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Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac is helming the coalition of mayors, all of whom have large indoor mall and shopping centers in their municipalities.
All New Jersey malls and shopping centers closed on March 17 due to the coronavirus outbreak. On May 18, the state allowed non-essential retail stores to offer curbside pickup.
As the state begins to enter stage two of the multi-phase reopening plan on June 15, Murphy has said stores in the mall with direct access to exterior doors are allowed to open. Indoor malls, however, are not.
The mayors hope Murphy will include the indoor malls' reopening in the second stage of New Jersey's coronavirus restart and recovery plan.
McCormac is joined by Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage, Paramus Mayor Rich LaBarbiera, Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench and Wayne Mayor Chris Vergano on the request.
“Woodbridge Center Mall, one of New Jersey’s largest indoor malls can provide for proper social distancing which will keep patrons and employees safe,” he said in a press statement.
Bollwage represents Jersey Gardens, LaBarbiera represents Paramus Park, Bergen Town Center and Westfield Garden State Plaza, which is the state’s largest mall, Moench represents Bridgewater Commons, and Vergano represents Willowbrook Mall.
Bridgewater Township has not been able to collect revenue associated with the township’s profit sharing with Bridgewater Commons, which Moench said will result in higher property taxes and "more financial burden on our residents.”
Willowbrook Mall is the largest taxpayer in Wayne. The long closure “is hurting our economy severely,” Vergano said.
“We commend and appreciate the leadership of the administration during these most difficult times,” LaBarbiera said. “We are encouraged by the ongoing steps to reopen businesses and hope that malls too can reopen on June 15.”
Jersey Gardens “provides millions of dollars in revenue to [Elizabeth] while providing for hundreds of jobs for our residents," Bollwage said.
Stage 2 allows for outdoor dining and the reopening of non-essential stores on June 15. Stage 2 also allows for hair salons, barber shops and nail salons to reopen on June 22.
On Tuesday, Murphy lifted the state’s stay-at-home order, which went into effect on March 21.
The governor also increased limits on the number of people who can gather indoors, including churches, from 10 to 50 people or 25% of a building’s capacity and 25 to 100 people outdoors. The numbers of people allowed to gather outdoors will increase to 250 people on June 22 and 500 people on July 3, Murphy said, barring any resurgence in COVID-19.
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