Poll

A Poll to decide if a poll should be taken.

Yes, we should take a poll to see people's opinion on TC.
8 (16.3%)
No, we should not take a poll to see people's opinion on TC.
7 (14.3%)
I never vote in polls.
5 (10.2%)
Maybe we should first take a poll to determine if this poll should be taken.
29 (59.2%)

Total Members Voted: 49

Author Topic: Tent City Lakewood  (Read 66607 times)

Offline notanonymous

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: May 2013
  • Posts: 2111
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Tent City Lakewood
« on: October 26, 2013, 09:45:23 PM »
yes by soon to be shopping center by "the woods" on cedar bridge
I heard they are going to name it 'Tent City Plaza'.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2013, 07:29:53 PM by Dan »

Offline dd321

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Apr 2011
  • Posts: 1354
  • Total likes: 4
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2013, 10:05:06 PM »

I heard they are going to name it 'Tent City Plaza'.
lol

Offline Alex Libman

  • Non-Elite Member
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 0
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Tent City Movement
  • Location: The Tent Archipelago, Lakewood, NJ
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2013, 10:39:34 AM »
I heard they are going to name it 'Tent City Plaza'.

That's funny, but it seems like you're attaching a certain undue stigma to Tent City.  Poor people live outside of Tent City too, and government usually pays much of their rent.  There's just as much of drugs, alcohol, and other problems in poor neighborhoods outside Tent City.  What makes Tent City different is that it doesn't use taxpayer money.  It's people who for whatever reason can't afford an apartment (which is impossible for one person to afford on minimum wage in this area), living cheaply so that they could pull their own weight, or rely on voluntary charity and mutual aid.  Tent City is good for the poor, and it's good for taxpayers too!

To learn more about our Tent City, please visit TentCityNJ.org.   :)

Please LIKE "Tent City of Lakewood, NJ" on Facebook, and INVITE your friends!

Offline aygart

  • Dansdeals Lifetime 10K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 17395
  • Total likes: 14333
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 14
    • View Profile
    • Lower Watt Energy Brokers
  • Programs: www.lowerwatt.com
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2013, 12:43:45 PM »
Get real. Its a miracle that their fires didn't burn down half of Lakewood. Go tell the kids with asthma from all the smoke that its a benefit.
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline hocker

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Oct 2009
  • Posts: 3501
  • Total likes: 85
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 5
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2013, 12:49:04 PM »
Please LIKE "Tent City of Lakewood, NJ" on Facebook, and INVITE your friends!

What a great shame Facebook doesn't have a 'Hate' button.

Offline churnbabychurn

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 7355
  • Total likes: 301
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: Lakewood
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2013, 12:53:25 PM »
Huh? They don't have it anymore? When I was there there was one in the dorm and a few (at various times) on different floors of the IRV...
Im sure there still is. I meant personally, those days are long gone.. :)

Offline metziah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Apr 2012
  • Posts: 915
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2013, 12:56:11 PM »

That's funny, but it seems like you're attaching a certain undue stigma to Tent City.  Poor people live outside of Tent City too, and government usually pays much of their rent.  There's just as much of drugs, alcohol, and other problems in poor neighborhoods outside Tent City.  What makes Tent City different is that it doesn't use taxpayer money.  It's people who for whatever reason can't afford an apartment (which is impossible for one person to afford on minimum wage in this area), living cheaply so that they could pull their own weight, or rely on voluntary charity and mutual aid.  Tent City is good for the poor, and it's good for taxpayers too!

To learn more about our Tent City, please visit TentCityNJ.org.   :)

Please LIKE "Tent City of Lakewood, NJ" on Facebook, and INVITE your friends!
WOW!!  So simple Mr Alex. It's like, what's wrong with everyone else around you that doesn't understand the "benefits" of tent city. Who cares that it's a hideout for crooks and criminals. Who cares that they're  polluting the air for all of us law abiding citizens. Who cares that the invaders trespass and urinate on private property, that people paid for with their hard earned money. Who cares to  pay attention to the fact that they chose Lakewood to open their illegal settlement, and not Trenton, Camden or Philly........ Why can't the citizens of Lakewood be heard also.

Offline churnbabychurn

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 7355
  • Total likes: 301
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: Lakewood
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2013, 12:56:39 PM »
That's funny, but it seems like you're attaching a certain undue stigma to Tent City.  Poor people live outside of Tent City too, and government usually pays much of their rent.  There's just as much of drugs, alcohol, and other problems in poor neighborhoods outside Tent City.  What makes Tent City different is that it doesn't use taxpayer money.  It's people who for whatever reason can't afford an apartment (which is impossible for one person to afford on minimum wage in this area), living cheaply so that they could pull their own weight, or rely on voluntary charity and mutual aid.  Tent City is good for the poor, and it's good for taxpayers too!

To learn more about our Tent City, please visit TentCityNJ.org.   :)

Please LIKE "Tent City of Lakewood, NJ" on Facebook, and INVITE your friends!
You just like helping the poor?

