American Dream sued by woman who says she was injured by motorized stuffed animal ride

March 8, 2024

You may have seen those large motorized stuffed animals that kids and parents ride through some parts of the American Dream mall. They include plushy zebras, elephants tigers and hippos.

An elderly woman is suing the East Rutherford mega-mall and ride operator, alleging she was struck and seriously injured by those animals.

It marks the latest legal trouble for the beleaguered retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands. Those legal woes range from a broken leg to slip-and-falls, knocked-out teeth, unpaid construction bills and defaults on a multimillion-dollar loan.

……..

The venue was 86% leased as of Dec. 31, 2023, public records show. In 2022, NorthJersey.com reported that the mall owed at least $9 million in negotiated payments to a total of 14 towns in the region. Local officials said those payments were due when the mall opened its theme park in October 2019.

But the officials said the megamall wasn’t making the payments, with the mall allegedly arguing that it was not on the hook for those payments because the mall wasn’t 100% leased and was not technically fully open. Officials including East Rutherford Mayor Jeffrey Lahullier questioned whether the mall would ever be at 100%.

The lawsuits and failure to pay debts “has the effect of buying them time, which gives them the opportunity to renegotiate things” more in the mall owners’ favor, said Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director at Rutgers University’s Bloustein local government research center.

Northjersey.com, March 8, 2024

Recent Posts

Two MCRP Alumni Earn Planning Excellence Awards

The New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA New Jersey) has announced the recipients of the 2024 Planning Excellence Awards, and two Bloustein School alumni are recipients. Courtenay Mercer AICP, PP (BA '01, MCRP ' 02) was selected as the Budd...

Election Aftermath: The Path Forward for Democracy

Policy Implications, Representation Milestones, and Strengthening American Democracy in the Aftermath of Election 2024 In a special post-election episode of EJB Talks, Dean ⁠Stuart Shapiro⁠ and ⁠Elizabeth Matto⁠, Director of the ⁠Eagleton Institute of Politics⁠, offer...

Heldrich Report: Examining Student Outmigration in NJ

Where Students Go: Examining Outmigration in New Jersey Building upon previous research on outmigration, a new report measures the gaps in the New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS) that limit the ability to track New Jersey high school graduates who pursue higher...

NJSPL Blog: Who Attends Virtual Schwartz Rounds?

By Irina B. Grafova, Pamela B. de Cordova, Jennifer Polakowski, and Jessica Anderson The importance of well-being programs has never been more critical. Virtual Schwartz Rounds (VSR) provide a platform for connecting with nursing colleagues facing challenging...

Communicating Environmental Issues to the Public

A Conversation with Kati Angarone RU '98, MPAP '04 on Communicating Environmental Issues to the Public In this episode of EJB Talks, host Stuart Shapiro speaks with Kati Angarone RU '98, MPAP '04, currently the Chief Strategy Officer at the New Jersey Department of...

Upcoming Events

Bildner Center: The 25th Annual Rutgers Jewish Film Festival, November 7–21

Regal Cinema Commerce Center 2399 US-1, North Brunswick, United States

The The 25th Annual Rutgers Jewish Film Festival will feature fourteen thought-provoking and entertaining films, dynamic discussions with filmmakers and special guests, and numerous New Jersey premieres on dance, music, […]

Event Series CAREERS

Virtual Career Drop-ins

Virtual

Stop by virtually on Mondays (except for holidays) beginning September 9th through December 16th between 11 am and 1 pm to ask a quick (15 min) career-related question of Bloustein […]