total of seven stores in the state."</ref>

In 1996, Garden State Plaza completed a $200 million expansion and major remodeling project that added more than Template:Convert of retail space and a pair of four-level parking structures, Parking Garage A, and Parking Garage B. The downstairs food court was connected to the lower level from the previous expansion. JCPenney grew by Template:Convert, and two new anchors were added, a Template:Convert Neiman Marcus on three levels and a Template:Convert Lord & Taylor on two levels, both targeted at the upscale fashion-conscious shopper.<ref name=retailtraffic /> A Venetian carousel was also added at that time of the expansion and remodeling and was located in front of Macy's. The carousel closed in 2016, and was removed so that the mall could use that space for performances by the Bergen Performing Arts Center.<ref>Garden State Plaza carousel stops spinning. "NorthJersey.com". Accessed February 2, 2016. "The carousel at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus has twirled for the last time. The popular parent and tot attraction at New Jersey's largest mall closed on Saturday, with a sign posted by the ride's owner, Indoor Entertainment, and the mall owner, Westfield, saying, basically, thanks for the merry-go-round memories.... The space occupied by the double-decker carousel will be used by the Bergen Performing Arts Center for shows and performances designed to promote arts in Bergen County."</ref>

Westfield acquired the mall in 1986 from Macy's in a deal that also included New Jersey's Brunswick Square Mall and Quaker Bridge Mall.<ref>Gutis, Philip S. "The Talk of Garden State Plaza; Scene at Mall in Jersey: Toys, Tinsel and Frenzy", The New York Times, November 18, 1987. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Mr. Bacon, who took over as general manager after Westfield Inc., an Australia-based developer purchased Garden State Plaza from Macy's last year, said attracting customers to the malls is no real problem. Two million people, he said, live within a 10-mile radius."</ref><ref>Greer, Kimberly. "3 Macy's Centers to Be Sold To Australian Company", Newsday, November 7, 1986. Accessed February 11, 2011.</ref><ref>The $850 million landlords Australian Financial Review May 8, 1995</ref>

File:9.3.07GardenStatePlazaMallbyLuigiNovi.JPG

Garden State Plaza on Labor Day 2007, taken from second level above mall's food court

The Borough of Paramus petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision by borough's Planning Board, asking it to review the plans to construct a Template:Convert "entertainment lifestyle precinct" at the mall that included a 16-screen AMC movie theater and 10 specialty retail stores, along with a Template:Convert parking lot below the new wing, known as "Parking Garage C".<ref name=Malls2007>Verdon, Joan. "These aren't your mother's shopping malls", The Record, February 11, 2007. Accessed February 13, 2021. "Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, the region's largest mall, with more than 2 million square feet of stores, has decided that today's malls don't live by shopping alone. It is adding a 163,000-square-foot "entertainment lifestyle precinct." It will include a 16-screen movie theater with stadium seating, a restaurant and 10 specialty retailers, including 'experiential' stores where shoppers are encouraged to try out the merchandise before they buy."</ref> The petition was turned down, and the mall celebrated its 50th anniversary with the new expansion and stores opened on May 25, 2007.<ref>Gartland, Michael. "Epic theater to play its final reel". The Record, May 19, 2007. Accessed November 9, 2023, via Newspapers.com.</ref>

In 2013, the mall rebuilt Parking Garage B, expanding it to five levels and 1,800 parking spaces. Adjacent were built a new guest services office and a valet lounge. A year later, the mall added a Template:Convert wing at a cost of $160 million known as the "Fashion District" that has 22 stores and restaurants.<ref>"Indoor Parking Garage At Westfield Garden State Plaza" Template:Webarchive, November 17, 2013. Accessed November 15, 2015.</ref><ref>"Photos: New $160 million opens at Garden State Plaza", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Accessed November 15, 2015.</ref>

