Editing Bergen County, New Jersey (section)

===Blue laws===
Bergen County enforces one of the last remaining U.S. [[blue laws in the United States#New Jersey|blue laws]] that cover most retail sales, other than food and gasoline (among other limited items). The law enforced in the county is actually a state law that each county could reject by voter [[referendum]], with 20 of the state's 21 counties having voted to reject the legal option to enforce the law.<ref>Hanley, Robert. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/27/nyregion/bergen-stores-try-to-repeal-blue-laws.html "Bergen Stores Try to Repeal Blue Laws"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 27, 1993. Accessed December 29, 2010.</ref> Thus one of the largest and most popular commercial shopping cores of the [[New York metropolitan area]]<ref>[http://www.globest.com/retail/advisor/1_54/advisor/16788-1.html Paramus 07652] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517172031/http://www.globest.com/retail/advisor/1_54/advisor/16788-1.html |date=May 17, 2008 }}, GlobeSt. Retail, October 3, 2005.</ref> is almost completely closed on Sunday. Grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, entertainment venues, and any other exempted establishments that do not sell clothing, shoes, furniture, electronics, hardware, and home appliances are among the businesses allowed to operate. Furthermore, Bergen County has significant populations of [[Jew]]ish (2000 estimate of 83,700) and [[Muslim]] (2000 estimate of 6,473) residents whose observant members would not be celebrating the [[Sunday Sabbath]] with most of their [[Christians|Christian]] neighbors.<ref>[http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/34003_2000.asp Bergen County, New Jersey: Religious Affiliations, 2000]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091504/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/34003_2000.asp|date=September 29, 2007}}. [[Association of Religion Data Archives]]. Accessed December 14, 2006.</ref> The substantial [[Orthodox Jew]]ish minority is placed in the position of being unable to shop either on Sunday (due to the blue laws) or on Saturday (due to religious observance).<ref>[http://www.jstandard.com/articles/1441/1/Teaneck-considers-a-blue-move "Teaneck considers a blue move"], ''[[Jewish Standard]]'', August 17, 2006</ref><ref>Aberback, Brian. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140610181451/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-127654995.html "Teaneck drops blue laws effort"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', August 19, 2006. Accessed December 24, 2013. "Teaneck — Legal concerns have sunk the Township Council's plan to ask voters whether the town should be exempted from the Sunday blue laws."</ref>

However, repeated attempts by voters to repeal the law have failed. A large part of the reason for maintaining the laws has been a desire by many Bergen County residents for relative tranquility and less traffic on one day of the week.<ref name=NYTBlue>[[Anthony DePalma (author)|DePalma, Anthony]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/realestate/in-new-jersey-paramus-blue-laws-crimp-office-leasing.html "In New Jersey — Paramus Blue Laws Crimp Office Leasing"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 4, 1984. Accessed July 25, 2018. "Officials tried to regulate the effects of the tremendous growth on the borough by insisting that at least one day a week, Paramus be allowed to enjoy some of its former peace and quiet. In 1957, a law was passed banning all ''worldly employment'' on Sundays, forcing all the new stores and malls built in the celery fields to close for the day."</ref> This desire for relative peace is most apparent in Paramus, where most of the county's largest [[shopping mall]]s are located, along the intersecting highways of [[New Jersey Route 4|Route 4]] and [[New Jersey Route 17|Route 17]], which are jam-packed on many Saturdays. Paramus has enacted blue laws of its own that are even more restrictive than those enforced by Bergen County,<ref>Firschein, Merry. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140610175944/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-130555415.html Paramus mayor faces challenge], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', October 31, 2006. Accessed December 24, 2013. "Both candidates said they would stand strong against any weakening of the blue laws, which keep most stores closed on Sunday, and would work to keep Paramus' laws the most restrictive in the state."</ref> banning all forms of "worldly employment" on Sundays, including white collar workers in office buildings.<ref name=NYTBlue /> Despite these strict blue laws, Paramus (07652) has become the top retail [[ZIP Code]] in the United States, with the municipality generating over US$6 billion in annual retail sales.<ref name=ParamusNumberOneRetailZipCode>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/03/more-shopping-money-is-spent-in-this-nj-town-than-on-rodeo-drive-take-that-cali.html|title=Inside the N.J. town where retail spending beats Hollywood and tourism rivals Disney|author=Allison Pries|date=March 10, 2019|access-date=March 10, 2019|quote=The former farming community already sees more retail sales than any other zip code in the country...More than $6 billion in retail sales happen in Paramus each year.}}</ref> Local blue laws in Paramus were first proposed in 1957, while the Bergen Mall (since renamed as [[The Outlets at Bergen Town Center]]) and [[Garden State Plaza]] were under construction. The legislation was motivated by fears that the two new malls would aggravate the already severe highway congestion caused by local retail businesses along the borough's highways seven days a week and to preserve one day on which the roads were less congested.<ref>Tompkins, John. [https://www.nytimes.com/1957/06/02/archives/sunday-selling-plaguing-jersey-local-businesses-pushing-fight.html "Sunday Selling Plaguing Jersey – Local Businesses Pushing Fight Against Activities of Stores on Highways – Other Group Active Local Option Opposed"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 2, 1957, p. 165. Accessed August 9, 2012.</ref> In November 2012, Governor Chris Christie issued an executive order to temporarily suspend the blue law due to the effects of [[Hurricane Sandy]].<ref>Verdon, Joan. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/178121571_Judge_sides_with_governor__county_over_blue_laws.html "Judge sides with county executive over Bergen blue laws"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214146/http://www.northjersey.com/news/178121571_Judge_sides_with_governor__county_over_blue_laws.html |date=October 4, 2013 }}, ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', November 9, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2013.</ref> The blue law was suspended on November 11 but was back in effect one week later.<ref>Sullivan, S. P. [http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2012/11/bergen_county_execs_office_makes_clear_blue_laws_back_this_weekend.html "Bergen County exec makes clear: Blue laws are back this weekend"], [[NJ.com]], November 16, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2013.</ref>