It's been called the "ugliest building in the world" by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — and now state officials want to do something about it before they host the Super Bowl in 2014.

The American Dream super mall project in East Rutherford, N.J., remains unfinished with its brightly-colored, multi-patterned facade, a stark contrast to the landscape surrounding the nearby New Jersey Turnpike.

Adjacent to the site is MetLife Stadium, home to two NFL teams: the New York Jets and New York Giants. The three-year-old stadium will host the 2014 Super Bowl.

But before the crowds come into town for the big game, state officials want to change the look of the megamall building next door, which remains idle after construction stalled in 2009 due to financial woes, The-Star Ledger newspaper reported. 

The project, formerly called "Xanadu," is currently only 80 percent complete.

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"I would anticipate the construction will start in 2013 and there will be a heavy emphasis on making sure the exterior will look different before the Super Bowl," real estate executive Jon F. Hanson told The Star-Ledger.

"When they get finished, it will be hard to remember what it looked like," Hanson — who also serves as Gov. Christie's chief adviser on New Jersey's sports and entertainment industries — told the newspaper. "What they will do will change it dramatically."

A spokesman for the project's new developer, Triple Five, told The-Star Ledger that they agree that changing the building facade is a "priority."

"While American Dream will not be completed in time for the Super Bowl, we do fully intend to be prepared and able to host and support Super Bowl-related events as needed to assist the host committee and others with related Super Bowl needs," spokesman Alan Marcus told the newspaper.

The American Dream Meadowlands project, which has already seen its share of criticism for being an alleged eyesore, aims to be a destination and claims that it would attract 40 million visitors annually.

The site would feature everything from retail stores to movie theaters to an indoor ski and snowboard park. The costs for the project is up to $3.7 billion, according to The Star-Ledger.

Last summer, the Giants and the Jets sued to block the megamall, claiming it would create traffic woes and interference with game days, The Associated Press reported.

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The House GOP came under a blistering bipartisan assault Wednesday for punting on Sandy relief, with Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie complaining he couldn’t even get Speaker John Boehner to return his calls.

Fallout from the surprise vote pullback on a $60 billion aid package mounted by the hour with cries of outrage and calls for revenge.

By late afternoon, it seemed like the onslaught was having an effect. The House scheduled a Friday vote on $9 billion in flood insurance funds, to be followed by a Jan. 15 vote on another $51 billion in assistance.

It was unclear if the larger allocation would pass – or if the belated vote would mollify the New York and New Jersey politicians who unleashed unusually personal attacks against Boehner and other House Republicans.

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House to vote on Sandy funding Friday, placating outraged lawmakers

Earlier, New York Rep. Pete King said his Republican colleagues had exposed a bias against the blue states of the Northeast and that anyone from the area who donates money to them “should have his head examined.”

“They can’t count on any vote from me now,” he said on MSNBC.

Christie, who has been touted as a possible White House contender, put the blame for the delay squarely on Boehner and marveled that he called the Ohioan four times before he would take his call.

“Shame on you, Congress,” he said, adding that he has received no explanation for the “disappointing and disgusting” decision.

The $60 billion request for assistance for to victims of Superstorm Sandy has been passed by the Senate, and House supporters were pushing for a Tuesday night vote.

Instead, King said, Boehner “just walked off” the floor and had an aide break the news that there would be no vote. The House adjourned on Wednesday without considering the measure; lawmakers are back Thursday for an hour before they gavel in the 113^th Congress.

While some Republicans have criticized the aid package for funds not directly linked to Sandy, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said the speaker is “committed to getting this bill passed this month.”

That promise didn’t quiet the fury.

“Totally obscene,” said Tom Jordan, a former firefighter whose house in Rockaway, Queens, was flooded by the storm that killed 120 people and damaged almost 400,000 homes.  

“They’re quibbling about $60 billion? That’s nothing as far as the federal budget goes. They should come down here and see what the beach looks like. They want to wait? We need repairs before the next hurricane season.”

Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, called the delay “a personal betrayal.” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand dared Boehner to visit Staten Island, then added that she doubts “he has the dignity nor the guts to do it.”

First Read: 'Betrayal': Congress punts on Sandy recovery funding, infuriating local lawmakers

“They’re a bunch of idiots,” Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, a Conservative, said of House Republicans. “There’s no other logical reason they’d be doing this.”

