New Hampshire Underground

Quote from: Alex Libman on June 11, 2013, 02:56 PM NHFT
I truly hope that everyone will see this upcoming documentary film (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2602924/) called Destiny's Bridge (http://destinysbridge.com/).  It is about the "Tent City" of Lakewood, NJ (http://tentcitynj.org/), where I am currently a resident:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNIWjfMDqBM


Tent City is a voluntary institution that exists as the result of local supporters and mutual aid, saving the taxpayers 1-2 million dollars a year!  It is a perfect example of how more can be accomplished on a voluntary nickel than on a dollar that has been stolen from the taxpayers by the corrupt and inefficient racket called the Welfare State!  The government here has done nothing to help the homeless, and everything that it could think of to try to shut this place down...  The film covers the personal stories of several individuals, as well as the never-ending harassment from the local government.

This film is an authentic look into the lives of otherwise-homeless individuals living in a little village of about 100 tents and shanties - a homestead that has been built on "public" woodland over the past 7-8 years.  This film will be particularly enjoyable to people interested in off-the-grid living, agorism / homesteading, the small house movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_house_movement), government corruption, protests / civil disobedience, and voluntary charity.  It also explores some very complex issues, like the underlying causes of homelessness in America, artificial scarcity, sustainable living, personal responsibility, addiction, love, hope and despair...

When this documentary is a success, it will attract donor and volunteer attention to help set up another voluntary village for the homeless, someplace where the government wouldn't be quite as oppressive as it has been in Lakewood, NJ. (I'm obviously promoting the idea that the best place to do this is the Free State of New Hampshire.)  The name of this new project (a 501c3 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#501.28c.29.283.29) charitable organization), like the film, is Destiny's Bridge.

Libertarians are often mindlessly attacked for "not caring about the poor".  Tent City is living proof that the very opposite is true - it's the government that hurts the poor, and it's the voluntary sector that has the power to help them!  My quixotic efforts to keep the government from shutting down this existing Tent City will continue, but that is a separate battle - Destiny's Bridge is an idea whose time has come!

Please help me spread the word about this documentary film!  Please share the trailer with your friends.  Visit DestinysBridge.com (http://destinysbridge.com/) for more info, and subscribe to it on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DestinysBridge), Twitter (https://twitter.com/DestinysBridge), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/UltravisionFilms), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/destinysbridge/destinys-bridge/), etc.

Quote from: Silent_Bob on June 11, 2013, 03:32 PM NHFTHow much taxpayer money has been wasted on attorneys litigating to maintain the tent city.

Quote from: WithoutAPaddle on June 11, 2013, 09:02 PM NHFT[Strange how some choose to live like that instead of choosing to be rich like us.]

QuoteAll I have to contribute to the topic is this, but it is enough.

Buy a copy of my book Down With Power: Libertarian Policy in a Time of Crisis (http://books.google.com/books/about/Down_with_Power_Libertarian_Policy_in_a.html?id=-shoiLd-UiQC). Over my 50-odd years as an activist and advocate, I am convinced that involuntary homelessness and poverty are the result of deliberate practices on the part of the government and its various corporate symbionts.

We can see this clearly on the world stage, where there is widespread hunger but no shortage of food. What creates starvation is a political class whose greed and lust for absolute power stands in the way of freedom from both misery and tyranny.

There is also the United Nations, whose upper echelons (although the "embedded media" ignore it) have openly declared that they want to see 90% of the human race exterminated.

The only action you can take that will have any lasting meaning or effect is to read my book, and then join me in speaking out to end both taxation and economic regulation, which are the chains by which we are held captive. The result will be an immediate 8-to-10-fold increase in real wealth and purchasing power, and an end to the problem you're concerned with.

L. Neil Smith's Down With Power: Libertarian Policy in a Time of Crisis, winner of the 2013 Freedom Book of The Year Award (https://www.facebook.com/pages/freedombookclubcom/76755154857), is available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Down-With-Power-Libertarian-Policy/dp/1612420559), B&N.com (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/down-with-power-l-neil-smith/1108258062), and other such places, in both dead-tree and e-book format.

QuoteL Neil Smith is correct: most homelessness is a direct result of zoning and building restrictions, which keep housing prices high. When I was renting to low income tenants, the city of Kalamazoo enforced ridiculous codes (like the length of a kitchen counter), so that landlords would have to do expensive renovations, raise rents, and drive the poor out of the city. The inspectors told me they did this deliberately and were proud of how they were "cleaning up" the city. They didn't think about the homelessness that would and did result.

QuoteI wrote this years ago about a particular homeless man who got himself out of poverty in a very libertarian way, entrepreneurship. Of course it was the city that came and shut him down in the name of helping him.

Minimum wage, licensing laws, and vending permits have a lot to do with it too. I've been trying to think my way into an actual solution since I wrote this, but so far everything I've come up with would be criminal. But my short answer is, if you want to help the homeless, train them to be Agorists.

Alex, I love what you're doing.

http://www.examiner.com/article/what-about-the-poor

QuoteHere's something that may interest you.

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle497-20081214-04.html

I first wrote this speech in the early 1970s for delivery to Libertarian Party audiences. I gave a version of it at a Future of Freedom conference in Culver City, California in 1987; among others in the audience was the great Robert Anton Wilson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson), who came to me afterward and praised the speech and my delivery highly. Made me blush and almost made me weep.

The version here has been modified to support my social contract, the "Covenant of Unanimous Consent (http://www.lneilsmith.org/new-cov.html)" but you can disregard that aspect of it if you wish. The general idea is the effect of freedom on the economy. I'm going to prepare a more generic version in the near future and probably make an audio recording of it.

Here you go ...

Unanimous Consent and the Utopian Vision -- or -- I Dreamed I Was a [Libertarian] In My Maidenform Bra (http://www.lneilsmith.org/utopian.html)

By L. Neil Smith <lneil[shift-two]netzero.com>

"There's no single Libertarian future, but as many different futures as there are individuals to create them."

L. Neil Smith's THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE
Number 497, December 14, 2008

QuoteThank you, Mary.  Robert LeFevre (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_LeFevre) used to tell some very funny (and infuriating) stories about his attempt to open a restaurant in San Francisco. I suspect Robert Heinlein drew some of his "The Tale of the Twins Who Weren't" in Time Enough For Love (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_for_Love) from LeFevre's experience.

One story involved the requirement for a legal occupancy notice -- we've all seen them: "This Room Seats 120 People". He had a sign maker draw him up a nice one on poster board, only to be told he was in violation: the sign had to be made in cast bronze, and by some odd coincidence, the Mayor's brother just happened to have a foundry ...

It cost something like $800 in the 1950s. How many jobs in the kitchen did that wipe out? I've always said that poverty is the government's most important product and its proudest achievement.

