A judge in Ocean County could decide the fate of Lakewood's tent city as early as Friday as an eviction hearing is set to be held in the Superior Court in Toms River.

The township says the 60 or so homeless people living in the wooded area off Cedar Bridge Avenue are trespassing. The township also says they pose a liability for Lakewood.

However, Pastor Steve Brigham, the leader of the homeless group who also lives in the tent city, says the people have nowhere else to go. He contends they have every right to live there because Ocean County does not have a homeless shelter. The tent city began in Lakewood about six years ago.Tent city in Lakewood to be torn down