In a joint statement, Christie and New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, accused the house of a “dereliction of duty.”

“When American citizens are in need we come to their aid,” they said. “That tradition was abandoned in the House last night.”

But it was King who really let his Republican colleagues have it.

“The fact is that the dismissive attitude that was shown last night toward New York, New Jersey and Connecticut typifies, I believe, a strain in the Republican Party,” he said on the House floor.

“I can’t imagine that type of indifference, that cavalier attitude being shown to any other part of the country,” he added.

“We cannot believe this cruel knife in the back was delivered to our region… This is not the United States of America! This should not be the Republican Party. This should not be the Republican leadership.”

Although he said he is not thinking of switching parties, King suggested New Yorkers should hit House Republicans who don’t support the bill where it hurts – in the campaign coffer.

“These people have no problem finding New York when it comes to raising money. They only have a problem when it comes to allocating,” he fumed.

“If this is not delivered and very quickly…anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans after this should have their head examined,” he added on MSNBC.

Boehner is supposed to meet with Republican members of the New York and New Jersey delegations on Wednesday to reassure them that the relief bill will be passed.

But King expressed skepticism about a quick vote, noting a majority of House Republicans don’t support the bill and Washington will be soon be preoccupied with the inauguration and the State of the Union.

President Obama called on the House to bring the bill to a vote immediately and “pass it without delay for our fellow Americans.”

It’s unclear what impact the vote delay with have. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified this month that it had enough funding to “respond to the immediate needs.”

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) defended Boehner’s move, blaming the Senate for padding the relief package with non-essential funding.

“The Senate didn’t do their job. They sent us a bunch of pork, and then left town,” he said on “Fox and Friends.”

NBC News' Tom Curry and Frank Thorp contributed to this report.

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Updated at 2 p.m. ET -- NEW YORK -- New York drivers woke up Friday to the first widespread gas rationing since the fuel crisis of the 1970s, as the Northeast struggles to recover from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy and a subsequent snowstorm.

Officials said the gas rationing was imposed because something had to be done to ease the long waits for fuel, which they say has caused panic-buying and hoarding.

Police officers were assigned to gas stations to enforce the new system, beginning their shifts at 5 a.m. in Long Island and 6 a.m. in New York City.

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"This is designed to let everybody have a fair chance, so the lines aren't too oppressive and that we can get through this," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Officers would also make sure people "don't get pushy in line," Bloomberg told WOR-AM radio on Friday morning.

The nor'easter brought gusting winds, rain and snow on Wednesday and early Thursday before it moved on. Snow blanketed several states from New York to New England and stymied recovery efforts from Sandy as additional storm-weakened trees snapped and more power lines came down.

In New Jersey, after a difficult commute Thursday night that saw heavily armed police trying to quiet crowds at area bus and train stations, authorities added free buses and ferries Friday to try and ease commutes that have been four and five times longer than normal all week. Meanwhile, temporary ferry service will be offered from the Rockaways to Manhattan while the area's subway service is suspended.

New York City’s program of gas rationing is modeled on one New Jersey implemented last week -- allowing drivers to fill up on alternating days depending on their license plate number -- that has reduced lines dramatically. On Thursday, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., told reporters he plans to re-evaluate over the weekend whether New Jersey still needs to continue its gas rationing system, reported NJ.com.

"The last two days, I've barely seen any fuel lines anymore," Christie said. "There's order, there's easy access to gas."

In New York, however, Bloomberg indicated that the city had little choice but to implement the policy.

"It now appears there will be shortages for possibly another couple weeks," Bloomberg said, later adding, "If you think about it, it's not any great imposition once you get used to it."

Bloomberg said only a quarter of the city's gas stations were open. Some were closed because they were out of power, others because they have been unable to get fuel from terminals and storage tanks that cannot unload their cargoes.

Full NBCNews.com coverage of Sandy's aftermath

Gas will be available to drivers with license-plate numbers ending in an odd number or a letter on Friday. On Saturday, drivers with license plates that end in even numbers or zero can fuel up.

Buses, taxes and limousines, commercial vehicles and emergency vehicles are exempt from the plan, as are people carrying portable gas cans. Vanity plates that do not have numbers are considered odd-numbered plates. Out-of-state drivers are also subject to the system.

