Physical Therpy For Injuries and Pain in Kendall Park, NJ

FRANKLIN — There's a big Buddha on my way home from work.

Perhaps you've caught a glimpse? Just off Route 27, between Kendall Park and Kingston. It's sitting there, in a backyard at the end of a driveway. Easy to miss if you're looking away.

And by big, I mean huge. From top to bottom, he's 30 feet of bright white Buddha, sitting on a pink lotus.

To get up close, you have to park behind The Venerable Hungampola Sirirathana Nayaka Thera's house and visit his meditation center. And that's exactly what I did once my curiosity got the best of me. But first, the back story.

I moved recently and have been trying different routes to get home from work. On one of my "new route" nights, I was struck by a bright light illuminating the woods as I headed south.

My jaw dropped when I saw the glowing Buddha. The last time I had seen one so large was during my study abroad in Tokyo.

Soon, I was asking friends and co-workers if they knew about it. I didn't get much help, but I had to know the rest of the story.

A few days later, on a Friday, I made my way back to Buddha.

After turning off Route 27, the first thing I noticed were the signs outside the house for the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center. I knocked on the door and Sirirathana opened promptly.

"When I moved here, it was just a tiny house -- just a little house and people would come and share dharma in front of this little statue," Sirirathana said, as we headed toward the back of his house. His words were translated from Sinhalese by Bhante Maithree, a monk visiting from Virginia.

Sirirathana brought us to the center's meditation room. It was filled with fresh flowers. Lanterns hung from the ceiling. He pointed to a gold Buddha in the corner. This was the statue he had when he bought the house and its 10 acres of land in 2002 to fulfill the religious, cultural and social needs of local Sri Lankan families.

But three years after opening his doors, he realized he needed more than a meditation room and the little golden Buddha.

"I wasn't happy to restrict this peaceful teaching to this small place, so I widened it and opened it up to the world," Sirirathana said. "Normally, you see buildings, building, buildings, but it's quite different to see Buddha."

And not just any Buddha.

It took two years, with six months of actual construction, before the cement, brick and steel Buddha with bright blue eyes was completed in 2009.

As we sat inside the meditation room, I glanced at the original golden Buddha. There was simply no comparison.

Sirirathana said his super-sized Buddha has created a real life "Field of Dreams" scenario - he built it and people came. Hundreds of them.

In just a few years, he said, the center has gone from serving 70 Sri Lankan families to over 300 families of all nationalities.

Many newcomers - like myself - had spotted big Buddha driving along Route 27 and were mesmerized by its grandeur.

"They sit in front of the Buddha statue and they start imitating what the Buddha is doing. They sit how the Buddha is sitting and they start meditating," said Sirirathana's friend Bante Maithree.

Maithree says the bigger the Buddha the bigger the inspiration. So this Buddha, which is possibly one of the biggest in North America, packs a lot of inspiration.

Often times, the monks said, newbies to the center will do something interesting, something that gives them away as a visitor just discovering Buddhism, the world's fourth-largest religion.

On snowy days for instance, Sirirathana said he chuckles as he watches guests cover the snow with blankets to meditate, unaware they can come inside and sit in front of the smaller golden statue in the meditation room.

No matter how they appreciate the Buddha, it all puts a smile on his face.

"I can't explain it. It's that much happiness," Sirirathana said. "I feel so happy because they are enjoying happiness. That's why I'm happy."

Sirirathana said he has had as many as 150 people on the patio at a single time. His guests have come from all over the world. A 92-year-old man visiting from India was among recent visitors.

Using donations he has received over the years, Sirirathana broke ground in 2013 on a new $2 million center in the woods behind the Buddha.

The center will have a library, rooms for meditation and community gatherings, and will be surrounded by meditation trails and gardens.

I was running out of questions, but Sirirathana suggested I come back on a Friday night to meet his neighbors Carol and George, "American people," as he called them, grinning from ear to ear. He clearly had a lot of pride in what he was about to say next.

"They are now Buddhist! When I told them of my idea to build the Buddha, they were really supportive. They removed their fences!"

When I returned, Buddha seemed even more grand at night, the light bouncing off everything around him. After I was introduced to Carol, she went right to the big Buddha and lit a candle.

The statue, she said, has changed her life.

"Meditation has really made a difference in terms of mindfulness, living in the moment, taking advantage of what's here," said Carol as we sat down. She whispered so as not to disturb the meditation underway.

About 10 people were in attendance for an hour-long session that starts with meditation and ends with a discussion of Buddhist text. The evening ends with coffee, tea, desserts and more discussion.

As they talked, Sirirathana stood to the side happily observing. Seeing him, I couldn't help but ask if he was destined to build the Buddha. Was all of this meant to be?

His answer surprised me.

He pointed to a grand Dawn Redwood tree in the front yard. He has been told it was one of the first to be planted by Chinese Buddhist monks in the 1940s. He never made a connection back to the question I had asked, he simply said the tree was there.

"Do you believe in fate?" I asked.

"No, just coincidence," he said, in one of the few times he spoke directly to me in English. "And this is a good one. It feels good."

Adya Beasley may be reached at abeasley@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @adyabeasley. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Michael Brown holds a pair of Mara des Bois strawberries grown at Pitspone Farm, a small farm in Kendall Park, NJ specializing in unusual berries.