Quote from: Alex Libman on June 12, 2013, 11:43 AM NHFTI don't agree with the sentiment of that cartoon. 

QuoteThe documentary entitled "Destiny's Bridge (http://destinysbridge.com/)" has been edited into an 86-minute DVD, which will be available to the public following initial public screenings, expected to begin during the first or second week in August 2013.

Independent film maker Jack Ballo (http://ultravisionfilms.com/) has woven a tapestry of images and stories into a compelling narrative about the plight of the people of Lakewood, NJ's (USA) "Tent City", and their hopes for a new type of community following the concept of Destiny's Bridge; it is expected that Rev. Steven Brigham (widely known as "Minister Steve") would have a prominent role in the management of such a community, as he has with Lakewood's Tent City since at least 2006.

More to follow...

QuoteIllegal 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.

QuoteThere's a place called "Tent City" in Lakewood, NJ. It's a group of about 100 homeless people who have no where else to go. The closest shelter is in Atlantic City and it's full. The township's solution is to offer everyone a free year of housing. It's a trick. When those people are gone the township's going to bulldoze the place to the ground and hope they never return. That's "Government Charity," bulldozing a person's home.

There's no long term solution. These people would be better off if they were left alone. There are private charities willing to help, but I'm told the township is trying to discourage people from helping them.

• The Aug 7th "world premiere" of Destiny's Bridge (http://destinysbridge.com/), a feature documentary film about Tent City, is SOLD OUT (http://www.app.com/article/20130803/NJNEWS/308030035/Lakewood-Tent-City-documentary-sold-out-Wednesday-s-premier)!  A successful launch likely means there will be more screenings in other locations nationwide, film festivals, etc.  Be sure to like / follow the film on  Facebook (http://fb.com/DestinysBridge) or Twitter (http://twitter.com/DestinysBridge) for updates.  It should also be possible for people to sponsor or host screenings in their area - PM me if you're interested, and I'll talk to the filmmaker (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4014668/).

• There's been a lull in the confrontation with the government - for now.  Minister Steve Brigham wanted to appear cooperative, stay away from Town Hall, let them tear up a few tents, and hope they forget about Tent City for a while - particularly that they don't interfere with the film premiere.  (Which we couldn't hold at the Strand Theater in Lakewood (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strand_Theater_(Lakewood,_New_Jersey)) - mainly because they're part of the same good-ol-boy network as the municipal gov't.)  I've decided to follow his lead.  It looks like it worked, at least for a while...  For their part, after they've had their latest "show of force" with the bulldozers, the piggies got lazy again and there's been less harassment than usual...

• "Less harassment than usual" is still A LOT of harassment to deal with.  A few days ago cops came in and fired 5 bullets at one of our dogs (https://www.facebook.com/lakewood.scoop/posts/332022260265620)...  In another recent example, they've blocked off the road to prevent a church youth group from entering with donations.  Times are hard, and donations to Tent City are drying up, mostly because a lot of people have been misinformed by the unfriendly local media that the place is already shut down...

• There's a lot of incompetence and confusion about that "free apartment for a year to GTFO" bribe that everyone except me accepted.  Only a couple of people have been placed so far...  So the population of the camp is the highest it's ever been, with a lot of people jumping on board just before the deadline to get free housing.  (Some people are "bad applies" and probably deliberate monkey-wrenches thrown at us by the municipal gov't, who make up ridiculous slander against Minister Steve and try to scare away any donors that come in - remember that we're not allowed by the gov't to evict anyone.)  A lot of people thought the government would follow through quickly and keep its word - LOL...   ::)

• I've been trying to help Tent City grow its online presence, but, to be perfectly honest...  I'm just a burned-out half-blind manic-depressive ex-programmer living off-the-grid...  Promoting the documentary has taken up most of my productive energy.  (I've also been frustrated by the fact that I can't get anyone else here to help me do some serious internal journalism and writing (http://tcnj.wikia.com) for the Web-site (http://tentcitynj.org); and not everybody at Tent City is happy with my libertarian positions...)  I could really use everyone's help in spreading the word about Tent City.  Please invite all your friends to the TentCityNJ page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TentCityNJ).  If you run a blog, please give Tent City a mention to help spread the word...

• Last night Drudge Report (http://drudgereport.com/) had a picture of Chris Christie (Support Ken Kaplan! (http://kaplanforgovernor.com/) F (https://www.facebook.com/Kaplan4Gov)/T (https://twitter.com/Kaplan4Governor)) and a link to a news story about a tent city in NJ (http://www.my9nj.com/story/22989373/camden-tent-city)!  BUT, in what to me is a huge snub, it had to be a story about the relatively tiny and disorganized tent city in Camden, not our Tent City in Lakewood...  WTF?!

QuoteVoluntary charity is not only far more moral than the Welfare State, but it is also far more efficient, and it averts the danger of centralized power inevitably being misused to tyrannical ends.

Some people help the poor for religious or altruistic reasons, but there are also rational and selfish reasons to do so.  Homelessness and extreme poverty are problems that the free market needs to solve in order to flourish, and people who help solve these problems should get all the recognition and respect they deserve.  We need to build a culture where voluntary philanthropy is valued, and where building a Tent City gets you more respect than driving a Lamborghini - then that will be the death of the Welfare State, and all other Statism along with it!

Cost-effective solutions to poverty often call for ingenious technological solutions.  Like Howard Roark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead#Plot_summary) agreeing to architect a housing project for the poor (in exchange for nothing but an agreement to retain creative control, because the economic design challenge fascinated him), many competent individuals will find perfectly selfish motivations to voluntarily help the poor.  Rational people will help eliminate poverty - not because they see themselves as "their brothers' keepers", but because they love innovation, efficiency, and freedom!

QuoteOn the hypocrisy of "public" land (or "public" anything)...

It has been demonstrated over and over again in economics that market mechanisms encourage efficiency, innovation, and user satisfaction.

You don't like a private Internet cafe, you go to a different one (or pursue some other means of attaining the same benefit).  But you have to pay for the "public" library - whether you use it or not, and whether you like it or not.  They keep telling us that "public" institutions are necessary to help the poor - not everyone can pay at a private cybercafé.  That justification is flawed, but it's still the most coherent and popular justification for public schools, public parks, etc, etc, etc.

"In the name of the poor" the government spends $62,000/year per family below the poverty line (and that's just entitlements, not all "public" institutions).  In the name of the poor we have government monopolies in child education, many aspects of transportation, increasingly in health insurance, etc, etc, etc.  If just a fraction of that money had been redistributed directly (i.e. Guaranteed Minimum Income (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaranteed_Minimum_Income#Advocates)), there'd be no poor in this country, no excuse to retain those government monopolies, and market institutions would bring great efficiency and innovation to all those fields.

