If you are a regular reader of mine then you will be aware that not only am I not religious, but I will also happily criticise some of the utterly bizarre and shameful things some will do in the name of religion. For this specific posting I have something different, it is the story of a church doing something truly noble and decent, and then faced some very overt persecution by members of the local council.
In other words, the church in this crazy saga are the good guys, and the local council members are being utterly deplorable in their behaviour.
So what’s the story here?
OK, here is a quick TL;DR; summary.
Christ Episcopal Church in Toms River, NJ applied to the local zoning board to build a 17-bed shelter for the homeless in their community. They already work with the homeless and offer them support out of an existing building, so this was the natural next step.
What then happened is wild. Not only was their application refused, but the town council pushed back strongly, with a huge “Ugh, we can’t have these vermin being helped“, and launched an ordinance to simply take over the church and all its land so that they could flatten it and build a park instead.
Really?
Yep, so let’s get into a bit of the detail.
Seeking Permission
Via a media article titled “Toms River church seeks permission to open a homeless shelter near downtown” we learn … well yes, the hint is there in the title.
The article lays out the context …
A downtown church is seeking zoning board permission to build a 949-square-foot shelter for the homeless next to an outreach office on its Washington Street property.
The shelter would be built as an addition to an existing outreach and counseling office on the church property, according to Harvey L. York, the Toms River lawyer who is representing applicant Christ Episcopal Church. It would hold 17 beds for those without homes.
Read on and you discover a few other key points, and also gain some insights from some of the homeless.
These are people who simply need a bit of help. The church has been working with the Affordable Housing Alliance since 2023, a non-profit since 2023 with the goal of helping people find stable and affordable homes.
Talking to some you will discover they often never expected to find themselves in such circumstances. Beyond this specific church and what they are striving to do, there is nothing and nobody. It is efforts such as this that enables people to get back on their feet and connects them to mental health counseling, job training, and assistance in getting insurance and identification.
What has been happening is that rents have risen very sharply and this has contributed to people finding themselves without a home.
The church is striving to do things correctly and so they have been applying for permission to build the shelter.
Some Locals Push back
The next article is titled “Toms River residents don’t want homeless shelter in neighborhood: ‘Don’t think it’s fair’“. From that we learn how some feel.
They quote this very vocal local …
“I don’t care if you are going to call me a NIMBY, I don’t care if you are going to call me a racist. I am not, I am a taxpayer and I just don’t think it’s fair,” said Paula Leotta, who lives on Magnolia Lane, adjacent to the Christ Episcopal Church site where the 949-square-foot shelter addition has been proposed. Leotta’s voice cracked and she seemed near tears as she recounted her fears that the 17-bed shelter would act as a “magnet” to draw even more unhoused people to the site.
Read on and you discover that the concern is that property values will drop because of “them”.
City Officials Listened and Acted
Last week city official introduced an Ordinance to simply grab all the church property using Eminent domain. The article that reveals all is dated April 29, and titled “Toms River to Consider Taking Church Proposed As Homeless Shelter Through Eminent Domain“. There we learn that
The properties that would be acquired include the church, at 415 Washington Street; the Dupont Marina at 89 Water Street; the property at 93 East Water Street (adjacent to the Marina Grill restaurant); Sunset Cove Marina at 95 East Water Street; the property at 97 East Water Street; and the property at 99 East Water Street.
Here is the lots they are going after, and includes the church, the non-profit’s office, and the site of the proposed shelter …
“No no no”, claims the city council, “this has absolutely nothing to do with the homeless shelter…“
“We have always had a plan to do this. It’s been a long-time idea,” said Rodrick. “We had plans to take this property before this process ever began. It’s something we had been talking about as an administration and as a council for some time.”
The church property would allow a park to be developed closer to the downtown section as well as the surrounding residential neighborhood, which does not have an easily-accessible park of its own. The property, measuring dozens of acres, could also be used for the construction of pickleball courts, tennis courts, a skate park and playground.
The proposal is to basically grab the entire church property by force, flatten the entire lot, and so completely obliterate all help for the homeless and thus drive them away …
Their “argument” is that a homeless shelter is of no benefit at all and that the park will benefit the entire community.
Rather obviously the homeless shelter would be inherently beneficial.
