The New Jersey State Police is investigating a noose found at the American Dream mega-mall construction site in East Rutherford, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday.

“If it turns out to be true, it’s despicable and completely and utterly unacceptable,” Murphy said during an unrelated news conference in Paterson. "Hate crime has no place in this state, in this country.”

The governor offered no additional details but said police are investigating. He added that the state Office of the Attorney General could also get involved, stressing that law enforcement “will pursue this to the fullest extent of the law” if it’s true.

The State Police released a statement through American Dream’s spokesman saying the agency was contacted Friday regarding “a rope tied into a noose that was found hanging at the American Dream construction site.”

The incident is under investigation, police said, declining to release additional details.

“The American Dream community has a zero-tolerance policy toward any acts or actions that could be perceived as threatening or harassing,” said a spokesman for the development, William P. Murray.

“We are fully dedicated to ensuring a tolerant, safe and inclusive environment for our workforce," Murray added. "We are cooperating with law enforcement on an active investigation.”

The long-delayed 3 million-square-foot American Dream mega-mall is expected to open this spring. About 55 percent of it will be devoted to entertainment, including the 8-acre indoor Nickelodeon Universe amusement park. The rest will be retail.

Construction on what was then known as Xanadu began in March 2005. It was supposed to be a 4.8-million-square foot retail, entertainment, sports, office and hotel complex that spanned 96 acres and cost $2 billion. Mills and Mack-Cali planned a 2007 opening date.

That goal wasn’t met and construction stopped in 2009 when the Lehman Brothers subsidiary cut off financing for the project.

In 2011, Triple Five, owners of the Mall of America, acquired Xanadu from the group of lenders who owned the debt. They promised to tone down the facade of what then-Gov. Chris Christie called “the ugliest damn building in New Jersey and maybe America” and the developer renamed the mega-mall American Dream.

Work on the mega-mall finally began again in 2015 after a six year stoppage. Construction briefly stopped in December 2016 and resumed early the next year.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Jeff Goldman contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01

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