VIDEO: Township trucks dumped piles of mulch at the entrances to Tent City this morning in an effort to prevent further growth, officials tell TLS. As the weather gets warmer, officials fear Tent City will continue to sprout and expand, anchoring themselves deeper into the woods.
Although parties have agreed to mediate the dispute between the Township and upwards of 70 or more people occupying two of the homeless camps sites, cutting down more trees and putting up more tents is against a current court order, officials say.
“The Township maintains that the camps are extremely dangerous to the individuals living there and to the environment”, the Township said in a recent Press release. “For example, at the end of January another man died in a fire, adding to others who have already lost their lives in fires at the encampments. Little in the encampments is regulated to protect the people living there or the environment.”
The Department Of Public Works this morning was seen dumping truckloads of mulch at two of the three entrances on Cedarbridge Avenue, in an effort to block vehicle and equipment from coming in to the homeless camp. TLS-464 T./TLS-CCP.
i give it 2-weeks before this mulch is moved over night and used to harvest vegetables and fruits INSIDE tent city. lol
This impediment is unlikely to last until nightfall.
great idea township! now they can use the mulch to grow gardens and harvest their own vegetables! what a considerate committee we have 🙂
If this should delay EMS or Fire response can a resident sue the TWP ??
Keep on dumping dirt on the no good camp. Stop provoiding them services like garage pick up ect.
how is it it allowed that people can move on to public property? start issuing tickets and making arrests for trespassing
Isn’t that a fire hazard to block a exit or fire lane?
Crazy world we live in.
We have illegal aliens on Clifton and nothing gets done….
Trespassing on township property and all they can do is dump dirt at the entrance as the judge doesn’t ‘allow’ removal.
Try lighting a fire on lag baomer or biur chometz w.o a permit and who major crackdown.
In my opinion, this Tent City is not a genuine place for homeless awaiting help. It is a certain kind of person who wants to live like that full-time, even if presented with a place to stay.
Additionally, it seems there are certain Pastors who exploit these people, who do this to create a hard time. The church certainly should be able to come up with proper shelter for these people.
I hear on NY radio, another Pastor representing the same kind of people but complaining NYC should allow them to stay in the public schools.
Well, we all know public schools are crowded and the churches do not open up their buildings for public school use, yet these Pastors are asking public entities to allow these kind of homeless people to stay in those schools.
The problem is, the Pastors are doing this in a combative, symbolic way to make a point, and they are using these people, who if they were regular church members, should have their other members help provide for them in a normal way and not with elaborate camping equipment.
They are breaking the law. And if they choose homelessness and to live in a “natural” setting even with proper housing afforded them, then a township has a right and obligation to keep the land clear of squatters in behalf of the taxpayers and residents of that town.
Perhaps the Tent City can be moved to the grounds of the church where the Pastor is from, or some other church, where taxes and township matters are not an issue.
And why choose Lakewood? Are they homeless Lakewood residents?
If this should delay EMS or Fire response can a resident sue the TWP ??
Yes, Yes way not.
I hope the fire marshal will order the township to remove it before this will cost another life
Mulch???? That will stop them. Maybe the police can carry bags of mulch instead of guns. They can throw it at criminals. What a waste of good mulch.
The main entranceway at Clover was not blocked, just the two expanded roads the tent city people deceided to open.
I moved a truck load of mulch in a few hours by myself… How long will it take 70 people to move it???
if they are not personally bothering you, why the animosity? how does this issue affect anyone besides the ones living out there? everyone commenting on this site most likely live far away from the encampment and dont have any interactions with the residents nor the “pastors” and have no idea how to settle the issue short of throwing them out on the streets. then there will be an outcry because we will have them wandering around own neighborhoods and in downtownm lakewood. they have made their home far enough away from the majority of the lakewood population and do not bother anyone. leave the poor people alone.
I would like to know how many of these folks were residents before they moved into the woods? I doubt more than 5. Then they have the gall to demand services from our township and our taxpayers a if we are responsible for their plight.by their own admission (read the archives of APP they have migrated here for a free lunch. Let them bill the countries from which they come from!
Close down tent city!
What would 213 LPD or 217 LPD do if it were a traffic
safety issue?
@ # 16 : Those of us who live near “tent city” have to deal with their BURNING WHO-KNOWS-WHAT each and every night in the winter. The stinky smoke smell seeps into our homes thru closed windowns, hangs thick in the air and burns ur eyes when u step foot outside. It is repulsive to have this in ur own backyard!! who wants that for ur neighborhood? Build them a nice sanitary shelter, help them out for sure! But THIS is disgusting and inexcusable. SHAME on the township for not stepping up and dealing with this properly.
The town MUST step up to the plate and deal with this once and for all. This is no way to handle this huge problem.
The same township that picks up their garbage is now dumping mulch to block them from entering. How about first cutting back on the services that the township provides? Am i the only one that seems confused there. Look at the pictures. Those are township garbage cans! Makes no sense.
I think the BOE should take this over.
I don’t know how people live around there. The pungent toxic heavy smell of smoke wafts through the air every evening. It is dangerous to breathe. Even passing by the 2 seconds makes you feel that you need an oxygen mask.
I think if there is a police fire or ems emergency it will delay them from getting in there now>>WTG DPW and Twp Committee..who thought about that one..
IF you get 70 people together you can spread that pile in no time..LOL make a better entrance way
@ 16 I live across the street and can barely breathe at night when I walk outside!
What’s gonna be!!!!! Let them get jobs
I don’t get it, I pay taxes and DPW won’t deliver mulch to my house…..
