Former Livingston resident here. About a week ago, my brother wanted to show me a store that had a bunch of collectors items. When we got to the parking lot, there were far more potholes than I recalled from memory. The mall's decay was evident before 2020, but never did I think to see the day that this place, a chunk of my childhood and high school life, would fall into such a state. It was humid in there due to no working A/C. The paint was peeling off the walls and ceiling. Half of the lights were out, so the inside was dark. More than half of the stores I used to go into were either closed or just about to shut down on their last day.

After visiting the collector's store, my brother and I went to the food court. The only fast foods left were the Popeyes, Sarku, the China one or whatever it was called, and the Cinnabon, I think. Auntie Anne's at the time had no attendant, and whatever pizza brand used to be here was closed. At most, just a few local crackheads were in the booths getting takeout.

I decided to go to this one candy store I used to just pass every time I went to the mall. It would be my first and last visit as a customer. I wanted to get some fudge, but as I dug into the jar, mold was inside it. The best I could do was buy an airheads candy. Talked to the guy for a minute and asked him what happened to this place. He said the place just kept losing customers over time. I guess it's no surprise that the less customers a place has, the less money it has to spend on utilities.

We then proceeded to walk around the other side of the mall, where the Modell's used to be. I guess that place turned into some generic furniture store, and even that went out of business. The GameStop, unsurprisingly, was also closed. Naturally, the dollar store in the area is the only store with any real amount of customers. THE SPENCER'S OF ALL STORES WAS GONE! Now all this mall has left in the middle of the place is the 'virgin spencer's', Hot Topic. That one had a sign saying it was closed due to no A/C or power.

The 2 hours I walked around this mall just made me sadder every step of the way. This place is a stark reminder for those like me who reminisce about the good memories walking up and down the length of this humble mall that all good things come to an end. Perhaps it's just as well.

Whether you had your pals with you to get something quick to eat, the girls going out looking for whatever brand designer clothing to flaunt their style, the beer-bellied dads buying their sons cleets and pads for football, moms going to Sears or Macy's for whatever appliances were on sale, or even just to be away from family for a few hours, the Livingston Mall provided all of that. Perhaps it fell short of the standards that The Short Hills or Rockaway Mall possessed, the place still had its own merits.

Livingston Mall, thank you for being the mall of my youth.