Manalapan Mayor To Gov: Shut Mental Health Facility Down

MANALAPAN, NJ — The mayor of Manalapan Township is practically begging Gov. Phil Murphy to close down a well-known local mental health facility: Manalapan Manor, formerly known as Marianne Manor.

The Rt. 33 adult mental health home is infested with bed bugs, cockroaches, has sewage backing up in the bathtubs and — tragically — has seen several residents die, either from being hit by cars on Rt. 33, heroin overdoses or suicide, according to Manalapan Mayor Susan Cohen.

Residents in the privately-run home are frequently left unsupervised and allowed to roam Rt. 33 on foot, where they have been struck by cars, she said. Patch has previously reported on these incidents, several of which were fatal.

"The residents of that facility frequently walk to the businesses located at that intersection," Manalapan Police Captain Thomas Barstow told Patch back in 2016. "This is not the first person from that facility that has been struck by a vehicle in that area."

"Not certain but 99% of the walkers are from the center. It's dark and poorly lit. They practically walk right into the road," a local resident told Patch. "We've had many instances of having to avoid running someone over. They're unstable and walk aimlessly all day and all night."

Unsupervised residents also frequent local businesses and neighbors, starting fights and disturbances or simply wander alone to the local Wawa and Walgreen's. They also break into nearby homes and businesses.

Manalapan Manor is owned by Mahir Patel. It is licensed by the state Dept. of Community Affairs to operate as a mental health facility.

"(This is) a serious issue in Manalapan Township that has been going on for over six years," wrote Cohen in the letter, a copy of which she provided to Patch. "This facility needs to be shut down immediately."

In the scathing letter to the governor, she referred to Manalapan Manor as "atrocious ... deplorable ... The only option the Township believes is viable now is for this facility to be shut down ... We implore you for assistance in getting this facility shut down."

Currently about 50 residents live there full time. The facility underwent a change of owners in 2017, when Patel took over. However, Cohen says after that "the situation has only gotten worse."

"The 50 or so residents at this facility are housed in a manner that should not be acceptable with anyone," she wrote. "No human being should have to live like that."

Read: Dangerous Rt. 33 Intersection Claims 3rd Life In Two Years: All three who died were living in the Marianne Manor assisted living facility nearby.

From her letter, some examples of the problems:

• Three residents of Marianne Manor have been killed by cars in front of the facility on Rt. 33 since 2014 — one each in 2014, 2015 and 2016 — as they walk along or across the highway to access retail stores in the vicinity.
• A resident was found dead in the facility in 2012, and one of the secondary causes listed on the death certificate was malnutrition.
• A resident was found dead due to a heroin overdose in the facility in 2016.
• A resident suicide on June 13, 2019
• Residents having to forfeit their social security checks leaving them no money to spend or save to find housing on their own
• Multiple inoperative toilets at the same time, backing up sewage in bathtubs, infestations of cockroaches, bedbugs and flies, strong odors of cigarettes, insufficient food and generally dirty and un-clean conditions.

Manalapan Manor, or Marianne Manor as it used to be called, is well known to anyone who lives in Manalapan Township. For example, many of the trespassing incidents in the monthly Manalapan police blotter are residents of the home. Residents from the home have been found routinely entering nearby private homes, garages and places of business.

From July 1 of this year through Nov. 5, a four-month time span, Manalapan police have been called a whopping 339 times to the facility. The calls were for a variety of reasons, including disorderly persons, missing person reports, EMS, assault, mental health/suicide concerns and theft.

Businesses near Manalapan Manor, such as the Walgreens and Wawa on Rt. 33 have also called police for issues created by Manalapan Manor residents, such as disorderly persons, harassment, trespassing and suspicious persons. The Rt. 33 Walgreens called police 56 times in the past four months, and the Wawa called police 69 times.

"The residents of the facility are often wandering on the State Highway and dangerously panhandling in the middle of the road and at the local Wawa, Walgreens and CVS," wrote the mayor. "They are putting themselves in danger and frightening residents who drive along the highway."

Since 2013, Township representatives have met with officials from the Department of Community Affairs several times to air concerns.

"In 2018, we met with Lieutenant Governor Oliver who was shocked at the condition of the facility," said Cohen, who said she has videos of unsanitary conditions and residents being poorly cared for.

Still, Manalapan Manor remains open.

Manalapan residents are aware of the problems at the facility, and many have taken Manor residents their homes for dinners as well as donated clothing, games and food to the residents. Still, the mayor said she had to look out for both those who live in the facility, and those who live nearby.

"Residents of Manalapan should not have to fear driving down Rt. 33 and killing someone or driving into a panhandler," she wrote.