In January 2018, Best Buy announced that they would be shuttering their two-level store at Garden State Plaza and would be relocating to a single-floor building to be constructed at The Outlets at Bergen Town Center nearby.<ref name=BestBuy2018>Verdon, Joan. "Best Buy relocation creates opening for new moves at Garden State Plaza", The Record, January 17, 2018. Accessed January 27, 2018. "The freestanding Best Buy store in the parking lot of Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus will be empty soon, and that will give New Jersey's largest mall an opportunity to make some new moves. Best Buy is preparing to relocate to the mall next door, The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, in a new building under construction in the east section of that mall, on Forest Avenue."</ref> The store officially moved on April 14, 2018. JCPenney closed in March 2018.<ref name=JCPenney2018>Attrino, Anthony G. "J.C. Penney quietly closing another N.J. store after 60 years at mall", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 26, 2017. Accessed January 27, 2018. "J.C. Penney, an anchor for 60 years at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, will close on March 10, according to a recording on the store's phone line.... After its 1958 Paramus opening, the Westfield Garden State Plaza -- located on Route 17 near Route 4 -- expanded and grew around the retailer, NorthJersey.com reported. The store was remodeled in 2012 and 2013, according to the report."</ref><ref>Edelson, Sharon. "J.C. Penney Closing Westfield Garden State Plaza Store — After 60 Years", Template:Webarchive Women's Wear Daily, January 29, 2018. Accessed November 9, 2023. "Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., with 2.13 million square feet of gross leasable space, is one of the largest and most productive shopping centers in the U.S., anchored by Macy’s, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor and AMC Theatres. But, come March, Garden State Plaza will have one less anchor. J.C. Penney is quietly closing its 183,000-square-foot store, after 60 years of anchoring the center."</ref><ref>Verdon, Joan. "Paramus J.C. Penney department store at Garden State Plaza to close March 10", The Record, January 25, 2018. Accessed November 9, 2023.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The JCPenney anchor space was subdivided for multiple tenants, including Lululemon, Adidas, Under Armour, Old Navy, Champs Sports, Arena STEM (now Power Up Arena), Planet Playskool, and Nerf Action Xperience.

In July 2019, Tru Kids announced that one of two Toys "R" Us stores being opened by that company as part of that toy retailer's recovery from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 and its acquisition by Tru Kids, would be at Garden State Plaza. (The other would be opened at The Galleria in Houston.) Eschewing the "warehouse" arrangement of previous stores, Toys "R" Us stores, these revamped versions were much smaller, and centered around open play areas, interactive displays and areas for special events and birthday parties. It opened on November 27, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However it closed on January 28, 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2019, the mall announced that it would developing mixed-use projects with dining and other retail on the ground floors of the buildings and housing on the upper floors, which would be constructed in areas now covered by parking lots on the periphery of the mall. Construction of this housing would count towards the borough's affordable housing obligations and would serve as a downtown "town square" for Paramus.<ref name=NJ20190501>Pries, Allison. "Garden State Plaza, N.J's biggest mall, is getting a massive makeover", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 1, 2019, updated September 24, 2019. Accessed March 1, 2021. "When Paramus redid its master plan a couple of years ago, Mayor Richard LaBarbiera said, it zoned the Routes 4 and 17 commercial corridor for mixed use, which allows for residential units to be built on top of retail. The zoning was implemented for two reasons, he said Wednesday: to make sure Paramus' commercial entities could remain competitive and to satisfy the borough's affordable housing obligation. Half of Paramus' tax base is commercial. And Garden State Plaza pays one of every ten tax dollars."</ref> As of November 2025, construction is expected to begin in early 2026, with the first phase of the development to be completed by the end of 2027.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2020, Lord & Taylor announced that its location in Garden State Plaza would be one of six remaining stores in the state that would be closed, as part of an overall shutdown of the chain's retail operations.<ref>DeVencentis, Philip. "Lord & Taylor's exit to leave hole in mall", Herald News, August 30, 2020. Accessed September 7, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Lord & Taylor, a storied Manhattan-based chain that sells designer clothing, handbags and shoes, announced on Thursday that it will go out of business after a 194-year run.... Thursday's news means that the remaining six stores in New Jersey, including two in Paramus at the Fashion Center and at Garden State Plaza will cease operations."</ref>

In April 2023, the mall announced it would closely align with similar policies adopted by many other malls nationally, banning visitors under 18 without a parent or guardian from the building on weekends, effective the end of that month (except for its AMC location and onsite restaurants, leading some local residents to question the effectiveness of the policy).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Blue laws