Offline metziah

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Apr 2012
  • Posts: 915
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2013, 12:57:16 PM »
And besides I don't think these forums is a place for such discussion.( read: propaganda)

Offline Super Speed

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 4849
  • Total likes: 50
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Programs: SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hertz Presidents Circle, Avis First, National Executive Elite, Sixt Platinum.
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2013, 12:59:33 PM »
It seems the OP is a resident of Tent-City.


Offline Saver2000

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Apr 2011
  • Posts: 7660
  • Total likes: 47
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2013, 01:00:54 PM »
It seems the OP is a resident of Tent-City.


Correct.  Didn't he state  that in his post?

Offline Super Speed

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 4849
  • Total likes: 50
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Programs: SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hertz Presidents Circle, Avis First, National Executive Elite, Sixt Platinum.
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2013, 01:09:39 PM »
Correct.  Didn't he state  that in his post?
Re-read and still haven't seen anything saying that he's a resident except that he said "our" which could just mean he feels like its the shtuts tent city.


Offline ybeeds

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 2027
  • Total likes: 15
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 34
    • View Profile
    • JewishMusicStream.com
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2013, 01:17:25 PM »
Re-read and still haven't seen anything saying that he's a resident except that he said "our" which could just mean he feels like its the shtuts tent city.
read his location on the left side...
My office buzzes to the JewishMusicStream!!!

Offline Super Speed

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 4849
  • Total likes: 50
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Programs: SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hertz Presidents Circle, Avis First, National Executive Elite, Sixt Platinum.
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2013, 01:42:22 PM »
read his location on the left side...
Tapatalk :(


Offline smurf

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Sep 2010
  • Posts: 4525
  • Total likes: 276
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 8
    • View Profile
  • Location: NJ
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2013, 01:56:34 PM »
read his location on the left side...
they have internet in tent city?

Offline bubbles

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2011
  • Posts: 5060
  • Total likes: 20
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 67
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #15 on: October 27, 2013, 02:13:34 PM »
they have internet in tent city?

Free optimum wifi ;D

Offline Alex Libman

  • Non-Elite Member
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 0
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Tent City Movement
  • Location: The Tent Archipelago, Lakewood, NJ
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #16 on: October 27, 2013, 06:06:37 PM »
You are letting your emotions and your imaginations run away with you.  If you want to make a rational argument, you need to focus on the facts, including statistical analysis.

You must also remember to frame the question logically - waving a magic wand to make all homelessness disappear is not an option.  In judging the benefits and harms of Tent City, we need to compare it to a hypothetical world where Tent City didn't exist.

People would still be homeless without Tent City, but living somewhere else.  This either means more ridiculously overpriced public housing further driving up taxes, or more people living in the alleyways and park benches - or some combination of both.

NJ already is one of the worst places in the country to do business.  There is a "point of diminishing returns" - a limit to how much the government can tax and spend, as businesses will move out of the area and the economy will collapse.  So the government can't help everybody.

Tent City is a lot better than homeless people living in the streets without any kind of organization or support.  Tent City coordinates donations and volunteers to provite people with basic shelter, food, water, clothing, and sanitation.  Less desperation means less crime.  Lakewood is a much cleaner and safer place than it would have been without Tent City.


Get real. Its a miracle that their fires didn't burn down half of Lakewood.

We are trying our best to reduce the risk of fire at Tent City.  There have been relatively few in the 7+ year history of our Tent City.

Fires happen outside of Tent City too - and so do gas leaks, downed power lines, and other hazards that never happen at Tent City.  Without evidence and statistics, anyone can claim anything against anybody.

No one in our Tent City has ever died from a fire.  The same cannot be said of Capitol Motel - the place on 7st St, where I lived for 2.5 years, prior to coming to Tent City on March 1st of this year.

There was a homeless man who committed suicide with fire by the railroad tracks, which is far outside of our Tent City, and only emphasizes the benefit that our Tent City community provides in alleviating suffering, reducing desperation, and thus reducing the odds of self-destructive behavior.


Go tell the kids with asthma from all the smoke that its a benefit.

You are not making a rational argument.  Sometimes bad things happen in spite of good things being done, like sometimes people die in spite of being given medical care.  That doesn't prove that medical care is a bad thing!  The question is what effect it has.

Without Tent City, there would be no fewer homeless people in the area (likely more, as for many of its past residents Tent City had been a temporary and beneficial layover that helped them clean themselves up and improve their ability to find work).  What would homeless people do for heat without the organization of Tent City?  There would be more campfires and fire barrels, and more leaves and twigs rather than cut dried wood being burned, which would result in worse net amount of smoke.

I agree that the smoke is a legitimate complaint, or at least the most legitimate complaint ever brought up against Tent City - even though no scientific evidence has ever been presented showing its harm.

Several years ago, when Tent City was much smaller, the homeless originally used propane for heat.  Then the Township banned using propane heaters, and we had to switch them to wood-burning stoves.

Now, in a shock announcement that came just a few days ago, they are forcing us to switch back!  And so now we are doing everything that we can to switch from wood-burning stoves to other alternatives, but this costs money...

