Once Prosperous New Yorkers Forced to Live under Canvas in New Jersey Woods

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The white picket fence and manicured flowerbeds outside 1 Paradise Lane are straight from a picture postcard of idyllic suburban American life in the 1950s.

But its walls are no more than canvas. Its porch overlooks smouldering bonfires and scrawny hens scratching at dirt.

Its occupant is Marilyn Berenzweig, 61, who used to make $100,000 (£63,333) a year as a designer in New York’s garment district. Now she and her husband Michael are down and out, living in Tent City, Lakeland, New Jersey. There is no electricity or running water and racoons steal their food. “It’s not an easy life,” she said.

She and Mr Berenzweig, a former radio producer, are two of the 27 million Americans out of work or under-employed as recession stalks America. » | Jon Swaine, New Jersey | Sunday, September 25, 2011