But, he added, with some evidence that it's made the lines for gas shorter in New Jersey, the system was worth a try.

New Yorkers, never known for holding their tongues, let their exasperation with the bad weather show.

"Kick in the gas," the New York Post blared in a headline on its website, a day after its print newspaper hit the streets with the cover headline, "God hates us!"

Anger at utilities
Hundreds of thousands of utility customers, mostly in New York and New Jersey, are still waiting for their electricity to come back on -- and some are losing patience, demanding investigations of utilities they say are not working fast enough.  

An angry New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined the calls for an investigation on Thursday, ripping the utilities as unprepared and badly managed.

"It's unacceptable the longer it goes on because the longer it goes on, people's suffering is worse," he said.

But New Jersey Gov. Christie praised his state’s utilities, saying he expects all of his state to have power back by early Sunday.

The utilities have said they are dealing with damage unprecedented in its scope and are doing the best they can.

There is no denying the magnitude of what they have done: At the peak, more than 8.5 million homes and businesses across 21 states lost power during Sandy. Early Friday, there were more than 288,000 outages in New York and about 273,000 in New Jersey.

Some people have lived for days in the dark in temperatures near freezing.

"We lost power last week, just got it back for a day or two, and now we lost it again," said John Monticello of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. "Every day it's the same now: turn on the gas burner for heat. Instant coffee. Use the iPad to find out what's going on in the rest of the world."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

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The New Jersey Shore, the East Coast’s summer playground, famous for its amusement parks, fine white sand beaches, family vacation cottages and even a reality TV show, could be among areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy.

On Tuesday, stark images of leveled homes, shredded boardwalks, boats tossed blocks inland and acres of sand hurled hundreds of yards from the coast began to emerge.

Aerial video on Thursday from state police via NBC’s News10 in Philadelphia showed homes splintered and others surrounded by floodwaters.

 

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In footage from a New Jersey National Guard helicopter, beach homes along Seaside Heights were strewn at odd angles off their foundations, debris was on fire and roads were inundated with sand.

One reader commented on Facebook that it looked like Normandy Beach, site of the allied forces landing in France during World War II.

According to a media pool reporter who accompanied Coast Guard Rear Adm. Steven H. Ratti in a flyover on Tuesday the destruction is extensive. Ratti said he was surprised at the number of washed-out bridges and new inlets carved through New Jersey's barrier Islands. Ratti also noted how unusual it is to see those beach towns so empty.

"Normally you see folks on the beach, cars, but saw little of that today," Ratti said.

In an appearance on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams Tuesday evening, Gov. Chris Christie called the damage "unthinkable."

"I flew over the Seaside Heights boardwalk today. The roller coaster, the log flume ride are in the ocean," Christie told Williams. "The boardwalk in front of Lucky Leos is gone. It’s literally gone. The big sausage and pepper stand in the middle is gone."

Christie said that kind of damage could be seen up and down the Jersey Shore.

"All you see is water and sand and debris where the boardwalk used to be," Christie said of Belmar.

"I’m committed to rebuilding," Christie said. "We’re going to do it. It’s not only the heart of our economy, it’s the soul of New Jersey. The Jersey Shore is the soul of New Jersey."

A dune constructed to protect Point Pleasant Beach was blown away by the storm surge, sending sand far inland, NBC’s Ron Mott reported.

The deadly storm, which hit the Atlantic City dead on and ripped up sections of its famous boardwalk, left more than 2 million people in the state without power and submerged portions of some shore towns, NBC10 in Philadelphia reported.

Related: Superstorm Sandy leaves surreal scenes in its wake

Atlantic City was cut off from the mainland by the storm surge along with other barrier islands, stranding residents who ignored warnings to evacuate. The city’s response sparked a feud between the mayor and governor.

A USA Today reporter who visited Fork River spoke to a Beach Haven resident, Erik Zak, who said much of the town was destroyed.

"There are boats on top of decks, garages floated into the bay," he said. "We saw houses on top of boats."

President Barack Obama has declared New Jersey a disaster area, clearing the way for federal disaster assistance to help start cleanup.

On Wednesday, Obama will join Christie in New Jersey for a tour of storm damage and a talk with residents who are recovering from the storm. He will also talk to first responders, according to a White House statement.

Obama called the storm “heartbreaking for the nation.”

