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PARAMUS, NJ — The Center for Hope & Safety, dedicated to helping Bergen County residents rebuild their lives beyond domestic violence, will host its annual Light Up the Night Against Domestic Violence candlelight vigil on Tuesday night.

The vigil is meant to memorialize victims, honor survivors, and unite the community in a shared commitment to ending abuse.

The vigil will be held in Paramus at 6:15 p.m. this Tuesday.

October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and each year, nearly 1,300 lives in the U.S. are lost to domestic violence.

This outdoor evening vigil at Van Saun Park invites survivors, families, and community members to come together in remembrance. Attendees will share personal stories of hope, healing, and resilience near the Pathway to Self-Sufficiency Garden, a living symbol of renewal for those rebuilding their lives.

In 2024, Center for Hope & Safety answered over 5,000 calls to its 24/7 hotline and provided safe shelter to more than 190 adults and children through its licensed Safe House program.

Dozens of families found longer-term stability through transitional and permanent housing, while hundreds of children received support, healing, and hope.

The vigil will be held at Van Saun County Park, Near Parking Lot 4, 216 Forest Ave., Paramus.

The center's free, confidential hotline operates 7 days a week, 365 days a year: (201) 944-9600. They have said that people can call on behalf of a family member, or if they are not ready to leave yet but want to plan for the future.

For more information, visit https://www.hopeandsafetynj.or...

Other Ways To Get Help

Each county in New Jersey has a domestic violence agency, and the state has its own hotline.

The national domestic violence hotline, reachable through phone, text, or chat, is 800-799-SAFE (7233), or you can text "Start" to 88788 to reach them by text.

The New Jersey hotline is 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). The list of county agencies and other information on how to protect oneself legally in New Jersey is here.

The New Jersey borough of Paramus is suing the American Dream mall for staying open on Sundays, in violation of Bergen County's blue laws.

The lawsuit claims the mall has 120 stores that stay open and it publicly advertises those hours.

Paramus Mayor Christopher DiPiazza said the American Dream is "operating unfairly," and added, "This puts our shopping centers, our malls, our retailers at a disadvantage, an unfair disadvantage, and with that can hurt the taxpayers and the residents that I serve."

American Dream says it is located on state land, so it's not bound by blue laws, which prohibit the sale of nonessential items, like clothing and furniture.

What are Bergen County's blue laws?

The restrictions have been in place since the 17th century, but they do make exceptions for things like grocery and drug stores.

"I have been a steadfast defender of Bergen County's blue laws because they protect our quality of life and guarantee retail employees one day of rest," Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco said in a statement, adding, "Their decision to operate retail on Sundays not only violates state statute, it gives them an unfair advantage over every other business in Bergen County that is following the law."

Even though Paramus' lawsuit is pointing fingers at Bergen County, alleging complicity in American Dream's Sunday sales, Tedesco reiterated Wednesday he agrees that the mall should be closed on Sunday, but added he just doesn't have the power to enforce the restriction.

"Why should they be able to open, and nobody else can open? That's not fair," Tedesco said. "It's not legally right, it's not morally right, and it's certainly against the law."

American Dream responds to lawsuit

Tedesco previously told CBS News New York that the county had reached out to the New Jersey attorney general's office to determine who had the authority to enforce compliance.

American Dream responded, calling the lawsuit "a meritless political stunt driven by private competitor's interest." The mall sits on land owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford.

Shoppers CBS News New York spoke with in January and on Wednesday didn't seem to care and said they appreciated the extra day to shop.

"I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. I don't have a problem with it," Miguel Garcia said.

"People are going to go shopping on a Sunday. Everybody should have a choice where they go shopping, and if this mall is open and it's closer to where I live, that's where I'm going," Mark Levy added.

Renee Anderson

Renee Anderson is a digital producer at CBS New York, where she covers breaking news and other local stories. Before joining the team in 2016, Renee worked at WMUR-TV.

Costco is preparing to add its 21st membership warehouse club in New Jersey.

After gaining unanimous approval during the Paramus Planning Board’s Oct. 2 meeting, the popular wholesale giant plans to demolish shuttered Kmart and Stop & Shop locations on Route 17 South to make way for a 184,000-square-foot store, NorthJersey.com reported.

In a social media post welcoming the news, Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza wrote, “Costco is a premier retailer in the United States, and they are choosing to call Paramus home. They are filling an abandoned property – a vacant lot – and putting in a need.”