Due to New Jersey state blue laws that only apply in Bergen County<ref name=BCBlueLaw>Shopping, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed November 25, 2019. "Bergen is the only county in New Jersey which enforces Blue Laws – legislation that limits Sunday shopping. Paramus strictly observes these laws, therefore major malls and other retail stores are closed on Sunday."</ref><ref>Brennan, John. "11 things you might not know about Bergen County's blue laws", The Record, June 23, 2017. Accessed January 28, 2018. "A key moment in time was the 1959 vote to allow each of New Jersey's 21 counties to make individual decisions on blue laws. Ten counties preferred the status quo — at first. Hudson County voters decided in 1985 to become the 20th of 21 counties to repeal the state's blue laws."</ref> and more restrictive limitations in place in Paramus restricting business on Sunday, Garden State Plaza is almost completely closed on Sundays, except for some of the restaurants and the movie theater, all of which have special Sunday entrances. On Sundays, Garden State Plaza's parking lot is accessible only from the Route 4 and Route 17 access points. Gates are down so that the access roads from the secondary streets are blocked. The Paramus Borough Code forbids the performance of any "worldly employment" on Sunday, with very limited exceptions.<ref name="BoroughCode">Chapter 391: Sunday Activities, Borough of Paramus. Accessed February 10, 2021.</ref> These laws were enacted shortly after Garden State Plaza opened, out of fear that the mall would cause high levels of traffic congestion on the highways in the borough.<ref>Staff. "Sunday Selling Plaguing Jersey; Local Businesses Pushing Fight Against Activities of Stores on Highways", The New York Times, June 2, 1957. Accessed January 27, 2018.</ref> During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie issued an executive order that suspended the state's blue laws, allowing stores to be open on Sunday, November 4, 2012, for the benefit of those severely affected by flooding and/or power outages caused by the hurricane. A week later, after public outcry that included the mayor of Paramus announcing that the borough would continue to enforce its own restrictions, the state's blue laws were put back into effect.<ref>Sullivan, S. P. "Bergen blue laws are back: Paramus mayor says Gov. Christie has reinstated Sunday shopping ban", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 13, 2012. Accessed January 28, 2018. "Gov. Chris Christie is expected to lift a temporary suspension of Bergen County's blue laws Tuesday, Mayor Richard LaBarbiera said.... Christie had issued an executive order suspending the decades-old ban on Sunday retail shopping in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, allowing stores throughout the county that normally would have to remain closed to sell their wares on Sunday. The executive order caused a legal tussle, though, when officials in Paramus — where mall traffic is heavy and blue laws remain popular — announced they'd still be enforcing their own blue laws."</ref>

Public transportation

Westfield Garden State Plaza serves as a local transportation hub. The mall is served by NJ Transit bus lines routes 163, 171, 175, 707, 709, 756, 758 and 770.<ref>Bergen County System Map Template:Webarchive, NJ Transit. Accessed March 9, 2018.</ref>

Incidents

On November 4, 2013, 20-year-old Richard Shoop, armed with a SIG 556R semi-automatic rifle, fired multiple shots in the mall. Customers and employees were evacuated immediately from the mall premises shortly after the shots were fired and the mall was on lockdown for hours. The mall remained closed the following day. No one was injured or killed, other than Shoop himself, who committed suicide.<ref>Richard Shoop, New Jersey Shooting Suspect, Found Dead. "The Huffington Post". Accessed July 31, 2015.</ref><ref>New Jersey mall gunman found dead hours after shooting- CNN.com. Accessed July 31, 2015.</ref>

Popular culture

• Garden State Plaza is the setting for Tricia Sullivan's science fiction novel Maul (2002). The novel takes its title from the way that the word "mall" is pronounced with the New Jersey accent. In the novel, three teenage girls start a shoot out with a local gang.<ref>Sullivan, Tricia. Maul, Publishers Weekly. Accessed July 6, 2018.</ref>
• Several episodes of The Sopranos, the HBO mob drama were filmed at the mall, which was called the "Paramus Mall".<ref>Parrilo, Rosemary. "The Locations" Template:Webarchive, The Star-Ledger, March 4, 2001. Accessed September 10, 2013.</ref>
• The 2005 Sesame Street direct-to-video special All Star Alphabet, featuring Stephen Colbert and Nicole Sullivan, was filmed on location at the mall.<ref>Nash, Margo. "Footlights; All About A, And Don't Forget Z", The New York Times, September 4, 2005. Accessed July 19, 2019. "When it came time to choose a shopping center, the video's makers headed, quite naturally, to New Jersey. Mr. Colbert, dressed as a big blue letter Z, and Ms. Sullivan, appearing as a big red A, are shown in the video ambling around the Garden State MallTemplate:Sic, asking people if they know any words with their letters in them. Ms. Sullivan got a lot more responses than Mr. Colbert."</ref>

See also

• Shopping malls in New Jersey
• Westfield Group

External links

• Official website
• Westfield Garden State Plaza, International Council of Shopping Centers
• Aerial View
• Karsian, Dillon (May 1, 1999). "Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape". Retail Traffic.