The land that Tent City is situated on has been withdrawn from the marketplace and made "public".  The government didn't homestead this land through labor or obtain it through voluntary trade; it is the default owner through the institutionalized coercion of state.
The "upper" and "middle" income classes didn't need that service from the government - they can support plenty of greenery (directly or indirectly) in their neighborhoods, county clubs, golf courses, private parks, etc.  They pay more in taxes than they get back, and what they get back isn't necessarily what they want.

Thus this excuse for "government ownership" of land (which was built on false premises to begin with), breaks down completely when laws are passed prohibiting the poorest people from using it!

QuotePerhaps you heard about the World Premiere of Destiny's Bridge (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.494381200646950), the film about the homeless community in the woods of Lakewood that was shown at Two River Theater, Red Bank in August. It was sold out... a glorious event; but 100 people had to be turned away as no seats were left!

Good news is that we are showing the film again on Thurs, Sept 19, at 7pm at Middlebrook Cinemas, 1502 Rt. 35 So, Ocean Township, NJ.  Tickets are only $10 and can only be purchased ONLINE (print your own ticket) at DestinysBridge.com (http://destinysbridge.com).

After the film, there will be a Q&A, with filmmaker Jack Ballo (http://ultravisionfilms.com); Tent City Founder Minster Steve Brigham (http://tentcitynj.org/Minister_Steve_Brigham); and Tent City residents featured in the film.

Here's what Alex Libman, Lakewood posted after viewing the film: "The experience in Red Bank was unforgettable! The Q&A alone is worth the price of admission! It's definitely the kind of movie you wanna see more than once."

Please join us to view this acclaimed and beautiful film made in a technique known as cinéma vérité (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9) (ver-i-tay.) No narration by the filmmaker. No interviews by the filmmaker. He fades into the background as the camera captures daily life in the woods. Ballo spent a year at the encampment filming its challenges, its conflicts and its joy. In the film you get to know residents - how they got there, and what they think and feel as they talk among themselves, and go about their job of surviving... living through conflicts, attending their tent church, growing vegetables, taking turns cooking for 100 tent residents, tending to their pets and chicken preserve...playing music, and allowing their stories to unfold in the purest way.

The film is also about the solution to homelessness envisioned by Minster Steve based on his experiences living in the woods, ministering to the Tent dwellers. A non-profit organization has been created (http://www.destinysbridge.org/) with the goal of acquiring land on which tiny houses would be built and where homeless people can live with dignity in a sustainable community. On site, would be job training, counseling, and rehabilitation, to equip the residents for rejoining society. Such a community would be called Destiny's Bridge, and is the name of the non-profit organization founded to make the vision a reality. I am a member.

Please join us on Thur, Sept 19.  Get your ticket (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/450416) at DestinysBridge.com (http://destinysbridge.com). Note: Parents bringing teen children could find this film the opening to an important family dialogue. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

QuoteDear Ilya Hemlin,

My name is Alex Libman. I am a resident of Tent City (Lakewood, NJ), where I have been trying to help out by maintaining the Tent City Web-site (http://TentCityNJ.org (http://tentcitynj.org)) and Facebook Page (http://FB.com/TentCityNJ (http://fb.com/TentCityNJ)).

I just came across your latest article - which left me (and everyone else I talked to at Tent City) shocked and confused, and in many cases boiling with indignation, because your article is inaccurate on almost every point!

Where did those numbers come from?! The last I heard, at most 6 residents, out of 122 that were on the census, were placed in housing. This is also the first time I'm hearing about a "health screening". Furthermore, not all 122 agreed to sell their Rights for the promised "one year free housing" (heck knows when, heck knows where) at tax-victim expense!

Akerman (http://www.lakewoodnj.gov/section/government) comes across as a complete psychopath in thinking that his bulldozing of Tent City will be remembered "in a positive light".  It will be remembered as a horrible violation of Human Rights, and further proof of the great absurdity of so-called "Public Land" (i.e. land that the government stole from the marketplace, mainly in the name of the poor)! It will be remembered as a blunder that has increased taxes and pushed more and more businesses to leave the area, further contributing to the downward economic spiral that the government has created!

QuoteI am one person, my real name is Chris, and for my own security i cannot disclose my last name as you will scout me out. The facts are on my side as i had a conversation with some of the neighboring residents and i know what goes on inside here. You on the other hand are a new comer here, brainwashed by Steve Brigham and his cronies and are totally biased - all you want is that Steve should continue controlling and he is a complete control freak, however all i want is for us to be placed properly at least for a year so that i can continue on my life and maybe have some sort of a successful one, You don't want me to expose my evidence on the public forums, it will definitely not do good for you and for me, because the evidence that i have, will taint Steve and your image forever as well as the entire Tent City leaving me with no place to live in the interim. Trust me if you know what i have been documneting and recording you will run for dear life before.......... gotta go now........ see yah later

QuoteDear Bulldozer Troll (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29) (which shall be your name until you stop hiding behind anonymity while fortifying your whining on claims of being a Tent City resident),

You have never ever presented a single shred of evidence to justify your verbal diarrhea, which is hurting 100+ actual residents of Tent City by scaring away donors and harming potential for goodwill with the surrounding community! The "for my own security" humbug isn't going to convince anybody - if you were an actual Tent City resident, you would know that there already are plenty of other malicious lying assholes here trying to give Minister Steve a hard time, and they get to enjoy complete impunity as Minister Steve continues to tolerate them and provide for their needs. If you refuse to discuss your accusations openly, on the basis of evidence and reason, then you are not only a liar but also a coward.

I've told you that I will not waste time in e-mail conversations with you, and I believe that wasting my time is your primary purpose. I will, however, address your ridiculous claim that I have been "brainwashed by Steve Brigham". As with my other e-mail responses, this is mainly written for the benefit (or amusement) of other people who'll see these e-mails, not you.

Steve Brigham and I agree on very little. I am an atheist, pro-technology futurist / transhumanist, anti-socialist / pro-capitalist activist, and a tax resister. He is an ordained Christian Minister, with much professed fondness for the "communism" of the Early Church (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Christianity), and lots of additional nutty ideas involving primitivism, eschatology, long-debunked Peak Oil nonsense, etc. Although he has said a number of things about the virtue of Tent City saving much taxpayer money (http://tentcitynj.org/TaxPayer_Savings), which is entirely in line with my position, that's merely an example of a stopped clock being right twice a day; Minister Steve has no qualms about campaigning for tax-funded help for the homeless, which I oppose. He is also particularly critical of the gentrification of Lakewood by the Orthodox Jews (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Vaad) (something that I've actually referenced as a positive example in my writings about what can be accomplished by libertarians with something called the Free State Project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_Project) in New Hampshire); where he sees "segregated neighborhoods", I see voluntary communities that would be perfectly acceptable in a free market, if only HUD (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development) money were not involved... I've disagreed with Minister Steve on many specific things, including the chickens (I hate them!), water tanks, civil disobedience (after the "Consent Order (http://tentcitynj.org/Consent_Order)", I wanted to actively encourage more people to come; he refused), fundraising techniques (he doesn't want the Web-site (http://tentcitynj.org) to appear "too commercial"), etc.  Etc.  Some interesting existentialist thought experiments aside, my brain has not been "washed" nor my perspectives altered in any significant way since coming to Tent City.

