Evictions threatened over Halloween decorations in New Jersey town

TOMS RIVER, New Jersey (WABC) -- A fight over Halloween decorations in one New Jersey town has one of the largest residential real estate companies in our area threatening to toss tenants, so the spooked renters turned to 7 On Your Side.

Joey and Anthony Krupocin are being threatened with eviction from their home in Gabrielle Run in Toms River after Edgewood Management declared their spider lair a safety hazard.

"I was furious," Joey said. "It's Halloween, and we like to decorate. And there's so many kids in the area, we were shocked."

They were ordered take down their tombstones and stringy web immediately or face eviction.

"It scared us when you see the word 'evicted' on a piece of paper," Anthony said. "We're like, what did we do?"

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The young couple is preparing to welcome their first baby in a few weeks, and they were stunned to get the letter via certified mail from their management company -- along with several other residents of Gabrielle Run who put up the similar trick or treat staples.

"I think they're acting biased to certain groups," neighbor Bill Novak said. "They're saying I can't decorate. Last year decorated Christmas and nothing was said."

Novak, a former Marine, said Edgewood Management also instructed him to remove a Trump campaign sign, but he refused until after the election last year.

"There's a cancel culture here that's very unorthodox, what they're trying to do about taking down decorations," he said. "There's no nails. Everything is stuck to the brick. It's very biased."

The Krupocins were the display violated their lease terms about destroying the property or landscaping and acting in a disorderly manner to destroy the peace and quiet of their neighbors.

Those terms are outlined in everyone's lease, whether they actually bother neighbors or not.

"Peace and quiet," Anthony said. "Having parties means blasting music, making noise, wild parties. That to me means destroying the peace and disorderly conduct, not putting up a web for Halloween."

Last Halloween, the Krupocins never heard anything from management over their front yard display.

"It's disgraceful," Joey said. "How do you evict someone for putting up Halloween decorations?"

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We asked the management company to clarify.

"It just interferes with landscaping, so it's kind of in the way," Property Manager Kelsey Triozzi said.

She added that plastic stakes and the string could harm a trick or treater, but she backed off from their threats of eviction.

"They're not going to be evicted," she said.

It was great news for the expectant couple, who say they'll keep their boo crew intact until Halloween.

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