I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (2024)

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (1)

An Orthodox father walks up Madison Avenue in Lakewood on a summer afternoon. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Editor's note, Part 4: In a nine-day series, NJ Advance Media is taking a closer look at Lakewood, one of New Jersey's fastest-growing and most complex towns.
Lakewood is home to a huge Orthodox Jewish community and the rapid growth has engulfed the town, igniting tensions between the religious and secular societies on many levels.
Each day, we will explore some of the major issues in the community, including the welfare fraud investigation, housing problems and the strains on the education system. Today, a look at Lakewood through a photographer's lens.

Don't Edit

By Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Lakewood is a place of contrasts.

The Orthodox dominate the town demographically and politically, but there remains a sizableHispanic and black population, along with a growing (and largely uncounted) community of unauthorized immigrants.

In more than two weeks of photographing scenes inside New Jersey's fastest-growing municipality, I found vibrant neighborhoods of people who seldom mix, as I went from inside Lakewood's famed Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva, to its historic black churches, to the township's rapidly changing neighborhoods and to the lakes that gave the township its name. During my journey, I met many who call it home.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (2)

Inside one of the classrooms at Beth Medrash Govoha. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A place of learning

Beth Medrash Govoha, was founded in 1943. With 6,500 students, it is the largest yeshiva in the U.S. Here, in one of the smaller classrooms, men study for hours a day.

The largest classroom can accommodate nearly 1,000 students.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (3)

A pair of Orthodox teenagers carry books on a busy sidewalk along 2nd Street. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The downtown is often crowded with people, including many yeshiva students.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (4)

A student deep in thought while studying at Beth Medrash Govoha. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

Building boom

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (5)

A new housing development is just getting started off Broadway Ave. in the south part of the town. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

For large Orthodox families, Lakewood has become a cheaper and more attractive alternative to living in Brooklyn, where housing prices are far higher.

The town has approved 1,200 new houses and 4000 units in two years.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (6)

A teenager walks by a house being built on Lincoln Street. The town is experiencing a building boom. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In many parts of Lakewood, historically African American neighborhoods are giving way to Orthodox ones, with older houses being torn down and replaced.

Don't Edit

Street scenes

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (7)

A yeshiva student keeps an eye on his children Yocheved and Binyomin on a street of new homes. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (8)

A driveway is full of kid's cars in front of a new home on the town's east side. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The town has had a population explosion with more than 100,000 people living there now, making it New Jersey's fifth-largest city.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (9)

Front lawns in Lakewood resemble neighborhood playgrounds, a telling sign of the influx of many growing families. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

More than 30 percent of the population in Lakewood is under 10 years of age.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (10)

Kids line up to get ice cream from a traveling vendor along Warren Avenue. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

Different worlds

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (13)

Women push baby carriages on a busy sidewalk along 2nd Street. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In a crowded downtown, the different communities of Lakewood meet.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (14)

After finishing cutting the grass for a church on E. 4th St., Clarence Lampkin, left, talks to friends Pedro Sepeda, center, and Fernado Natal. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Clarence Lampkin has lived his entire life in Lakewood. He says his one lament is how that members of the different communities often don't interact.

Don't Edit

In the churches

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (15)

Pastor Thomas E. Simpson, Sr. gives a Sunday sermon at the Intercessory TabernacleMinistries, a church in Lakewood. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A preacher's call

Pastor Thomas E. Simpson, Sr. says he has received numerous offers to sell out but he wants to stay put.

"I keep telling them the church is not for sale," said Simpson. "I ask them, 'Would you have sold Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem?' Well, I'm not selling my church - for no price."

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (16)

Church elder Janie Simpson, left, prays for Winnie Lynn after the service at the Intercessory Tabernacle Ministries. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (17)

Joe Wynn holds his daughter Chaya Conover during services at Intercessory Tabernacle Ministries. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (18)

Danielle Hicks speaks in tongues during services at Intercessory Tabernacle Ministries. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (19)

America Cepeda helps put the chairs in a row while at the New Life Christian Center on East 4th Street. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (20)

A woman sings during a service at Bethel Spanish Pentecostal Church. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Pastor Manuel de Jesus Cruz started theBethel Spanish Pentecostal Church in 1988 in the building which previously housed a Baptist church. There are now two Sunday services each week that attract about 700 people.

