Homeless Encampment Cleared Out In Atlantic City: Reports

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Between 20 and 30 people experiencing homelessness had to move out of an encampment off the Atlantic City boardwalk Monday, as the city told them to vacate.

The encampment was under the Caesars-owned Playground Pier. Police began asking people to leave at 6 a.m., several other media outlets reported. Atlantic County Animal Control took a woman's dog to a shelter, reports said.

City spokesperson Andrew Kramer told NJ.com that last week, officials found the site and told people living there they would have to clear out. The conditions were unsafe for both the unhoused individuals and "individuals in the vicinity," Kramer told the Press of Atlantic City.

Agencies including the Casino Development Authority, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, AtlantiCare, and Jewish Family Services made up the cleanup team.

A three-day Phish show on the beach is coming up this weekend. Kramer told NJ.com this did not factor into the city's timing for moving in on the encampment.

The people living under Playground Pier were among the thousands of New Jerseyans who experience homelessness every day.

There were 8,097 people experiencing homelessness in New Jersey and 326 people homeless in Atlantic County, according to the most recent Point-in-Time count done by Monarch Housing Associates.

Organizations that help unhoused people will conduct Point-in-Time counts to measure how many people are in shelters and on the streets at any given time.