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Following his veto of a bill allowing gay marriage in his state, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused Democrats of playing politics with the issue and said his stance is no different than President Obama's.

"I have the exact same position as the president … The Democrats in my state are criticizing me, saying my feet are firmly planted on the wrong side of justice. I said yesterday, 'Yeah, my feet are firmly planted right next to President Obama." And they don’t criticize him," Christie said on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe."

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Christie defended his view that voters should be the ones who decide what defines marriage in his state.

 

"Even though it’s against my belief on this, I’m willing to be governed on it [by the voters]," Christie said.

Last Friday, Christie vetoed a bill that would have allowed gay marriage in the state. The Republican governor accompanied his veto with a call for lawmakers to appoint an advocate for same-sex couples under the state's existing civil union law.

Obama, on the other hand, has been coy on the subject of gay marriage, Christie insisted. Obama has supported strengthening civil unions, just as he has, but hasn’t gone further than that, Christie said.

"The president has hidden on this issue," Christie told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. "The president opposes same-sex marriage."

Harold Ford, Jr., a former Democratic congressman, also on the show, pointed out that Obama applauded New York’s decision to approve gay marriage.

"So he applauds other people’s courage, but doesn’t have any of his own," Christie shot back.

Christie reiterated that he would respect the people’s will if the measure passed in a statewide referendum.

"You need three-fifths of the state Legislature to get it on the ballot, and I’ve called on every Republican to vote yes, to put it on the ballot," he said.

"Morning Joe" contributor Jonathan Capehart, an openly gay Washington Post columnist, confronted Christie.

"I heard you say that you have your feet firmly planted next to President Obama on this issue, but the key difference between you and the president is that while you support putting the civil rights of that minority up for a public referendum, the president is not in favor of that," Capehart said.

"Has he said that, Jonathan? … Have you heard him say it?" asked Christie. "He’s silent on this issue like he is on every issue that is difficult for him."

This article includes reporting by msnbc.com's Elizabeth Chuck and Reuters.

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TRENTON, N.J. -- Gov. Chris Christie on Friday vetoed a bill allowing same-sex marriage, taking action the day after the New Jersey Assembly passed it.

The Senate approved the bill 24-16 on Monday, with two Republicans in favor. The Assembly vote was 42-33.

The Republican governor returned the bill to the Legislature, saying he wants voters to decide whether New Jersey changes the definition of marriage.

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Just hours after Christie's veto, the Maryland House of Delegates passed a bill to legalize gay marriage 71-76. That bill now goes to the Maryland Senate, where last year it easily cleared the 47-member body. Maryland's Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley has said he would sign it.

Christie, a Republican who opposes same-sex marriage, had vowed "very swift action" once the bill reached his desk. 

His conditional veto also proposed creating an ombudsman to oversee compliance with the state's civil union law, which same-sex couples have said is flawed.

"I am adhering to what I've said since this bill was first introduced — an issue of this magnitude and importance, which requires a constitutional amendment, should be left to the people of New Jersey to decide," Christie said in a statement obtained by NBC News. "I continue to encourage the Legislature to trust the people of New Jersey and seek their input by allowing our citizens to vote on a question that represents a profoundly significant societal change. This is the only path to amend our State Constitution and the best way to resolve the issue of same-sex marriage in our state."

He also said, "I have been just as adamant that same-sex couples in a civil union deserve the very same rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples -- as well as the strict enforcement of those rights and benefits."

Critics pounce
Democrats who had pushed the bill forward said they were disappointed, but not surprised, by Christie's action.

"It's unfortunate that the governor would let his own personal ideology infringe on the rights of thousands of New Jerseyans," said Reed Gusciora, one of two openly gay New Jersey lawmakers and a sponsor of the bill. "For all those who oppose marriage equality, their lives would have been completely unchanged by this bill, but for same-sex couples, their lives would have been radically transformed. Unfortunately, the governor couldn't see past his own personal ambitions to honor this truth."

Senate President Steve Sweeney was more blunt in his criticism of the governor.

"He had a chance to do the right thing, and failed miserably," Sweeney said.

Proponents of the bill said gay marriage is a civil right being denied to gay couples, while opponents said the definition of marriage as a heterosexual institution should not be expanded. The legislation contains a religious opt-out clause, meaning no church clergy would be required to perform gay marriages and places of worship would not have to allow same-sex weddings at their facilities.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of the state's largest gay rights group, Garden State Equality, said Christie's national political ambitions guided his action.

