A New Jersey town made the controversial decision to cut down trees from a public square to deter homeless people from congregating in the area, according to a report.

Lakewood Township made the move on the recommendation of the police department’s quality of life unit following complaints from residents and city workers of homeless people in its town square, the Asbury Park Press reported.

“They [homeless people] were harassing people, defecating between the cars and residents were complaining,” Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles said.

It’s unclear how many complaints the township received.

Advocates criticized the decision to remove the trees as unnecessary and said it did nothing to address the problem of homelessness.

“Well, if they create a shelter, they create some accommodations for homeless people, (then) they didn’t have to worry about that,” Steven Brigham, a minister and head of Lakewood Outreach Ministry, told The Press. 

“It’s extremely extreme to cut down the trees. That’s not the answer,” said Brigham.

Brigham has been working with homeless people in the community for over 20 years, the paper reported.

The town square trees were chopped down on Aug. 8 and days later more trees in an adjacent parking lot were also cut down, Brigham said.

Brigham founded the charity organization Destiny’s Bridge, which provides shelter, basic resources and medical care to those in need. He said many homeless people in the community have told him police have not allowed them to sleep on public properties in town.

The mayor, who hopes the decision will make the public square more inviting for families, said that homeless people have other options for shelter.

New Jersey approved 4,000 housing vouchers in July, only 1,000 of which have been made available for those experiencing homelessness.

Only 4,000 of the 86,000 applicants — or less than 5 percent — who applied for the rental assistance received aid, according to the New Jersey Monitor.