HEY EVERYONE, FREE MULCH AT TENT CITY!!
bring buckets & shovels lol
(if they gave it to homeless, they’ll give it to home-owners)
Thanks for the mulch. Could you please deliver some tomato plants too.
Haha I love it
What’s wrong with tent city? It really is just ” Ultra-Affordable Housing”!
what does Bill Hobday have to say about this
i saw someone (presumably a resident…) shoveling up the pile just this afternoon…
Maybe its time the township is sued for the unhealthy air that nearby residents must inhale, due to the burning of whatever it is they burn there all the time.
i agree with #35! Maybe that’ll get em thinking straight.
This and illegals on 2nd street is the biggest problem in this town and no one is doing anything about it. We need to elect officials who will do whats right!
I believe alll they are doin is distroying good comercial property .. if they want to stay there they should pay taxes and pay a mortgage for the property
Today I drove past….. during March there is no foliage and you can see straight through the trees. All those tents have new smoke pipe exhaust heaters… some seemed to have electric…. plus many had cars and trucks parked next to there tents…. so a thought came to mind…if people are living there and have vehicles..how did they get a registration and insurance without a mailing address.. even a PO box needs a driver license…I feel horrible for these people… but the town supplies them with garbage pick-up and port a potties…and they don’t pay taxes…..they have made roads in and out of the camp site…fire wood is delivered there… come on..even camp sites charge for space.. this is no longer a homeless camp… but a functioning free camp site… that’s growing…very fast…. the roads in and out without proper lighting will cause accidents and liability… Sorry but close it down already.
I live less than a mile away. The whole place is an incredible disgrace. The Board of Health is worried about everyone getting whooping cough shots, but this public health hazard is enabled to continue. The garbage strewn everywhere, the improper sanitation, & improper disposal of human body wastes are just a number of things that contribute to the ills of Tent City. Soon the flies and mosquitos will eat off these wastes and fly around the city spreading disease everywhere. Then you’ll all have a different problem to worry about and I mean all kinds of toxic infectious disease.
Any loser who wants to live off the fat of the land has signed on there. Some of them have really nice cars, the traffic goes in and out all day, whatever they are trafficking, and some residents have really expensive campers. It’s really enough already that this has allowed to continue. Who is responsible for this? This is not humanitarian, this is enabling people to live in a dumpsite to further spread disease and sickness. That’s how diptheria, polio, and malaria take root. Wake up township officials. Soon you’ll have an even bigger problem.
dpw workers just doing what there told by higher up’s.
Why doesn’t the township cut down all the trees, and lease it out, they would leave immediately
To all of you that keep blaming the Town for not closing Tent City please read this.
The Township took Tent City to court several months ago and the entire matter is pending in the courts. A judge will decide the fate of Tent City not the Township
To # 39 : The Township made a request long ago that propane not be used for heating the tents. Each tent has since been equipped with a wood burning stove set up as specified by the Fire Iinspector. This includes the stove pipes that you see protruding from the tents. The Fire Inspector inspects these installations on a regular basis.
There is no electricity from the street to Tent City. What you may have seen is battery operated camping lanterns provided to each tent.
Very few people at Tent City have cars, What you probably saw were the cars of the people who visit tent city on a regular basis.This may includes various township departments, reporters and camera crews, businesses, churches and other individuals that donate food and clothing and volunteers like myself who come to the came to assist where needed.
The town does not supply port a potties. Not sure what you saw
The roads you see were not made by anyone at Tent City. These are firebreaks that were there long before Tent City existed.
I could go on and on about your other comments and assumptions but it would just be a waste of both our time because this is all in the hands of the courts and a judge will made the final decision based on the true facts. Until that time Tent City cannot be shut by the County or the Township.
to quote:Why doesn’t the township cut down all the trees, and lease it out, they would leave immediately:
yea just what this town does best cut all the trees down ,just look arround like there not enough of that already happening !!!
Quote :The Township took Tent City to court several months ago and the entire matter is pending in the courts. A judge will decide the fate of Tent City not the Township you are 100% right ~ some people ignore facts
why cant this town put up a shelter home like all other cities in this country where all the homeless can go to?!?!
@ #44 – they can do that, but these tent city people may “choose” that they’d rather live on their “own” in the woods. if they do make a shelter, they must also take strong measures to SHUT DOWN tent city….
Why is it if I post a commet and it has a little truth in it ,it gets taken off?
Thought this was a free country and freedom of speech was part of it. Nothing bad said about anybody or anything just the thought I had on tent city being torn,still say someone wants to use the land for more townhouses and condos. Oh there is another are that has some trees on it, they have to go.
i dont know about the cars but i know the campers were donated by people so the residents have somewhere to go in the winter so they dont freeze to death.
Tent City is growing rapidly, in violation of the Court Order. This must result in the township filing another complaint to seek a court order of eviction to remove the new squatters that are in violation of the order.
The Township must argue that they abide by the terms of the court order in good faith, however the members and/or representatives of Tent City have failed to do so.
Tent City is a detriment to the Township, the residents/citizens, and to the people that reside in Tent City, therefore the court needs to enforce their order.
Lakewood must also make it clear, that the municipality is unable to guarantee the safety of the people of Tent City, unable to continue providing basic services at the expense of the taxpayer, and that the courts must look to the County of Ocean and/or the State of New Jersey to help to bring about a reasonable remedy for the situation.
To Bill Hobday, the township has already done this several months when they filed for eviction. The entire matter was turned over to a mediator by Judge Foster. When the Township filed for eviction the consent order was automatically vacated therefore the original court order cannot be enforced.