Don't Edit

Sunday in the park

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (21)

During a family outing at Pine Park, yeshiva student David Horowitz waits to catch a football thrown by his eldest son Shmuel, 9, as his wife, Devora, and daughter, Rivka, watch. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Pine Park is one of the few places in Lakewood where residents from all of communities find common ground, although each tend to find their own spaces.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (22)

Jacob Colon, 3, left, tries on the hat of Monroe Hall, 11, while they attend a birthday party at Pine Park on a recent summer afternoon. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (23)

A group of men play volleyball on a recent Sunday afternoon at Pine Park. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (24)

Adults and children enjoy a summer afternoon at Pine Park during a birthday party. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (25)

A group of teenage girls have soccer practice at the John F. Patrick Sports Complex. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

Around town

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (26)

A deer on the campus of Georgian Court University. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A quiet campus

Georgian Court University, a private Catholic school, was built on a former railroad magnate’s estate, on the shores of one of the lakes that gave Lakewood its name.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (27)

People wait for the start of the musical "Hairspray" at the historic 1,042-seat Strand Theater. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Hairspray

The Strand opened in 1922, at a time when Lakewood was a playground for the rich and famous. The first show featured a film with Mae Murray, then a star of the silent screen, in Peaco*ck Alley, followed by five acts of vaudeville.

Later turned into a movie house, the theater received a $2.5 million grant in 1992 to complete an interior restoration.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (28)

On stage with the "Hairspray" cast at the Strand. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (29)

The audience dances during a concert by the Mexican band "Bronco" at the Lake Terrace hall. The hall frequently hosts concerts in Spanish and also hosts events and weddings. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (30)

Esteban Vega, left, visits friends at the Lakewood Plaza Apartments on a Friday night. A former resident of the town, he says he is surprised by the rapid population growth. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (31)

Residents of the Lakewood Plaza Apartments socialize outside on a Friday night. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (32)

After a day of work, Gary Mayer, right, jokes with others at the Laketon Inn located on 2nd Street. It is one of the few bars left in town and located next to a yeshiva. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (33)

Lakewood's most public face might be its BlueClaws baseball team. On Italian Heritage Night, team members walk past members of the Ocean County Knights of Columbus. A minor league affiliate for the Philadelphia Phillies, Lakewood's BlueClaws have led the league in attendance for the past 16 seasons. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (34)

On the east side of the township is Leisure Village, a gated, adult 55+ community with more than 4,000 residents. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

In the shadows

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (35)

Early in the morning, day laborers wait at the municipal parking lot trying to get work in construction or landscaping. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (36)

There is a growing community of temp workers in Lakewood, many gathering each morning to wait to be hired for construction or landscaping jobs. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (37)

There are no homeless shelters in Lakewood. On the outskirts of town, Sharon Ann Reeves waits along the railroad tracks as her dinner cooks. Reeves, who had lived in Lakewood's tent city, has been fighting alcoholism and addiction for years. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

Politics and controversy

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (38)

Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles, left, sitting alongside Deputy Mayor Menashe Miller, tells people during the Township Committee meeting that the town is going to provide additional funding to the school district to keep the high school sports programs and school librarians. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The council

Lakewood swings Republican. Trump won with 74 percent of the vote. Christie won with 84 percent. The town is run by a five-member committee serving three-year terms. Three are Orthodox Jews, three are Republicans, two are Democrats and all are white men.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (39)

Orthodox men listen during a recent meeting organized by the Vaad, a religious council of leaders who help guide their community in Lakewood. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The Vaad

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (40)

The Orthodox community has a powerful political voice on Election Day. A flyer from Lakewood's Vaad that was left on a windshield of a car in Lakewood prior to the recent primary election urging their residents to vote for specific candidates. (Photo courtesy of Lakewood resident)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (41)

Pastor Glenn Wilson, the head of Lakewood UNITE (United Neighbors Improving Today's Equality) waits in front of a 1976 mural that depicts the history of Lakewood to address the Township Committee about budget cuts. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (42)

Lakewood Board of Education President Barry Iann, left, listens to board attorney Marc Zitomer after a recent meeting. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The Board of Education

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (43)

Children board a bus in the afternoon along Oak Street. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The busing controversy

The Lakewood Board of Education provides courtesy busing to private schools, including nearly 30,000 kids attending schools run by the Orthodox Jewish community. The cost of the busing has helped create a school funding crisis in the district.

Don't Edit

I spent 2 weeks in Lakewood. This is what I saw. (44)

Early in the morning a pair of swans swim on Lake Carasaljo. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A lake of Lakewood

Lake Carasaljo is a man-made lake in the center of Lakewood created in the mid-1700s when the South Branch of the Meteconk River was dammed to provide power for a sawmill. According to township lore, the lake was later named after the three daughters of the owner of the Bergen Iron Works, Caroline (nicknamed 'Carrie'), Sarah ('Sally') and Josephine ('Jo').

Don't Edit

Read more about Lakewood

Race, religion, corruption and politics: A guide to the crisis in Lakewood

10 ways Lakewood is unlike any other town in N.J.

Inside the Lakewood case: What sparked the investigation

Don't Edit

Aristide Economopoulos is an award-winning photojournalist for NJ Advance Media whose work has taken him from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, to the far reaches of New Jersey. He can be reached atAristide Economopoulos

Don't Edit