Nevertheless, in spite of our disagreements, my cooperation with Minister Steve is founded in the respect that I have for him as a person with a long and well-documented history of integrity and hard work. I consider what he has accomplished in Tent City to be a great thing - if you believe otherwise then you should spend some time in other Tent Cities, like the shit-hole that I've visited in Camden (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.494399533978450.1073741839.474387129313024&type=3). In my philosophy, solving the crucial problem of providing "basic needs" to the poor and the dysfunctional, without coercive taxation or taking away their incentive to work, is a great accomplishment. Minister Steve lets me gulch (http://wikibin.org/articles/gulching.html) in Tent City and all that it provides (as I am genuinely untaxably penniless (http://bbs.freetalklive.com/general/frugal-tax-resister-diaries/)), and, in gratitude, I spend a couple of hours a day to help him with TC's online presence, some light secretarial work, and other related tasks.

I have never been counter-factual or biased in my online activities on behalf of Tent City. You will find that our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/TentCityNJ) is filled with links I disagree with, as its editorial policy is to link to all online mentions of our Tent City that can be found. We've never claimed that Tent City doesn't have drunks and drug addicts and garbage and harsh conditions and occasional fires - I've merely put these things in a logical perspective. I've crunched the numbers early on and admitted that smoke is a legitimate complaint against Tent City. I've told people making claims about "public urination" by TC residents to take pictures and call the police. As I keep reminding people, bulldozing Tent City will not make homelessness disappear; nor, in a time of record deficits and jobs leaving the state due to high taxes, is it realistic to provide tax-victim-funded apartments / motel rooms for the 12,000+ (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/njs_homeless_population_rises.html) homeless people in New Jersey!

Although understandably no one wants a Tent City near their backyard, there is a legitimate need for Tent Cities to exist - I've never heard of a better solution. Tent City is situated on so-called "public land" - a highly dubious concept that government apologists often justify "in the name of the poor". I've never stood in the way of anybody getting their government handouts, as the Welfare State is already collapsing under the weight of its own inefficiency and corruption; I am just working to create a better alternative. If you have any substantive evidence, which I highly doubt, you should definitely make it public. If not, you should stop slandering us. Why not just let Minister Steve and myself do what we do, and leave Tent City alone? Whatever the cause of your anger at Tent City, we can discuss it openly and logically. You have thus-far done the very opposite.

-Alex

Quote[...] I'm one of the attorneys working on Lakewood's attempts to close down Tent City. Steve tells me that any attempt to get housing from the government would present a conflict with your personal beliefs. Now, if this is true, I'm actually sympathetic to your point of view. However, I need to let you know about the legal consequences of your refusal. If you have the time and access to a phone, would you please call me [...]

Quote[...] here's what I wanted to say by phone:  if you do not apply for housing, Lakewood has the right to remove you from Tent City, something that they signaled on a phone call just yesterday that they are about to request from the court.  I believe I understand your objections to applying, but if you do not meet the Consent Order (http://tentcitynj.org/Consent_Order)'s terms, you may face ejectment in the near future, maybe within a few weeks.  Please consider it.  Thanks. [...]

QuoteI don't have a cell phone, but we can communicate via e-mail (alex@tentcitynj.org) (or, if you prefer, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/libman.org), etc). I reserve the right to (and likely will) make any part of our communications public.

It has been my openly-expressed position since I first arrived at Tent City (on March 1, 2013) that I refuse to accept any handouts of tax-payer money (that can be avoided). I chose to not be represented by your law firm, and am not a party to the "one year free housing to leave Tent City" agreement that some people have made. As a courtesy, I've agreed to provide all information that you wish to have about me, as I prefer to do everything in the open. For this reason I've agreed to participate in the census (https://www.facebook.com/libman.org/posts/125105054356616) to answer questions and be photographed, but not to carry an additional ID card.

I take full responsibility for my homelessness and penniless-ness, which are largely a consequence of my own choice to walk away from a promising career as a computer programmer, and to focus on self-directed studies, which, among other things, have led me to what most people would describe as radical libertarian (pro-capitalist / anti-socialist) political and philosophical views. By staying in Minister Steve Brigham (http://tentcitynj.org/Minister_Steve_Brigham)'s Tent City, or by starting new ones on other secluded plots of "public land", I am exercising Civil Disobedience against the anti-homelessness laws (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-homelessness_legislation#United_States_2), which (as even many of my socialist debate opponents agree) are contrary to the NJ State and US Constitution. Through my perpetual arrests and stints in jail, I also hope to bring attention to the failings of the Welfare State (http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/over-60000-welfare-spentper-household-poverty_657889.html), and the hypocrisy of this dubious concept of "public property (http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/public_property.html)", as government apologists try to justify most government interventions in the marketplace "in the name of the poor".

I do not agree with the legal position that the government has an "obligation" to provide housing. Idealistically, I believe that this involuntary redistribution of funds from the producers to those that fail to pull their economic weight constitutes theft (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_as_theft). Pragmatically, you will find that providing free apartments / motel rooms (http://tentcitynj.org/TaxPayer_Savings) isn't a viable solution for NJ's 12,000+ (http://monarchhousing.org/2013/06/26/25612-homeless-in-2013-pit-count/) homeless individuals, especially as more and more brains, businesses, and jobs are fleeing the state due its tax burden (http://freedominthe50states.org/tax-burden/new-jersey), which is already one of the highest in the nation. Elsewhere on the Internet, I make economic arguments that people like the Tent City residents are victims of government intervention into the marketplace, which has created artificial scarcity in affordable housing and multiplied their cost of living.

My philosophical position, even if it isn't legislatively convenient, is that homeless people should (in circumstances such as ours) be allowed to homestead (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_principle) so-called "public land". More specifically, this means that the land on which we've built Tent City over the past 7+ years should be transferred to an NGO (http://www.destinysbridge.org/), to create a competently-managed community for otherwise-homeless individuals. I believe that communities such as Tent City, funded through voluntary charity and mutual aid, can exist in harmony with nature and all of our surrounding neighbors. We can find ways to solve problems like smoke pollution, establish better resident screening and safety policies, gradually evolve from tents to "tiny homes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_house_movement)" as revenues permit, etc. Unlike the government housing, we can create a solution to homelessness that is simultaneously moral, compassionate rather than bureaucratic, cost-effective and accountable to its funders, and not contrary to the residents' individual incentive to find work.