Two warring factions
Just to be clear, there is not a Democratic vs Republican split here, it is two warring Republican factions. One side would very much like to help the homeless and the other takes a “F**k them” stance, not in my back yard.
If this was indeed an empty church building then they might be able to grab and redevelop it, but no, the church itself is in active use with at least 150 members attending weekly services.
On April 30 they held a town hall meeting where the proposed ordinance had its first reading …
The town had not told the church what they were doing, but they found out …
The Rev. Lisa A. Hoffman, Christ Church’s rector, said that a Toms River resident alerted a parishioner to the addition of the proposed eminent domain ordinance to the meeting’s agenda, and that parishioner contacted Hoffman the evening before the meeting. The town had not notified the church about the pending vote, she said.
Just prior to the meeting …
“It is clear and obvious that the township and mayor are acting in bad faith and have ulterior motives,” attorney Michael York told Assistant Township Attorney Peter Pascarella in a letter delivered just before the April 30 council meeting. “Clearly, they are not even trying to hide their actions. This attempt to use eminent domain as an excuse to obtain property is not disguised in this instance.”
What happened next is that lots of church members turned up at the meeting.
As you can imagine, the meeting got very heated and involved people yelling at each other …
Some of the frustration that Hoffman identified in the community was obvious April 30 from the outset of the six-minute debate on the issue, during which council members yelled at each other, and one accused another of hating God, Christ, homeless people and humanity.
Council member Thomas Nivison, shouting at times, tried to get the proposed ordinance tabled or to at least remove the Christ Church property from consideration. The motion to table failed 4-3, the same margin by which the council passed the ordinance’s first reading moments later. (The debate begins at the 36:19 mark here.)
David Ciccozzi, another council member, stood to vote against the ordinance and led the room in praying the Lord’s Prayer.
“There’s no way on God’s green Earth that anyone should vote for this ordinance,” council member James Quinlisk said to loud applause and shouts as he cast a no vote. He said passing the ordinance would set up the town for a lawsuit, “one that I don’t think (the mayor) understands the scale of.”
You want to see this showdown don’t you?
OK, here you go …
If you listen on after the initial shutting down of debate on this, you will discover that people came forward and gave them a earful …
The speakers included people who said they had been or currently were homeless. Some talked of struggling with addiction, and many spoke of how churches, including Christ Church, helped them.
“I don’t know whether you believe in Christ or believe in God, but when you start messing with his children, you’ve got a lot of trouble,” Toms River resident Angie Feldman said.
Will Wiencke, a Christ Church member who said he was speaking only for himself, told the council that he wonders what he can do to help alleviate the problem of homelessness. “But I feel like there’s something my church can do. I don’t know how many of you will be here in 10 years, but Christ Episcopal Church will be.”
Where do things now stand?
What they are now faced with is this …
- The shelter plan needs the approval of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. That vote is due on May 22
- Then 6 days later on May 28, the town council is scheduled to take public comment and make a final decision on the land-seizure ordinance, because officially it passed the first reading at the above meeting 4-3
Now what?
We live in a world where there are people in need, and one day that person in need just might be you. Most of us have more in common with a homeless person than a billionaire. You are also more likely to experience homelessness than any of the 1%. Many are three lost paychecks away from homelessness and never three good paychecks from becoming a millionaire or billionaire.
It does not take much – medical costs can render someone bankrupt and homeless.
How we respond to such need is perhaps the ultimate judgment upon ourselves as individuals.
We can ignore the problem, bury our heads in the sand, and hope “they” simply go away, or we can strive to do something meaningful. At the very least, support those with the willingness, facilities, and expertise to help. Here is a church, both willing and able to do the right thing. They are not asking for money, but rather they are asking for permission to help.
The pushback they are now getting, the attempt to simply take over and grab all the church’s property and flatten it, is deeply unethical.
One last Thought
This entire story has so far been a truly wild ride, and it is not yet over. Thinking about it, the following quote quite naturally comes to mind …
“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members”
I’ll keep you posted with updates below and let you know how it plays out.
(Side note: Yea, me the Atheist cheering on the church here and siding with them, and booing those that want to shut them down. This is an irony not lost on me – but I look at it this way, I’m cheering on and standing with those that want to help others)