The mayor of a New Jersey town has branded an influx of Orthodox Jews akin to 'an invasion' with residents claiming aggressive realtors are trying to bully them to sell their homes.

Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher says he has had complaints from residents since last year - who say some realtors are aggressive and use ‘suspicious and creepy’ tactics to try and convince residents to sell.

The issue stems from a housing crunch in nearby Lakewood - home to one of the country’s largest populations of Hasidic Jews – which has led to real estate agents looking to adjacent towns to accommodate the rapidly growing Jewish community.

Residents of Toms River, New Jersey, (pictured) claim Orthodox Jews are trying to bully them out of their homes leading to a social media campaign called 'Toms River Strong'

The issue stems from a housing crunch in nearby Lakewood - home to one of the country’s largest populations of Hasidic Jews. Pictured above, Tumult day in Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood

But these realtors tell residents that if they don’t sell, they will be the only non-Jews living in an Orthodox community, Kelaher told Bloomberg.

He added that there have been occasions when strangers have pulled up outside homes to take pictures and videos – even going as far as to ask children on the street where they live.

Kelaher compared his town’s current problems to ‘blockbusting’ by the African-American community decades ago.

‘It's like an invasion,' he said. 'It’s the old throwback to the 1960s, when block-busting happened in Philadelphia and Chicago with the American community – “I want to buy your house. You’ll be sorry if you don’t.”

‘It scares the hell out of people,’ he added.

Rabbi Avi Schnall, the state director of Agudath Israel of America, a national grassroots advocacy and social service organization representing Orthodox Jews, blasted the mayor's comments, writing on Twitter: "It's Like an invasion" said Mayor Kelaher of Toms River. If this was said abt any other minority group....Shame. [sic]'

He added that the town has seen a spike in bank robberies and break-ins, drugs are 'rampant' and the area is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, yet the mayor feels 'aggressive realtors' are the biggest concern.

Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher (pictured) said he has had complaints about aggressive realtors from residents and branded it 'like an invastion

The complaints have led to towns, including Toms River, to update their ‘no-knock’ rules on door-to-door solicitation, adding real estate inquiries to measures that already limit when soliciting can occur and allow residents to bar solicitations.

Toms River is now in the process of creating 'cease and desist' zones, where door-to-door real estate soliciting would be banned in designated areas that have been inordinately and repeatedly solicited.

After the decision was announced last month, Kelaher said: 'Our 'no knock' law goes back many years. It's not just in response to what has been happening now.’

'We are trying to protect those people from conduct that's outrageous, harassing, intimidating or unwelcome.'

One resident, James Jackson, said he was working outside his home last fall when he was unexpectedly approached by the man in the black suit. The encounter was initially cordial but turned darker, he said.

Jackson says he told the man he did not want to sell his home, but thanked him for his interest – but the man put his hand on Jackson's shoulder and told him he might want to reconsider.

Many of his neighbors in Toms River, the man said, already planned to sell to Jewish buyers like those he represented.

'He asked me why I would want to live in a Hasidic neighborhood if I wasn't Hasidic,' Jackson recalled. 'He asked if I would really be happy, if it would be in my family's best interests.'

'He was trying to intimidate me, but not in a physical way,' Jackson said. 'He was playing mind games, and he was really good at it.'

Rabbi Avi Schall blasted the Toms River Mayor for his comments, and said the town has bigger issues, including drugs, bank robberies and recovering from Hurricane Sandy

So on March 18, Toms River will begin fining real estate agents who solicit owners door-to-door.

Meanwhile, a campaign called ‘Toms River Strong’ was set up by Michael Dedominicis, 40, urging the town’s more than 90,000 residents not to sell.

A close Facebook group for the campaign has almost 350 members.

His opposition, he told Bloomberg, is not rooted in a dislike of Jews, but because he fears his town will become like Lakewood’s more dilapidated areas.

The construction company owner claimed to have been denied entry to a neighbor’s open house by its Orthodox listing agent.

Avi Schnall, he state director of Agudath Israel of America, calls the recent no-knock changes 'troubling'

‘I have homeowners calling me, saying: “They’re converting a three-car garage into bedrooms!’

Another open house, in November last year, led to trouble when the homeowner’s neighbors parked their vehicles along the street as a sign of a protest, the Lakewood Scoop reported.

