Jacob Poleyeff's 11-year-old daughter Jenna is one of the 101 residents at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center in Peapack. She has been there since May 2012, when she was admitted with a rare seizure disorder known as Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. Matheny is a special hospital and educational facility for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities.
Poleyeff picks her up from school virtually every Friday afternoon to bring her home to West Orange for the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, he and his daughter make the return trip. "I would estimate that I've now taken about 250 trips up or down Highland Avenue in Peapack," he says. "I can count on one hand the total number of cars that have passed me in the other direction on all 250 trips. And I have seen zero children -- not one -- on that road the entire time, which makes perfect sense as it is essentially a two-lane country road, the last place any kids would think of to play hopscotch or stickball or whatever else. The only human beings I've noticed have been a few recreational walkers, and, amazingly, some Matheny caregivers who are already being forced to park offsite."
A proposed expansion and renovation by Matheny was defeated by the Peapack-Gladstone Land Use Board in 2011, primarily based on complaints by neighbors that the increased traffic caused by the expansion would cause the road to become more unsafe and imperil the lives of those using it. That decision was recently upheld by a Superior Court judge in Somerset County. The expansion would have added 40 permanent beds and about 60 employees.
The traffic issue, says Poleyeff, "is really nonsense. I would encourage anyone curious to take a drive up there and try to imagine how 60 additional cars a day -- what's that, one every 12 minutes? -- could possibly impact the safety or even affect the lifestyles of these residents. While you're at it, stop and visit Matheny and see some of the kids and the activities that take place. The entire outrage of what's going on up there will become quite clear. And the whole thing is so unfortunate because the kids at Matheny could really benefit from aquatherapy and other things not available to them today." The proposed renovation had included the building of an indoor therapeutic swimming pool and a therapeutic gymnasium.
"My daughter," adds Poleyeff, "was lucky that a place opened up for her, but so many kids and their folks are waiting desperately. And, during the wait, most of them don't have the wherewithal to deal with the fragility of their child's conditions. Forty openings doesn't sound like a lot, but for those families, it would have made a world of difference."
