VIDEO: Township Tears Down ‘Illegal Tents’ at Tent City

VIDEO & PHOTOS: Illegal may be a relative term when dealing with an illegal encampment, but the Township on Friday tore down approximately 20 illegal tents at Tent City in an effort to crack down on those not willing to take part in the closing of the encampment – despite the court orders – and on those who moved in following the court order.

After the recent court order and agreement which would officially put an end to the homeless camp by finding placement for those eligible, most of the residents present at the encampments at the time of the settlement agreed to be counted, documented and ID’d – along with their structures – as officials from the Township, County and STEPS work on placement.

However, the Mayor confirms to TLS that some decided to not take part in the program. So on Friday, those who wished to remain in the camp ‘illegally’, saw that Officials mean business.

“Per our agreement, no new people are allowed to move in,” Mayor Akerman tells TLS. “We gave notice to those who moved in after the court order that we will be tearing down their tents.”

And if new ones are built, they too will be torn down.

“We will continue to do this as long as people keep moving in,” the Mayor said. “People continue to come to Tent City from all over the Country, and it must stop – even the current residents of Tent City are not happy about some of the new arrivals.”

About one hundred others remain in the encampment. [TLS]


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33 COMMENTS

  1. she has medical problems and has been trying to secure housing at the senior housing building s with no sucess. please …..she is sweet and kind and disabled..she needs a home

  2. Very cute but tearing down a pathetic little tent is not going to prevent illegals from hanging up another tarp.
    If they are breaking the law they should be fined prosecuted and imprisoned to the full extent that the law and ordinances prescribe.

  3. Vanessa you obviously have not been watching what has been going on with tent city. Why dont you have pity on the hundreds of school children forced to endure the choking smoke that billows from the forestt. Or the dozens of women who have been harassed by strange men living in tent city. Why dont you have pity on the drug addicts who are being exploited in the woods or the ppl who died in fires from unsafe wiring. Why dont yu have pity on the ppl who froze to death in the winter. I do
    i have pity on all these ppl and want to see them with a better life. Thats why i say GET THEM OUT OF THE WOODS. And if you feel you have a betyer way vanessa… Contact the twp amd offer to take some homeless to live on YOUR property

  4. I would like to know who paid for the cost of demolition and removal of it’s debris? What was total cost to Lakewood taxpayers?

  5. of course we payed for that, the county and state have done nothing. Ackerman for Mayor again in 2014………..one more ackeryear………lets hear it folks…………ackeryear ackeryear ackeryear

  6. Ok “finaly” learn how to spell because your trying to sound well informed, but your spelling just makes you seem ignorant. Also, what really bothers me is that they said “finding placement for those eligible.” What about those who aren’t eligible.. where will they go? These people don’t want to live in tents, they’re out of options.. And if your so worried about debris.. clean up your front yards because when I drive through Lakewood there is always trash and toys littered all up and down the street, which brings down your property value more than a bunch of people down on their luck living in tents. (moderated)

  7. These people continue to break laws that every other citizen must follow especially drug laws (use of heroine). They continue to break court orders from a Superior Court Judge. Why is this being allowed? Breaking a Superior Court order should be enough to warrant the tearing down of all the tents!

  8. To number 14
    Those eligible mean they’re residents of lakewood or at least ocean county. Those ineligible mean they’re from out of town. If they’re from out of town it’s no reason why we have to deal with them over here. Let them go back to where they came from and those governments are responsible to take care of them not us.

  9. To those of you who approve of this, stop and think really hard, a lot of these people were you one day, and tomorrow you can be without a job and be homeless.

  10. If I was without a job and homeless I wouldn’t be some heroine addict sitting in a tent allowing some so called reverend with an agenda and the sympathetic fooled public to take care of me. I’d get off my behind and attempt to make a life for myself. Seems they are all too content just sitting around collecting their welfare checks.

  11. #19 – its one thing if they are just out of jobs…most of them are on drugs and drinking… I live in the area and see pple constantly walking with their bags from the alchohol store on cedarbridge. Many times I see pple that cant even walk straight and they look sick from being on so much drugs.

  12. A big thank you to our compassionate Mayor – Albert Ackerman who see into the future like the prophets and realized that this is no safe place for all those individuals living in Tent City, he is a man of action and sympathy, he sympathizes with the Tent City residents to the greatest extent and is giving them back their self respect and dignity by offering them a way out of the rut they all got themselves into. At the same time taking into account the neighboring residents surrounding Tent City who are suffering as well in their own way and deserve to be heard and dealt with the way he is.

    At this point all we should do is support our wonderful Mayor and realize that it is in everyone’s best interest to relocate the residents living there.

    May the one above always be there for the Mayor.

  13. A person doesn’t lose his home overnight without any warning. A landlord cannot evict someone just like that and even if someone’s home is in foreclosure it doesn’t put him out in the street all of a sudden. These people had time to make other living arrangements I am sure, and should have gone for help before they had to resort to living in tents. It should never have come to this situation, where there are over 100 tents on private property – property belonging to Lakewood, not for squatting on. Every Tom Dick and Harry who wants to freeload feels he can come to Lakewood and park himself in a tent Scott free and not pay taxes or for garbage collection etc. while the legal residents of Lakewood pay taxes through the nose.

  14. Ashamed of Lakewood:

    Since you are very concerned about spelling, the correct spelling in your comment is “you’re trying,” not “your trying.”

  15. Tens of thousands of taxvictim dollars, dozens of damaged trees, etc – all to make 15 poor people homeless again… Leave Tent City alone!

  16. This housing thing is taking too long.Lets get them out of there now! How much longer STEPS and social services? And how come you are just tearing down “illegal” tents? If they are “illegal” how come that “minister” isn’t in ‘contenpt” of court?

  17. “Illegal” tents? what the heck is that?
    Tearing down “illegal” tents? “Illegal”
    is the name of the game inside that place!

  18. I cannot believe the comments about feeling sorry for these people. 85 percent of them are flippin drug addicts. Get them out already.The other 15 percent can be placed in some kind of something if the mayor is serious.

Comments are closed.