This was done to ensure prospective buyers had nowhere to park

One neighbor told the website that the owner was being blasted online by Toms River residents for deciding to sell.

‘The way I see this is that it was about not wanting them to sell to a specific group of people,’ another neighbour said.

Dedominicis’ campaign and the no-knock laws haven’t convinced everyone.

Michael Mortellito decided it was the perfect time to sell his large home as his two children were college-bound – and Orthodox Jews were ‘the only ones buying’.

The 50-year-old is under contract with an Orthodox Jewish couple who are buying his 6,000 sq ft house that he listed himself for $850,000.

‘You’re not going to stop them,’ he told Bloomberg. ‘They’re going to take the town no matter what.’

And the trend is set to continue, according to a Lakewood real estate agent.

David Holtz says his Orthodox customers are interested in areas with low crime rates and larger and newer homes.

Toms River residents determined to keep the Jewish Hasidic community out are giving into to a ‘fear of the unknown’, he told Bloomberg.

Jewish leaders, meanwhile, say a few ‘overly aggressive’ agents are giving all a bad name, adding that the no-knock laws unfairly target Orthodox Jews and those seeking to help them find houses.

A housing crisis in Lakewood has led to real estate agents looking to adjacent towns to accommodate the rapidly growing Jewish community

The issue stems from a housing crunch in nearby Lakewood (pictured above, celebrations as a Torah Scroll was finished in the town)

Many Orthodox Jews came to the community to study at Beth Madresh Gohova (pictured) in Lakewood, one of the largest yeshivas in the world, and eventually settled down

Many Orthodox Jews came to the community to study at Beth Madresh Gohova in Lakewood, one of the largest yeshivas in the world, and eventually settled down.

The 2010 census found the town had nearly 93,000 residents, about 32,000 more than a decade earlier - and town officials believe there are closer to 120,000 residents now.

This is in part because despite only 10 per cent of American Jews identifying themselves as Orthodox, they tend to have larger families.

Last month, Schall said: 'The growth in Lakewood is a sign of the great quality of life which is attracting all these people.

'However, the challenge is being able to keep up with the influx.’

'This has driven people to take residence in nearby towns, where houses are more available and affordable.'

Schnall called the no-knock changes 'troubling.'

He also believes there is a campaign to prevent members of the Orthodox community from moving in - and he thinks the real estate agents are being used as scapegoats, claims that leaders in neighboring towns say are unfounded.

An open house in Toms River in November last year, led to trouble when the homeowner’s neighbors parked their vehicles along the street as a sign of a protest

The population of Lakewood has rapidly expanded over the past decade as Orthodox Jews tend to have larger families than others of their religion. Pictured above, a graphic shows the number of annual births in Lakewood

Schnall didn’t say if it was ani-Semitism at work, but told Bloomberg that the anger in Lakewood’s neighboring towns is based on opposition to proposals including for a learning center, boarding school and dormitories.

Realty groups say their main concern is to find common ground.

'Our local communities are incredibly important to both our members and our association,' said Mary Ann Wissel, chief executive officer of the Ocean County Board of Realtors.

She said the group was working with real estate agents and local officials to ensure that any no-knock registry laws are both 'respectful to homeowners as well as fair to the lawful business practices of our members.'

According to Samuel Heilman, a sociology professor at Queens College in New York City and a leading authority on Orthodox Judaism, the problem is due to the nature of the community people trying to keep Orthodox Jews out of their neighborhoods, for fear the area will become entirely Hasidic.

'The problem is structural: Hasidim live in Hasidic communities predominantly. They can only move as groups,' said Heilman.

Despite the Toms River Strong campaign, many residents aren't convinced and are selling. Pictured, a 'For Sale' sign is seen across from a 'Don't sell, Toms River Strong' sign last month

'That leads to counter-moves by other groups who do not want their community to be inundated by them.'

But David Eckman, a Hasidic real estate investor, acknowledged that while most of his visits to gauge people's interest in selling their homes are unsolicited, he insisted he has never tried to intimidate or mislead anyone.

'People need homes, and I'm trying to help them find those homes,' Eckman said. 'They just want a nice place in a nice community, like everyone else.'

Eckman said anyone using fear tactics, be it directly or implied, should be barred.