Manalapan Senior Citizen Condo Owners 'Stranded' In Their Homes

Manalapan, NJ - Morris and Phyllis Cohen haven’t been able to leave their home since Friday.

For four days now, the couple, both 90, have been trapped in their second-story apartment in the Covered Bridge condo complex in Manalapan Township. That’s because the condo association has failed to plow the sidewalks since the storm on Saturday, residents say.

“They plowed the Covered Bridge roads, and our driveways,” said Karen Finkelstein, who also lives there. “But they haven’t cleared the sidewalks at all. It’s completely unmanageable.”

Fire hydrants also remain covered in deep snow. Condo owners pay dues, $160 a month, to have the association clear roads and sidewalks after a storm. Some residents have gotten tired of waiting, Finkelstein said, and paid extra money to outside crews to have them shovel the sidewalks. She and her husband dug a rough path out, but many of her neighbors are too scared to use it.

“That’s not why we moved here,” she said. ”Our dues are supposed to cover this.”

Making matters worse, Covered Bridge is a 55+ adult community, meaning lots of people who live there have limited mobility to begin with. Many use walkers, canes or simply aren’t as surefooted as they used to be.

Phyllis Cohen, for example, uses a walker.

“I have not left my home since Friday,” she said. “I can’t get out; it’s too dangerous. We’ve lived here for 38 years, and we had bad snows before, but it’s never been like this. All I want them to do is come clean it.”

Sidewalks beginning to be cleared after Patch calls management

Crews did come and began clearing the sidewalks Tuesday afternoon, after Patch called the condo association clubhouse. Employees there said they have been inundated with calls and were too busy to talk to a reporter.

Manalapan Mayor Mary Ann Musich said the township did get ”a lot” of complaints about Covered Bridge. Musich said she talked to the president of the condo association Monday, who told her it was all taken care of.

Regardless, residents said the snow removal efforts on Day #4 are too little, too late.

“There are still several buildings that remain uncleared,” said Finkelstein in an email. “Much more should have been done. What if people only had enough groceries to get through the blizzard? People really have been stranded.”

“I just feel bad for the people who are older,” said resident Mark Negreann. “It’s like some of them really are trapped in their homes.”

“You can’t please all the people all the time”

The president of the Covered Bridge Home Owners’ Association contacted Patch after this article was published, and said crews are doing an “outstanding” job of clearing the more than 50 miles of sidewalks in Covered Bridge.

“If you have to go for dialysis or chemo, you got priority, your sidewalks were cleared first,” said Bob Epstein. “Anyone else who wanted to get out can always call the clubhouse. For those who use walkers and canes, it’s not safe for you to be out at this time anyway.”

Epstein said people have to be patient when waiting for their sidewalks to be cleared.

“In my opinion the trustees, maintenance foreman and crew and the OEM at Covered Bridge ... did an outstanding job, considering that this storm was the worst in Manalapan history,” said Epstein. “They worked until midnight Sunday and again on Monday and are continuing today (Tuesday.)“

“But you can’t please all the people all the time,” he added.