While staying at Tent City, I have expressed my gratitude to Minister Steve and other Tent City supporters by taking on the role of the camp's "IT guy", "Webmaster", and administrative assistant. I communicate with (prospective) Tent City supporters on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TentCityNJ), help Minister Steve answer e-mails and write letters, audio-record his sermons for patrons who cannot attend in person, help other Tent City residents fill out online application forms, etc. This "one year of free housing" deal has caused the camp's population to swell, while donations (http://tentcitynj.org/Donate) have declined as many people have been misinformed by the press that Tent City's story is already over. Now more than ever Tent City needs to be able to communicate with the outside world, and I consider it my current calling to help with that the best that I can.

I understand that I may be forcefully dragged out of Tent City at any time - I've lived with that expectation since May. This will begin the dance of my perpetual disobedience and arrests (I hope LPD (http://www.lakewoodnj.gov/department/police) officers don't get muscle crams in their arms from so much dragging of my limp (http://radicalreference.info/node/1526) 300lb body). I would prefer that this be postponed - not as a courtesy to me, but to Minister Steve, if he considers my assistance to be helpful to his work, as he is contractually permitted to stay in Tent City until everyone else has been placed. If Minister Steve's Chapel and the rest of Tent City is to be bulldozed, I would prefer to be the penultimate resident to "leave" Tent City.

Best regards,
Alex Libman
http://Gplus.to/libman (http://gplus.to/libman)
http://Twitter.com/libmn (http://twitter.com/libmn)
http://FB.com/libman.org (http://fb.com/libman.org)
http://LinkedIn.com/in/libmn (http://linkedin.com/in/libmn)

Quote from: Silent_Bob on October 05, 2013, 03:00 PM NHFT
Why anyone would fight to stay in a cesspit located in the armpit of the universe remains a mystery.

Quote from: Silent_Bob on October 05, 2013, 03:00 PM NHFTWhy anyone would fight to stay in a cesspit located in the armpit of the universe remains a mystery.

QuoteBeing homeless doesn't have to mean being alone and unwanted.

If you were homeless, what if you found out about a place tucked away in the woods where other homeless folks live, that has privacy, food, and a place to bathe and rest in relative safety?

If you happen to be homeless in Lakewood, NJ, such a place actually exists.

There, the residents live mostly in tents, but have made them as comfortable and homey as possible. Some of them have even put up pretty fences around their tiny yards, and hung decorations on the outsides of their dwellings. So, it's really much more than a place to sleep and get a meal.

QuoteThere are over 630,000 homeless Americans. Of those, it's estimated that 40% of them are families with children. Our elected officials have spent millions of dollars of Americans' monies via tax collection, and it hasn't stopped the problems that come with being homeless. If government intervention worked, we'd not be seeing the numbers of American homeless rise by as much as 10% annually, according to the latest national estimates.

A significant change can happen today, beginning with each of us. We can put a different slant on our perspectives of the homeless and how to help them. Let's start by remembering the wonderful opportunities in volunteering. Volunteering means it happens of your own free will. It means the government isn't involved and no taxes are collected for it. It means much more can be done with much less when bureaucrats keep their hands away from it, unless they're operating as a volunteer as well.

There are some who say that if a people are not forced to help, they won't. I say those with that opinion are either lying, or stupid. I've lived in this country for most of my life and found it to be one of the most generous populations on the planet.

There will always be those who will never want to help, and it's their right to choose. Thankfully, they're the minority. And, should the time ever come when it's their turn to be in need, they might not get it. (Karma can have sharp teeth, and we reap what we sew.)

QuoteI was always reluctant to accept government aid, but I also came to understand that there was no aid to accept. If you go to Social Services in Lakewood and proclaim you're about to become homeless, they'll give you nothing but run-around. Ocean County, NJ (where Lakewood is located) doesn't have a homeless shelter. They aren't even allowed to refer you to the shelter in Atlantic County anymore - they just give you a hotline to call, which might (at most) refer you to some church program...

QuoteI think there is a great need for tent cities that allow broke and unemployed, or low-income  individuals who cannot afford other housing, to survive very cheaply, living in donated $100 tents rather than $1500 per month motel rooms that the government temporarily provides for a lucky few. I think the latter is unfair to the tax-payers, and (just counting the direct housing costs, without the inevitable bureaucratic overhead and other expenses), our Tent City has already saved the taxpayers over $6,000,000, and is currently saving about $2,000,000 a year!

So there's definitely a need for a new Tent City, one that won't be endlessly slandered, sabotaged, and threatened with bulldozers by the municipal government...  This stigma of "illegality" has chased away a lot of donors and undermined much community support...

QuoteAs a member of the Free State Project (http://freestateproject.org), I personally dream of setting up a new Tent City in New Hampshire - the economically and politically freest (http://freedominthe50states.org/) state in the North East, and quite possibly all of USA.

Quote from: Alex Libman on October 06, 2013, 06:25 PM NHFT

Quote from: Silent_Bob on October 05, 2013, 03:00 PM NHFTWhy anyone would fight to stay in a cesspit located in the armpit of the universe remains a mystery.

Because for the past 3 years I've been too butthurt at Ian Fraudman to move to New Hampshire.

The forum drama has driven me to madness.  If I get no respect from you people online, and then get stabbed in the back to your universal laughter, why should I move just to be in your midst?  The libricide and its aftermath has destroyed all possibility of trust...

I will stand my ground, where I am, alone.

Quote from: Russell Kanning on October 07, 2013, 02:10 PM NHFT
you chose a federal prison over Cambell's?
they even have a place in Paris ..... Texas. :)

Quote from: Silent_Bob on October 06, 2013, 10:56 PM NHFTOne person affiliated with the freedom community causes you online angst and this dictates your real life actions?

Quote from: Silent_Bob on October 06, 2013, 10:56 PM NHFTYou will stand your ground until the all the parasitic lawyers on both sides have milked the issue for all its worth, then you will be forcibly removed.

Quote

(http://tentcitynj.org/dl/img/rev.Steve/3iu203u.jpg) (http://tentcitynj.org/Minister_Steve_Brigham)

A documentary film about the township's homeless encampment, titled "Destiny's Bridge (http://destinysbridge.com)", has been subpoenaed as evidence in a case against the camp's founder Steven Brigham (http://tentcitynj.org/Minister_Steve_Brigham), who is charged with vandalism and witness tampering.

The film, directed by Jack Ballo (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4014668/), chronicles a year at the encampment, known as Tent City (http://tentcitynj.org/). The documentary features several camp residents and their interaction, and it focuses partially on an arrest made of Brigham, a minister who is also a camp resident.

Juan Pa (http://www.co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/a2029672-fffd-4fd5-b882-5ffea9b21886.pdf)trana, a detective for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office (http://www.prosecutor.co.ocean.nj.us/), served the subpoena on Ballo in a "special investigation" into charges against Brigham who was indicted in March on charges of witness tampering, according to Al DellaFave, spokesman for the county prosecutors.

