HUDSON COUNTY — The mayors that represent the 14 Meadowlands District municipalities are considering joining the New York Giants and New York Jets in a lawsuit filed last week against the expansion plans for the American Dream project, a mega-retail and entertainment complex that is being built on Route 3 near the MetLife Stadium. The project was formerly known as “Xanadu.”
Both sports teams are seeking an injuction to prevent the developers Triple Five Group from reviving the project, according to news reports. The lawsuit filed in a state court in Bergen County last week alleges that Triple Five did not receive their consent to expand the project.
“We are actually considering filing an amicus brief and joining the Giants and the Jets suit because we have no other alternative,” said William Roseman, Mayor of Carlstadt during a meeting of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) this morning (Wednesday morning). “[We have] no other avenue for us to address the impact this is going to have.”
At the meeting, Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and Roseman both asked the NJMC to delay the approval of the hearing officers’ report for the proposed amusement park and water park because it does not adequately address traffic. Triple Five recently received approvals on the traffic analysis by the Department of Transportation.
The mayors asked that the NJMC to table their vote until further studies on traffic could be completed.
The NJMC voted to approve the hearing officers’ report with one dissension despite the requests to delay the vote from the mayors and a resident of Secaucus.
Gonnelli criticized the sports teams during his remarks for the lawsuit saying that it was hypocritical because of the traffic caused by their games, but he said left with no other recourse, he too will consider joining the lawsuit.
The matter will be discussed at the next Mayors’ Committee meeting scheduled for Monday night.
BREAKING: Mayors consider joining Jets and Giants lawsuit against American Dream project (formerly ‘Xanadu’)
