Sarah Goode

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Jun 20, 2025, 10:26 PM

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Updated

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The mayor of Tom's River is facing backlash after an incident involving some of the town’s homeless population.

Police and others were at the parking garage by the Ocean County Library Thursday and were seen removing items. Homeless people there said those items were their belongings.

The items were thrown outside in dumpsters and taken away.

"I saw the dumpsters, personally I talked to a lot of individuals from the library," said Brayden Miranda, owner of Fresh Start Project, a nonprofit that supports the homeless.

He said they weren't given any time to sort through their belongings.

"I have a few individuals that lost their IDs, lost medications, important paperwork and a lot of other important or personal items," said Miranda.

Miranda says there are not enough resources for the homeless in Ocean County.

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He said some living in downtown Toms River leave their items in the corner of the parking garage and are not bothering anyone.

"Lots of other ways to handle that," said Miranda.

Those on-scene said that Mayor Dan Rodrick ordered the removal of the items. Rodrick told News 12 that a U-Haul keeps coming and dropping stuff off at the library.

He says he has no idea who the items belong to, and that the town has an ordinance against this type of activity.

The town is following the situation, and no homeless people are being removed. Rodrick added there are entities to remove and throw away dangerous and unsightly items discarded on township property.

Rodrick called this a lobbying effort by homeless advocates to create a diversion and put pressure on the area to build a homeless campus.

He said they are building a legal case against whoever is behind this.

This isn't the first conflict around the library. In April, News 12 reported the mayor said the homeless people attending a pop-up food bank in the downtown library location were causing a hazard.

Advocates and the nonprofit blame the mayor and want to raise awareness of the situation.

News 12 is working to learn more about the situation and what comes next.