"Please provide the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office with the movie / video documentary created by Ultravision Films (http://ultravisionfilms.com/) named Destiny's Bridge (http://fb.com/DestinysBridge)", the subpoena states.

Brigham is due at the Ocean County courthouse in Toms River (https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=Ocean+County+Superior+Court&fb=1&gl=us&hq=Ocean+County+courthouse&hnear=0x89c19ce4a38e7105:0x3f5b6f5b358b3cb0,Toms+River,+NJ&cid=0,0,1251540946032233807&ei=i7FcUtLmKYS-9gTn24GwCA&ved=0CKIBEPwSMAo) on Tuesday for a status conference. Investigators for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office have received the film.

Tuesday will make the 10th time that Brigham has been summoned to court on this offense. He was charged after he did what he thought was the right thing to protect his fellow homeless campers, he said Monday.

Brigham, 53, was arrested in June 2012 at the encampment off Cedar Bridge Avenue at South Clover Street (http://tentcitynj.org/Location) on charges of witness tampering and vandalism related to the eviction of two people from the camp.

About 80 people are living at Tent City, which is on township property. There is a continuing legal battle between Lakewood's governing body and the campers to remove them from the site and get them appropriate housing. Campers maintain they have a right to remain there, if no other option is available.

Meanwhile, Brigham enforces rules in the camp, insisting residents not be disruptive or conduct illegal activity there. If they do, they must leave Tent City. When he could not get two residents to comply, he cut the fabric of their tent.

"I cut up the tent I gave her", Brigham said of Deborah J. Martiniello.  "It is the only way."

Martiniello, 51, said she bears no hard feelings and now lives in an apartment in Brick since the incident.

"I refuse to testify against him" if asked, she said.

Another man, who Brigham said was a heroin addict and stealing in the camp, also refused to leave Tent City. So Brigham had a small crew cut down his tent.

Police said they charged Brigham with vandalism, contending he used intimidation to remove the man from the camp.

County prosecutors previewed the film to compare notes from what was said in the film to the reports given to investigators.

The film has already had two viewings in Monmouth County. [Its] Ocean County debut is scheduled for 7 pm, Nov 7 (https://www.facebook.com/events/168362460031670) at AMC Loews Seacourt, 10 Theater, 635 Bay Ave, Toms River (https://maps.google.com/maps?gl=us&daddr=635+Bay+Ave,+Toms+River,+NJ+08753&panel=1&f=d&fb=1&dirflg=d&geocode=0,39.974896,-74.180578&cid=0,0,1760757582107223747&hq=AMC+Loews+Seacourt,+10+Theater,+635+Bay+Ave.,+Toms+River), NJ. For more information, call 732-387-8230 or visit DestinysBridge.com (http://destinysbridge.com).

QuoteA multitude of police cars have just descended on Tent City! The police, some armed with assault rifles, are asking for STEPS ID cards. People who don't have them (ex. people who didn't register on time, or refuse to accept Welfare) are being evicted from their homes and/or arrested.

Your tax dollars at work - harassing the poor!

QuotePolice have just returned to Tent City in search of any lit wood-burning stoves. Without a warning, with projected lows of 41 degrees tonight, wood-burning stoves, which are the only source of heat for most of us, are now banned at Tent City!

QuoteLast night I've attended a meeting with local community leaders, and Lakewood Township, NJ mayor Albert Akerman (http://www.lakewoodnj.gov/section/government) and committeeman Meir Lichtenstein were also present.  (Lichtenstein is the Putin of Lakewood, and Akerman is the Medvedev.)

Akerman let it slip that the cost of shutting down Tent City will be "astronomical". Yup, he said that word. "ASTRONOMICAL!"

The tax-payers should be outraged! (http://tentcitynj.org/TaxPayer_Savings)


Tent City is getting bulldozed because homeless people living efficiently and getting by on voluntary charity isn't what local politicians want to see. They want to put half the homeless in motel rooms for $1500/month (if their friends own the motels, plus much bureaucratic overhead that they feed off), and leave the other half shivering on the streets so they could point at them and say "we need more taxes"!

QuoteThe government promised housing to 122 residents who were on the May 1st census. That was 6 months ago, and they haven't placed anybody yet. With all the overhead this would cost the taxpayers at least $3 million. But this isn't a complete or permanent solution. More people are becoming homeless every day and need a place like Tent City of Lakewood, NJ to help them.

There's an ever-rotating population of 12,000 to 20,000+ homeless people in New Jersey. The government can't house anybody. Taxes are already through the roof, which chases away businesses and increases unemployment. We can't tax-and-spend our way out of this problem!

Tent Cities, if they're responsibly managed and located out of everyone else's way, are the answer. Voluntary charity is far more efficient and humane than the Welfare State, and it doesn't destroy the incentive for people to pull their weight. The only thing we need from the government is to let us use "public land". Aren't we a part of the public?

QuoteThank you very much, everyone, for your support!

The most important thing one can do to help Tent City, which doesn't cost a cent, is to help spread the word. Please invite all your friends to LIKE the "Tent City of Lakewood, NJ" Facebook page (http://fb.com/TentCityNJ). Please LIKE and SHARE posts on that page to get them to "go viral".

If you have a blog, please write about us. E-mail your friends a link to our Facebook Page (http://fb.com/TentCityNJ) and Web-site (http://tentcitynj.org), especially if they have popular blogs or other "media pull" for getting as many people as possible informed. Mention us on Twitter, Google+, and other social networks, message boards, chat-rooms, etc. If you're comfortable calling in to local talk radio, please give us a mention. Etc, etc, etc. The more people we inform, the better able we will be to put pressure on local politicians to back down.

We are also desperately in need of cash donations due to increased need for propane heaters and propane - as many people were counting on their wood-burning stoves which they are no longer allowed to use... Even a small donation would be greatly appreciated - http://TentCityNJ.org/Donate (http://tentcitynj.org/Donate)

For information on dropping off donations - http://TentCityNJ.org/Local_Donations (http://tentcitynj.org/Local_Donations)

Direct link to donate via PayPal - http://TentCityNJ.org/PayPal (http://tentcitynj.org/PayPal)

QuoteI am a resident of Tent City of Lakewood, NJ (http://TentCityNJ.org/ (http://tentcitynj.org/)). Tent City is a shantytown of 100+ low-income otherwise-homeless individuals living in tents and other low-cost structures situated on township-owned land.

I've arrived at Tent City on March 1st of this year. On April 18th, Lakewood Township, NJ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Township,_New_Jersey) has passed an ordinance that essentially outlawed homelessness on "public land". A deal has been reached between the township and the majority of Tent City residents (represented by Jeffrey Wild (http://www.lowenstein.com/jwild/) of Lowenstein Sandler LLP) that they will get "one year of free housing" in compensation as Tent City is bulldozed to the ground and shut down.

