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Anti Federalist
07-01-2010, 09:27 PM
File under "debtor's prison", I suppose...

NJ Town Suing Homeless Squatters

One New Jersey shore town has tried pleading, threatening and reasoning with a group of homeless squatters camping in the woods.

Now the township of Lakewood is suing them.

A lawsuit filed Monday against dozens of squatters aims to force them to move from their encampment into temporary housing the township says it is pursuing for them.

The lawsuit calls the homeless "trespassers" who have done "irreparable harm" to public property.

It also seeks payment of attorney and other fees, although how those fees could be collected from the indigent squatters was unclear.

Mayor Steven Langert, who had been talking about clearing the camp since April, says Lakewood doesn't plan to remove anyone before finding temporary housing for them.

"We are not throwing the homeless out on the street," he said. "We are trying to do this to benefit and protect them and the town. We have been working with the county, and now is the time to do this so that we can bring all the stakeholders to the table to resolve the issue."

Mike McNeil, whose nonprofit Solutions To End Poverty Soon has been looking for permanent housing for the camp's residents, said the goal is to have them out of the woods by September.

A health care center in nearby Toms River has agreed to take in those with mental or physical disabilities.


http://cbs3.com/local/homeless.lawsuit.lakewood.2.1780874.html

specsaregood
07-01-2010, 09:34 PM
//

catdd
07-01-2010, 09:47 PM
If they sued them all there probably wouldn't be enough to buy a Happy Meal.

Alex Libman
06-21-2013, 02:01 PM
Lots of lies in those news reports...

An update on the Tent City of Lakewood, NJ saga on a new thread:

The Libertarian Solution To End Homelessness (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?417696-The-Libertarian-Solution-To-End-Homelessness)

And we are homesteaders, not squatters.

kcchiefs6465
06-21-2013, 02:24 PM
Lots of lies in those news reports...

An update on the Tent City of Lakewood, NJ saga on a new thread:

The Libertarian Solution To End Homelessness (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?417696-The-Libertarian-Solution-To-End-Homelessness)

And we are homesteaders, not squatters.
I'm not quite sure whose shanty that is in the video (haven't watched it yet) but nice job.

We built one as a drinking spot/place to just get away from everyone and everything. Had a wood floor, beds, a couple computer chairs, shelves with canned food, a nice rock fire place. Enough room to stand up in. Hell we even had a front porch. (built it on a hill, though it was level) It was very good times. We had pots and pans down there, knew the local folk who stopped in from time to time, and would have barbecues regularly. Middle of the city but I tell you what we had some wildlife. A pair of egrets, a hawk, otters, groundhogs, a ton of geese, a bobcat, or possibly mountain lion. (it was more of a roar than a growl.. stayed on the other side of the river and was night so I didn't get a good look at it) Hell, even saw a black bear down there. (and this was a mile and a half away from downtown.. the weirdest thing)

Good luck keeping your home. Fuck what they say. Up the railroad tracks is always an option though, if the harassment becomes too much. The police would come down every now and again but we had a garbage can for bottles so they didn't say much. We treated the area as if it were our home. People who came down and didn't respect that didn't stay long. Some asshole, probably one who got evicted for breaking bottles or something, burnt it down. A hell of a windstorm came through and dropped four big trees across the spot where it was. Anyone inside of it would have been killed so I suppose it was a good thing.

I still remember sitting comfortably on computer chairs, surrounded by trees and wildlife, in the middle of a city, cooking a whole chicken. Taught me a lot about life, just meeting the people and hanging out.

69360
06-21-2013, 03:35 PM
Why don't you all get a few thousand together and buy a few acres in the country with no zoning laws and live the way you want to? Maybe it's just me but it seems like more hassle than it is worth to stay there.

kcchiefs6465
06-21-2013, 03:53 PM
Why don't you all get a few thousand together and buy a few acres in the country with no zoning laws and live the way you want to? Maybe it's just me but it seems like more hassle than it is worth to stay there.
It is easier to live in the city. Stores are close by, etc. Being out in the country away from everything is a lot harder. Clean water etc. I am not sure the situation set up whether they are near a river, have a pump and are able to take showers or baths but in the city they do have churches and other charities that allow you take a shower. They help out in other ways as well, food being just one of them. There are places that feed the homeless on certain days etc. Being in the country, with no means of transportation makes things more difficult than need be.

I'm sure some places have no zoning laws but I believe they would have building codes, etc. Frontage is expensive too. On the land my father owned they passed an ordinance on updating the septic system. I'd imagine there are rules and regulations no matter where you go. They definitely wouldn't let him just up and build on his property without permits but I was a young child and do not know the specifics.

69360
06-21-2013, 04:27 PM
I'm sure not in NJ, but here in northern new england you just build what you want on your land and nobody bothers you. Lots of NH doesn't even have building codes. Around here in Maine nobody seems to care one bit about zoning outside of the towns as long as you don't bother the neighbors. Plenty of people still live in shacks they built themselves with no indoor plumbing. Depending on the water table you can just dig a well and get a hand pump. Even a drilled well isn't that much. These people could pick up a nice piece of land and become self sufficient pretty easy, plant some crops, a few animals. It looked like they had an old schoolbus to get around in.

I guess my point is I just think they are making it unnecessarily hard on themselves trying to do this in a city in NJ.

Alex Libman
07-04-2013, 01:50 PM
Thanks for words of encouragement.

Yeah, it is a dream of mine to build a new Hemp City in New Tentshire, err, to build a new Tent City in New Hampshire... :)

I'm a Free Stater, but got discouraged through a lot of negativity I've experienced on the forums and never made the move (http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=24870)...

Someday I'll get over it... "Damn the trollpedoes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_the_torpedoes,_full_speed_ahead#Damn_the_torp edoes), full speed ahead!" :rolleyes:

But... One battle at a time. Not giving up Lakewood, NJ to the Bulldozer Bullies (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?417696-The-Libertarian-Solution-To-End-Homelessness&p=5092319&viewfull=1#post5092319) just yet...