Tent City could have been a far cleaner and greener place without the countless things that the Township government has done to sabotage our efforts, which have scared away many existing and potential supporters.  They've harassed us endlessly.  They're suing Minister Steve Brigham, the founder of Tent City, for the most ridiculous made-up charges you can imagine.  They make it impossible for us to evict "the bad apples".  Etc, etc, etc.

With more community support and good will, we could have been the Lakewood EcoVillage by now...


Offline churnbabychurn

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 7355
  • Total likes: 301
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: Lakewood
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #17 on: October 27, 2013, 06:10:59 PM »
Why should you live tax free?
We break our backs paying 15k real estate taxes so that the township can clean up your filth, bus your kids and police you every time you guys have a fight over a crackpipe.
Get on organized welfare like normal humans stop living in our woods off our money.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2013, 06:19:50 PM by churnbabychurn »

Offline hertzinstl

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 468
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #18 on: October 27, 2013, 06:13:08 PM »

Offline Alex Libman

  • Non-Elite Member
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 0
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Tent City Movement
  • Location: The Tent Archipelago, Lakewood, NJ
Re: Re: Lakewood NJ Master Thread
« Reply #19 on: October 27, 2013, 06:54:01 PM »
What a great shame Facebook doesn't have a 'Hate' button.

Facebook wasn't designed by Nazis.


WOW!!  So simple Mr Alex.

I never said it was simple.


It's like, what's wrong with everyone else around you that doesn't understand the "benefits" of tent city.

They haven't studied economics?


Who cares that it's a hideout for crooks and criminals.

Do you have any evidence that there are significantly more "crooks and criminals" per capita in Tent City than in other comparably poor neighborhoods?  If so, would you prefer those homeless "crooks and criminals" in Tent City, or cold and hungry and sleeping on your street?

And Tent City is a very bad place to "hide out" - the police drive through here all the time to harass us, and they even have security cameras on this place.

The real criminals are hiding at Town Hall - but more on that later.


Who cares that they're polluting the air for all of us law abiding citizens.

And what's your emissions footprint for CO2/etc?  Do you drive a car?  Do you live in a large house?  Do you use heat in the winter, and even air conditioning in the summer?  You really should analyze your arguments logically...

Tent City makes economic use of a wooded area.  According to one theory, the Township gov't wants to cut it down - which is why they're in such a hurry to bulldoze Tent City.  From a purely environmental point of view, Tent City is a carbon sink, and you are the polluter.


Who cares that the invaders trespass and urinate on private property, that people paid for with their hard earned money.

Again - evidence?

This is the 21st century.  Most people should have cellphone cameras, security cameras, etc.  If anyone, a homeless person or Bill Gates, trespassed on your property, then you should call the police and press charges.

Not all poor people urinate in public.  Hitleresque prejudice and collective punishment are unjust.

Without Tent City, a lot more homeless people would be sleeping under bridges and in alley-ways, without the access to portajohns that we provide...


Who cares to  pay attention to the fact that they chose Lakewood to open their illegal settlement [...]


You use the word "illegal" in a completely irrational manner.  Yes, Lakewood passed an ordinance that outlaws homelessness - that law is unconstitutional and immoral, and I intend to fight it.  Four men made up that "law" to serve their corrupt interests.  It isn't magic.  If they had passed a law legalizing slavery, and making the liberation of slaves illegal, as it once had been, would you revere and obey that law too?


[...]and not Trenton, Camden or Philly........ Why can't the citizens of Lakewood be heard also.

People who claim that Lakewood is "pulling the homeless burden" for other cities / counties should review the arithmetic...

The number of homeless people in NJ is estimated at "12,000 to 20,000+".  Taking the higher number as a percentage of the state's population of 8,864,590 - about 0.23% of New Jersey's population is homeless, or about 1 in 400.

Lakewood Township has the population of 92,843 (about 1% of NJ).  All things being equal, you would expect a homeless population of 214 people.

And all things are not equal - Lakewood Township ranks #663 (and Lakewood CDP #699) out of 702 municipalities in NJ by per capita income.  Ocean County overall ranks #16 out of 21 NJ counties in per-capita income - and it doesn't have a homeless shelter.

So you would expect a lot MORE than 214 homeless people in Lakewood, from the local population alone. Why is everybody up in arms about our Tent City, with only half that population?

Most homeless people live outside of a Tent City like ours - either in taxpayer-funded housing or on the streets. Bulldozing our Tent City will result in more of both - more homeless people living on the streets (especially after the "one year of free housing" runs out), as well as higher taxes.

Yes, many TC residents aren't from Lakewood, but that is also true of normal population in NJ - people move around a lot. The reason why the largest Tent City in North Eastern USA is located here in Lakewood, NJ isn't because Lakewood has pulled in all the homeless from surrounding areas, and it certainly isn't that the government of Lakewood has ever been particularly kind to us...

Lakewood was just fortunate to have people like Minister Steve Brigham, who had the dedication and the competence to organize the support network that makes Tent City possible.

Lakewood residents SHOULD BE PROUD of the Tent City - it is an accomplishment that means fewer people living on the streets and lower taxes than would have been without our Tent City.