I declined to be a part of this deal, because accepting taxpayer money is contrary to my principles. I believe that I'm pulling my weight here at Tent City, and I do not consider being poor to be a crime. I believe that homeless people have a Right to homestead on "public land" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_principle), where they are not in anyone's way. My arguments are philosophical and economic rather than legal, and I am very much ignorant of judicial matters. I believe that those anti-homelessness laws may be contrary to the NJ State (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_New_Jersey) or US Constitution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution); and I most certainly consider them to be contrary to governmental fiscal responsibility, the Rights of the homeless, and the cause of Human Dignity. I am willing to openly confront these laws and be arrested in what I consider to be morally justified Civil Disobedience (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience).

I got your e-mail address via the National Lawyers Guild (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Lawyers_Guild), where you are listed as having an interest in constitutional law, ethics, and social justice. I have no money to pay for legal services. I am wondering if you would have an interest in my situation, or would be able to refer me to another lawyer who could offer me some advice on how anti-homelessness laws can be challenged in court.

Quote from: Alex Libman on October 26, 2013, 09:59 AM NHFT

I would appreciate some advice on how to find more lawyers to contact, and whether this kind of an introduction text is ideal...

Quote from: Silent_Bob on October 26, 2013, 11:00 AM NHFT

Quote from: Alex Libman on October 26, 2013, 09:59 AM NHFT

I would appreciate some advice on how to find more lawyers to contact, and whether this kind of an introduction text is ideal...

Cover yourself with honey, coating liberally, roll around in a pile of $100 bills, stand in a conspicuous location, they'll find you...

QuotePeople who claim that Lakewood Township, NJ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Township,_New_Jersey) 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+ (http://monarchhousing.org/2013/06/26/25612-homeless-in-2013-pit-count/)".  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 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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_locations_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 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.

QuoteLakewood Township, NJ is to become the 3rd largest city in NJ by 2030! (http://www.app.com/article/20131008/NJNEWS/310080108/1070/NEWS02)

It could even become the largest in the state by mid-century! After all, with fertility rates declining everywhere else, Lakewood is famous for its wonderful community of a certain cultural group whose fertility rates are poised to remain high.

I think this is wonderful - MAZEL TOV!

But there's also every reason to fear that this growth will be terribly mismanaged by the government. High property taxes chase away businesses and create unemployment. Artificial scarcity in affordable housing is the reason why we have the Tent City of Lakewood, NJ - the largest in North Eastern USA.

Government favoritism is turning back the progress that has been made in "race relations" over the past decades, and creating great resentment as one ethnic / cultural group brilliantly manipulates the Welfare State for its collectivist advantage... This ethnocentric use of government will eventually backfire, and a new wrong will replace the first - a vile crackdown on "segregated" private neighborhoods, private schools, private ambulances, and other voluntary establishments of the Orthodox Jewish community that are perfectly legitimate in the free market.

And so I ask - "can't we all just get along?" Can't we all recognize each-other's Rights (including Parents' Rights, Property Rights, Contract Rights, and legitimate Homesteader Rights) to live as we please and not aggress against others, not even through the mask of the state?

I think that Lakewood, in spite of all the negatives, has a great potential for a Libertarian Spring!  I think that if we were to competently explain the ideas of liberty to the Frum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frum) / Orthodox Jewish Community (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Judaism) - they might just listen.

If you agree, then please join our new "Free Lakewood" Group (http://fb.com/groups/FreeLakewood) help get it off the ground!

QuoteWe need a creative solution to the decades long quest to create affordable housing in New Jersey. The state must enact legislation to supersede local zoning ordinances, removing zoning barriers which currently prevent owners of single family homes from converting them to two family homes and the owners of two family homes from converting them to three families. This will solve the affordable housing crisis not just for people renting the new units, but also for the home owners, many of whom might be senior citizens, who will now be able to remain in houses that had become too large and too expensive for their needs. This will solve the affordable housing problem without the expenditure of any tax dollars.

Quote from: Alex Libman on October 28, 2013, 10:06 PM NHFTBTW, what's the source of that?  Google can't find it.  Is it some sort of Lawyer TeleType Subscription Service?

Quote from: Alex Libman on October 28, 2013, 10:06 PM NHFT
BTW, what's the source of that?  Google can't find it.  Is it some sort of Lawyer TeleType Subscription Service?

Quote from: blackie on November 08, 2013, 11:23 AM NHFT
Hi Alex.

Are Michael and Marilyn Berenzweig still living in Tent City?

QuoteSouth River resident's poignant documentary about homeless people living in a tent city in Lakewood (http://tentcitynj.org) will be featured in a screening on Friday.

A fund-raising film screening of Destiny's Bridge (http://destinysbridge.com), an Ultravision Films (http://www.ultravisionfilms.com/) release, will be held at 7 pm at Buddies Tavern (http://www.buddiestavernnj.com/) [FB] (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buddies-Tavern-Banquet-Hall/185271917782), 277 Johnsons Lane (http://goo.gl/maps/98FA2).  The film will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the filmmaker, Jack Ballo, as well as several of Lakewood's Tent City residents featured in the film. One of the main characters, known as the Tent City Piano Man (https://www.facebook.com/TentCityNJ.PianoMan), will perform after the film. All proceeds from the event will go to Tent City, the Destiny's Bridge Organization (http://www.destinysbridge.org/), and the film's outreach program.

"I've been in the video production business for almost 30 years, and about seven years ago I started getting involved in humanitarian films", Ballo said. "Someone asked me to do some filming for them for something they were working on about families living in shacks in the Dominican Republic. There I met a Canadian guy, who went out there for vacation for a week and saw how terrible poverty was there and never left. He started putting his money into building homes for these homeless people. What he was doing was just an amazing story."

Ballo made two documentary films about the Canadian man's efforts to help the homeless in the Dominican Republic.

When Ballo returned to the states, a friend told him about the Lakewood's Tent City residents.

"When I started going to the Dominican Republic and telling people on Facebook what was going on there, I was surprised when people told me about people that are homeless here", he said. "I didn't think it could be as bad as it was over there in a third world country. I wanted to know where this is happening here, how bad it is and who is living there. I was shocked to find out how close it was. It was in Lakewood."

For about seven years, a group of 80 people have been living in a makeshift homeless camp in Lakewood, where Ballo filmed for almost a year.

"My first impression when I walked in there was how comfortable I felt there", Ballo said. "Everyone is so nice and friendly. They all have different stories. Most of them had good jobs at one time and were making good money. There are issues with some with mental illness and alcoholism and drug use, so there is a little bit of everything. It's really not much different really from regular society. It's a fascinating story. I was surprised no one did a documentary about this. I knew it was a perfect project for me."

