A judge tomorrow is scheduled to decide whether Lakewood has the right to evict the homeless from Tent City. After several years of the homeless occupying the land – and after a fire and Hypothermia have claimed the lives of at least two residents – the Township has finally decided that the resindents are living illegally on public land, and they should be required to seek shelter elsewhere.
The approximatly 70 defendants, led by Minister Steve Brigham, claim the Township and Ocean County failed to provide any alternatives for the homeless.
Attorney Jeffrey Wild, who stood by as the homeless marched to Red Square, has taken the case of the homeless, and filed the lawsuit against the Township and the County.
The hearing will take place in the County Court House in Toms River. TLS.
Let us pray that the court will be just, and place an eviction notice on the Tent City Dwellers. Humans cannot and should not live in the woods.
Ocean County needs to sponsor the effort to house and rehabilitate these lost souls. My prayers are with them. They are not capable to make decisions for their own welfare, so the County needs to help with their welfare.
Lakewood have no love
my landlord was the worst, so I left to the army
and in the army we live in tents ,in Israel the Beduin live in tent
every day all year long
How can Lakewood evict people on county land??
#1 so you want our taxes to go even higher ???
“Ocean County needs to sponsor the effort to house and rehabilitate these lost souls.”
That’s the problem! Ocean County has no homeless shelters nor do they make any kind of effort to help the homeless at all! Instead they ship them to other counties and make it someone else’s problem. What ever happened to helping your fellow man? To having compassion for others less fortunate? And don’t start on the tired litany of “they don’t want to help themselves” or “they have drug and alcohol problems and don’t want to give that life up” People who say that obviously have no idea what Tent City is like or the people who live there. A majority are honestly down on their luck, with no where to go and no one to help them. Those that receive any assistance take advantage of it and try to better their station but a majority of them do not qualify or have had their pleas ignored and denied for numerous reasons- and not drug and alcohol abuse. Understandably they are technically trespassing on township land, but where else would you have them go? In the streets of Clifton Ave? It might upset the store owners and shoppers. Your backyard? That will never do. Or an unoccupied piece of township property far from any residential houses where they don’t bother anyone? I invite anyone to tour Tent City and speak with Pastor Steve and meet some of the poor souls who have no choice but to live in the elements- maybe it will give you some perspective on things and make you realize how lucky you truely are.. G-d bless the residents of Tent City and the wonderful Pastor Steve who has given up his life to help them.
what right is right and whats fair is fair, they are illegally squatting on someone else’s land. they pollute the air with smoke from burning who knows what, have no running water, electricity, or personal hygiene. its time to put an end to this eyesore once and for all. thank you Mr Steven Langert for helping get rid of this g d awefull place
I will keep all of the residents of Tent City in my Prayers tomorrow that they are allowed to stay in the only place they know as HOME!!!
Thank you Proud Lakewooder & Raintree Resident. If only there were more people like you, the world would be a better place.
And to the people who comment on this who do not live in Lakewood or anywhere near Tent City- don’t you have better things to do than obsess over another towns issues that don’t affect you at all? How is this detrimental to you or your life when its the down trodden who are suffering?
Too many have forgotten where our country came from.
We invite all to our country with open arms. Why would anyone want to through our own citizens out into the streets.
To All Please take the time to read and refect on before making your negative comments.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
What about bikor cholim houses and bais hatvshiv?
We can’t have these people hanging in a forest. It’s unsafe.
i live close to tent city and i have to breathe in the polluted air together with my asthma,its about time something is done.
Legally, I guess they can evict them, but it does not look or seem right.
Why doesnt the county put them in the big homes on taxpayers dollars instead of putting people there who dont speak English from south of Texas in those homes on taxpayers dollars?
Lakewood would also save money since they wouldnt have to pay for bilingual schooling for kids of those who speak a language other than English and come from south of Texas, and who work here but dont do so to properly pay taxes like the rest of us. (is that politically correct enough?)
Secondly, how can a court evict citizens and not those who are not here legally. The whole “legal” element because an absurd fraud.
I meant to say, “becomes” an absurd fraud.
hey raintree resident, let em move to your backyard!!! You can’t talk if you don;t have to deal with the stench of their burning who=knows=what and the possible danger that YOUR residence could be destroyed/harmed if one of their fires gets out of hand! Unless you are their neighbor YOU CANT TALK! I agree, make a decent shelter, safe, sanitary, and let them move there! The forest should be forbiden. Any NORMAL town would have done this a lonnnnng time ago! If a fire would break loose and do damage, i would SUE the township for Everything they have and MORE!
Half of you people who commented here really don’t have any idea of what you are talking about this country was founded on liberty and freedom, our fore fathers who sellted this great nation had to rough it in the wilderness and sleep under the stars, in earlier times we all came from nothing sheep hearders and travelers a like, if these people want to live in the woods and its public land which it is town property its not costing much at all for these people to do so and not interupting your daily prayers then what do people care, then if a bunch of crazy wanna live in the woods. REALLY leave it alone its not you in the woods because they don’t have the internet in the woods so there for, you people wouldn’t be there, this is from your neighborhood Kosher fish man Thanks