UPDATE

EAST RUTHERFORD-The borough council here has agreed to authorize up to $524 million in bonds to help developer Triple Five finish the American Dream mega-mall project in The Meadowlands. The council had not been expected to move so quickly, but the developer's proposed agreement came earlier this week.

Also, the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority approved a settlement with East Rutherford Wednesday that will pay the borough property taxes on the New York Giants' training facilty at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

The borough will receive $200,000-$250,000 a year in addition to its share in payments thehe New York Giants and Jets make to the state for the use of MetLife Stadium.

In the bonding agreement, Triple Five will pay East Rutherford up to $128 million over the next 30 years, mostly in payments-in-lieu-of-taxes in exchange for the bond sales to finance its project.

The borough approval advances Triple Five's plan to raise a total of $1.8 billion to finish to complete the sports/entertainment complex. Various state and county agencies must also sign off on the arrangement.

Meanwhile, Triple Five is contending with a lawsuit against completion of the project by the New York Giants and New York Jets whose stadium abuts the complex. The teams argue that traffic snarls on game days would be a disaster if the mega-mall plan is completed.

See The Record story here.

The Original Story Appears Below

----------

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-The fate of the $4-billion American Dream project rests in its ability to secure financing and a critical player in whether owner Triple Five will be successful lies with the East Rutherford Borough Council.

Because New Jersey has a strong “home rule” law and due to Triple Five's request to have the borough help finance the project, the seven-member Borough Council, which includes East Rutherford Mayor James Cassella, will have a significant say in how its deal is structured and whether this retail and entertainment project will be completed.

“If there's a way we could help them in getting this open, we want to do that,” says Mayor Cassella, who has served as the lead negotiator among town officials on the American Dream. “But it can't cost us anything. And it can't have any risk.”

Alan Marcus, the spokesman for Triple Five, says of the developer's discussions thus far with the Borough Council: “We've had some very productive meetings over quite some time. We have a good relationship with the mayor and council, and we expect that we're going to conclude discussions with them shortly.” See story in The Record.