At the camp, Ballo met camp founder, Minister Steve Brigham (https://www.facebook.com/RevBrigham), a main character in the documentary. The film follows the stories of select camp residents, as well as the conflict between the township officials and the homeless who live on township property, Ballo said. With the town closing in and eviction on their doorstep, the homeless set out to create a self-sustained shelter.

The documentary, filmed in cinéma vérité (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9) style, highlights the group as they set out to create their own shelter called Destiny's Bridge in a community setting that instills ownership, dignity, and rehabilitation without any government assistance, Ballo said.

"This is what this Canadian man is doing in the Dominican Republic and they are trying to do it here", Ballo said "Destiny's Bridge is a concept. It's about new ideas in housing the homeless - building small houses people can afford on minimum wage."

"Destiny's Bridge" premiered in August at the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.494381200646950.1073741838.474387129313024&type=3), and has had several screenings (http://destinysbridge.com/screenings.html) throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties.

In conjunction with the showing in the borough, new and used items, including sleeping bags, winter coats, hoodies, hats, gloves, thermal socks, comforters, blankets and fire starters for Tent City residents may be dropped off at Buddies Tavern between 3 pm and 11 pm Friday.

Tickets to the screening are available online for $10 plus service fee (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/514257) or $12 at the door, while tickets last.

Additional information is available at www.DestinysBridge.com (http://www.destinysbridge.com).

Quote from: Russell Kanning on November 22, 2013, 08:42 PM NHFT
burning wood makes sense to me

Quote from: Russell Kanning on October 07, 2013, 08:44 PM NHFT
exactly
He can speak with the BLONDE about his salary.
Watch out for the terrorists bombers.

QuoteStruggling to survive, throngs of homeless are pushed out of NJ's "Tent City (http://tentcitynj.org/)" to make way for construction of massive "yeshivas" subsidized by taxpayers (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.544568858961517).

One of the more biting ironies of recession-plagued America is the drama unfolding in the suburban town of Lakewood, New Jersey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Township,_New_Jersey), where the homeless in that Ocean County township are being forced to defend themselves not just against the elements and regular police harassment, but against the powerful (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Vaad) Orthodox Jewish (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Judaism) community intent on stripping the last ounce of dignity from these down-on-their-luck Americans.

With no homeless shelters in the county, under the guidance of Minister Steven A Brigham (http://tentcitynj.org/Minister_Steve_Brigham) -- a 12th generation American -- the homeless took up residence in the woods, constructing homes made of canvas tarps, wood, plastic and anything else they could rummage, in what would come to be known as "Tent City". Now, almost eight years later, Tent City is on its way out, a victim of Orthodox complaints of smoke from fires the homeless use to keep warm and cook their food.

The United States Census Bureau in 2010 listed Lakewood as the fastest growing (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/lakewood_is_njs_fastest-growin.html) of the Garden State's 566 municipalities, primarily due to that township's Jewish majority. They now constitute the bulk of the population of over 100,000, up a whopping 54% from the last census. The Orthodox population in Lakewood is projected to rise to 220,000 by 2030.

Founded by hard-working Americans in the late 1880s, a blast-iron furnace business kick-started the town's good fortune. Several magnificent estates sprouted around town, helping Lakewood to become a favorite winter retreat for the Eastern elite, including the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Goulds, Astors and others. President Grover Cleveland would spend his dying days in the town.

In what would be a turning point for Lakewood, a Polish-born rabbi purchased a building in 1943 and erected a yeshiva (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshiva), a school where Orthodox Jews study their religion's central texts, like the Talmud and Torah, to cater to 13 students. Today, the Beth Medrash Govoha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Medrash_Govoha) yeshiva serves around 6,500 students and may be the largest of its kind in the world.

The reason for the explosive growth is simple: Orthodox Jews like to proliferate. The average family has between five and eight children.

[...]

Minister Brigham, commenting on the matter, told this reporter: "For their own political gain, the politicians are taking the food out of the mouths of the American taxpayer and setting a banquet in front of those who mock us."

[Click for complete article.] (http://americanfreepress.net/?p=17960)

Quote
My letter to the ACLU by Steve Brigham

Alex Libman is a homeless man from Lakewood NJ, he is now in jail for protesting a unfair Anti-homeless ordinance that we believe violates human rights. After he was harassed on multiple occasions by police he took steps to protest the following Anti-homeless ordinance:

*******************************************************************************
3-26 UNAUTHORIZED CAMPING ON PUBLIC OR PRIVATE PROPERTY PROHIBITED.
3-26.1 Definitions.
Camp shall mean to reside or dwell temporarily in a place, with shelter. Shelter shall mean and includes, without limitation, any tent, tarpaulin, lean-to, sleeping bag, bedroll, blankets, or any form of cover or protection from the elements other than clothing. Reside or dwell shall mean and includes, without limitation, conducting such activities as eating, sleeping, or the storage of personal possessions.

Public property shall mean, by way of illustration, any street, alley, sidewalk, pedestrian mall, bike path, town square, greenway, vacant land, woodland, or any other structure or area encompassed within the public right-of-way; any parkway, parking lot; or any other grounds, buildings, or other facilities owned or leased by the township or by any other public owner, regardless of whether such public property is vacant or occupied and actively used for any public purpose.

3-26.2 Acts Prohibited.

It shall be unlawful to:

a. Camp upon any private property without the express written consent of the property owner or the owner's agent.

b. Camp upon any public property except in any park or recreation area where camping has been expressly allowed by the officer or agency having the control, management and supervision of the park or recreational area.
**********************************************************************************
(This is not the full text)

He decided to protest this law by sleeping in town square (Mentioned specifically in the ordinance) in cots without covers to still be in compliance with the ordinance.

On the first day the six police responded to our presence and, under the ordinance, demanded we remove our 3 cots and stop protesting in this way. As we were not violating the ordinance being used to make the demands I feel at this point our right to free speech was already being violated but I (Steve Brigham) decided to comply as I did not want to be arrested. The resolve to this first encounter is seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKzyLVIeI9g
I am the one speaking in this video and I am nervous, Alex is next to me holding the sign.

On the second night he decided to sleep in town square with nothing but a pillow so they could not make the claims about "Cots being possible covers" that they did on the first night. He decided that if they asked him to stop protesting this time he would refuse and stand up for his rights. At this point I told him that I could not join him as I was not willing to go to jail even for a worthy cause and he understood. This morning, June 28th, Alex was arrested in town square. We have not been able to speak with him as he is being held in observation in Ocean County Jail.

Alex's family came to America from the soviet union when he was a child seeking freedom. He is very passionate about American Liberties and I will do everything in my power to protect his. I feel that not only is the Ordinance he was protesting a direct violation of his rights but arresting him for protesting the Ordinance is a clear violation of his right to free speech.

Thank you for reading,
Steve Brigham