"He won't veto the bill because he's anti-gay," Goldstein said in a statement issued before the veto was issued Friday. "He'll veto the bill because the 2016 South Carolina presidential primary electorate is anti-gay."

Goldstein, who said he has a cordial relationship with the governor, promised to continue fighting him vigorously on the issue. "And we will win, so help me God," he said.

Gregoire reaches out
Another gay marriage supporter, Washington state Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, also reached out to Christie, a practicing Catholic. Gregoire sent the governor a letter last month offering to talk about gay marriage because, in her words, "while I am a Governor, I am also a Catholic."

The Roman Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage.

Gregoire signed a gay marriage measure into law in Washington on Monday. Her spokeswoman, Karina Shagren, said Christie hasn't responded to the letter.

Thirty states, including South Carolina, have adopted constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriages, most by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Six states and Washington, D.C., allow gay marriage. Washington state's new gay marriage law is set to go into effect in June.

Lawmakers in New Jersey have until the end of the legislative session in January 2014 to override the veto.

They would need two-thirds of the lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate to agree. Both votes to pass it fell short of that mark. Christie has virtually guaranteed that no override would succeed because Republicans wouldn't cross him.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature has failed in every previous attempt to override Christie, most notably on a cut to women's health care and an effort to reinstate a tax surcharge on millionaires.

What would public say?
Christie — and most Republican lawmakers — want to put the issue to a public vote. One GOP lawmaker, Sen. Kip Bateman of Somerset, has proposed a ballot question asking voters to allow same-sex nuptials. However, the most powerful Democrat in the Legislature, Senate President Steve Sweeney, has said that won't happen.

Democrats are hoping that support for gay marriage — 52 percent for gay marriage, 42 against it, in New Jersey, according to one recent voter poll — will continue growing.

If same-sex couples can't win gay marriage through legislation, they have engaged in a parallel fight in the courts. Seven gay couples and several of their children have sued, claiming that the state's civil union law doesn't work as intended.

Civil unions were designed to provide the benefits of marriage to gay couples without the title. They were adopted after the Supreme Court instructed the Legislature to provide marriage equality to same-sex couples.

The state's own review commission has since found problems with the law, and same-sex couples have backed that up with testimony before the Legislature.

John Grant and Daniel Weiss, an Asbury Park couple who are in a civil union, are among those who testified in support of gay marriage.

When Grant was in a life-threatening automobile accident and rushed to a New York hospital in 2010 — before that state legalized gay marriage — Weiss said he couldn't authorize badly needed surgery or even go through his partner's wallet to find his health insurance card. He said their civil union was essentially worthless; Grant's neurosurgeon even asked, "What is a civil union?"

A gay marriage bill was defeated in the Senate two years ago, just before Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat who supported the measure, left office. Advocates' hopes dimmed with the arrival of Christie, who spoke against gay marriage when asked about it during his campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Hurricane Irene has busted legal gaming in Atlantic City, N.J. Here's the statement suspending operations beginning noon ET Saturday:

Trenton, NJ - Governor Chris Christie today announced that, in coordination with the Governor's Office, the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) and Casino Association of New Jersey, all gaming activity in Atlantic City will be suspended as of noon Saturday. Security, surveillance and maintenance operations and personnel have been ramped up and coordinated to ensure that the necessary resources to protect and secure the casino properties and assets are substantial and in place.

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Guests of the Atlantic City casino properties who find themselves stranded due to travel logistics problems will be permitted to stay in the hotels. Meanwhile, evacuation of all others able to leave will proceed via local evacuation plans. To ease the traffic flow into southern New Jersey and specifically traffic into Atlantic City, southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway will be closed at Wall Township (Exit 98) beginning today at 8:00 p.m. Ahead of that, all eastbound traffic into Atlantic City will be diverted beginning at 6:00 p.m. 

Casino executives, officials of the DGE, state and local Office of Emergency Management officials, and the New Jersey State Police Atlantic City district commander will be meeting again this afternoon to further coordinate storm-related issues ahead of Hurricane Irene. For further information about safety precautions, evacuation routes and best practices please go to ready.nj.gov.