“We can’t ask for much more than that. They’re keeping our commercial corridor vibrant, which helps the taxpayers, and they’re doing so with a plan to protect residents that are their neighbors as well,” he said.

According to NorthJersey.com, no time frame was discussed during last week’s planning board for construction. A spokesperson for Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The retailer also notes that it “cannot comment on locations that will be opening more than three months from today,” according to its website.

Expanding the commercial corridor

The approval comes more than a year after DiPiazza announced Costco’s plans to transform the property. It formerly housed a Kmart store that closed in 2014 and a Stop & Shop supermarket that went dark in 2022.

Home to four shopping malls and busy retail corridors Routes 4 and 17, Paramus is undoubtedly the shopping capital of North Jersey. Costco rival BJ’s Wholesale Club has a presence in the borough, too.

DiPiazza has said he believes Costco’s arrival is an “improvement” that “strengthens our commercial corridor, increases ratables and continues to make Paramus the heart of Bergen County.”

The upcoming Paramus opening comes as the Washington State-based chain continues to expand across the U.S. and internationally. Overall, Costco expects to add 35 new warehouses to reach 900-plus locations by August 2026.

Costco will officially be coming to Route 17 South in Paramus, the town’s mayor confirmed on Friday.

The Paramus Planning Board approved a bid on Thursday evening for Costco to build a 184,000-square-foot location at the shuttered Kmart and Stop & Shop locations at 859 Route 17 South, NorthJersey.com reported. Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza welcomed the news in a statement shared on social media on Friday.

“Costco is a premier retailer in the United States, and they are choosing to call Paramus home,” he said in a Facebook post.

“They are filling an abandoned property - a vacant lot - and putting in a need. We can’t ask for much more than that. They’re keeping our commercial corridor vibrant, which helps the taxpayers, and they’re doing so with a plan to protect residents that are their neighbors as well,” he added.

The Costco was approved with unanimous consent during the Oct. 2 meeting after some local residents voiced concerns about added traffic, according to NorthJersey.com. No time frame was discussed for the construction of the new Costco.

The approval comes more than a year after DiPiazza announced Costco’s plans to bid on the vacant lots that once held a Kmart and Stop & Shop. The Kmart location in Paramus has been closed since 2014 while the Stop & Shop closed in January 2022.

The new Costco will be the store’s 21st location in New Jersey and will join other North Jersey locations including Teterboro, Clifton and Wayne.

Costco is a membership warehouse club known for its wide selection of products often sold in bulk at low prices. It is a leader in consumer satisfaction, with a score of 82 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The American Dream mall was hit with a lawsuit Monday by Paramus alleging the facility is violating centuries old law and creating a "nuisance" for Bergen County residents.

The two major malls in Paramus remain have closed on Sunday for decades — thanks to statewide "blue laws" dating back to 1798. But many of the stores in the retail American Dream complex, just 10 miles away, remain open — and Paramus officials are frustrated.

The practice, according to the Borough of Paramus, is "injurious to public health, public safety, public peace, public comfort and public convenience, and offends the moral standards of communities throughout Bergen County."

The borough also listed, as defendants, the town of East Rutherford and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, on whose land the complex is located.

The "blue laws" were passed in New Jersey in 1798, but it was up to each county to decide whether to enforce them.

In 1980, notes the lawsuit, Bergen County voters chose in a referendum to maintain the Sunday laws by a vote of 192,394 to 157,648.

American Dream Responds

"The lawsuit is a meritless political stunt driven by private competitors’ interests," said an American Dream spokesman on Thursday. "It is well established that Bergen County’s Blue Laws do not apply to property owned by the state."

Paramus has two malls within its borders — Garden State Plaza near routes 4 and 17, and Paramus Park Mall, between Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway. When the malls are operating, highway traffic is busy, but it tapers off on Sundays.

American Dream is located 10 miles south of Garden State Plaza, just off Route 3, next to MetLife Stadium on property owned by the New Jersey Sports And Exposition Authority.

The New York Times noted that as of 1978, 10 of New Jersey’s 21 counties still had blue laws, but nine of those counties subsequently repealed the laws.

Bergen voters, who were concerned about traffic, wanted to keep them.

The laws don't apply to restaurants, gas stations, and certain other stores that remain open on Sunday at the malls and elsewhere in Bergen County.

American Dream's spokesman argued that the blue laws don't apply to American Dream because it's on state property.

"American Dream is on State property where retail sales have occurred on Sundays for decades," he said. "We look forward to our day in court."