(Alex Remnick/The Star-Ledger)

I pulled up to the address I had scribbled down and thought I had made a mistake. This typical suburban house in Kendall Park couldn’t possibly be the location for Pitspone Farm, a specialist in berries and small fruit plants. Just then a lanky, bespectacled man clad in overalls strode across the lawn to introduce himself.

Mike Brown had been described to me as a gentleman farmer. After unlatching the gate to enter into his backyard farm, Brown certainly proved he is a gentleman and offered me a cup of Turkish coffee in a delicate blue and white demitasse cup. But he is no gentleman farmer.

"I am out here every day at 5:15 a.m. with my cup of coffee checking on things before I go to work," he says. "A gentleman farmer oversees things. I am out here doing it all myself."

Today he has a thriving backyard nursery, selling his hard-to-find fruits to top New Jersey restaurants and his plants to home gardeners with a taste for the unusual, but as many gardening ventures do, it started small.

When Brown purchased the house, the backyard was a basic lawn. In 2007, he added some fig trees because his wife loves them and he thought he could sell the fruit. Then came heirloom tomatoes and herbs. Next he decided to grow something nobody was growing.

"I explore higher-end and less common fruits. I began expanding and fine tuning. I don’t think I’ve mown grass back here in two years," Brown tells me, with more than a hint of pride in his voice. "I promised my wife from the front it would look like a normal house. In the back I am almost maxed out."

Almost every available inch behind the tall fence is full of edible delights. Pots of alpine strawberries line up neatly near the gate and on the deck. The small, elongated fruit with a bumpy surface smells as sweet as cotton candy and tastes like Pop-Tarts, according to Brown. I quickly dubbed them "crackberries" after tasting one.

"Sometimes I do feel like a drug dealer because I sell them by the ounce instead of the pound," he says sheepishly, "because the yield is low and they take me so long to harvest."

These berries are so delicious it is understandable that Princeton's highly-acclaimed Elements is so addicted the restaurant claimed Brown's entire supply this summer. (Fortunately, he sells plants to interested home gardeners.)

Further along the narrow path we stop near Mara des Bois strawberries. Highly flavorful and fragrant, this French everbearing gourmet strawberry has a nice texture and is a chef favorite.

Brown, a school librarian, uses his research abilities in the field. "I want to help people and chefs be able to determine what tastes best and grows best in New Jersey," he says, as he stops in front of a row of 15-foot tall European elderflower trees. Each umbrel of fragrant white flowers eventually turns into a bunch of purple berries that may be made into jam, juice or wine. The berries must be cooked before consuming. Liqueur and tea can be made from the flowers. The lacy blossoms can also be dipped in a light tempura style batter and fried.

The striking chartreuse hue of gooseberries will lure you close to the bush, but beware of its treacherous thorns. Careful extraction of the fruit rewards one with a slightly tart globe the size of a seedless grape. In England it is a favorite in summer desserts. In Nigel Slater's cookbook "Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard" (Ten Speed Press, $40), the recipes for honey polenta cake with elderflower and gooseberries and for gooseberry, apple, and elderflower pie beg for me to bring home buckets of berries to merrily meld with sugar into jammy perfection. The berries freeze well, so stock up.

The currant, another British favorite, can be found here, too. Long trusses of red or white berries invite you to idle a moment and have a sample. They make a gorgeous claret jelly.

More exotic specimens such as the goumi berry, which looks like an oblong cherry and tastes a bit like a plum, and the jujube tree dot his landscape. These fruits are popular in Asia. Brown hopes to be able to tap into that market locally.

The native serviceberry has captured Brown’s attention this season. He is assessing seven varieties for taste and yields. The berries taste similar to blueberries and make wonderful pies and jams.

Aronia, or black chokeberry, intrigues Brown because it is an antioxidant powerhouse and birds don’t care for the fruit. They make an excellent juice and substitute for blueberries in baking. The jostaberry, a thornless cross between black currant and gooseberry, is also on his one-to-watch list.

Brown’s living laboratory is full of surprises. "Something is just devastating my Kokuso mulberries," he laments as he sips his coffee and speculates that a groundhog is the culprit. "But I saw a fox for the first time the other day." A few minutes later we stop to watch a rabbit hustle between rows of rugosa roses that are grown for their enormous hips, popular for teas and syrups.

"I am making a transition to an edible nursery. Some nurseries have one type of gooseberry. That is like saying I grow apples and not being specific. I'm trying to be a source of more obscure plants and be able to tell people how to grow them in New Jersey." (You can order plants through his website.

Ironically, Brown feverishly spends his summer growing his fruit and making daily deliveries to his clients but does not often cook them.

"I have to sell them," he says ruefully. "I grow kale and tomatoes to eat but I don’t have a big enough supply of berries to eat them much. But I will walk around the garden while I work and I might munch."

I hope he leaves some crackberries for the rest of us.

Rachel Weston is the chef at A Better World Café in Highland Park. "The Gutsy Gourmet" appears monthly. You can reach her at njgutsygourmet@yahoo.com or The Star-Ledger, Savor/Today, 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, N.J., 07102. Twitter: @roxydynamite

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A house in Kendall Park that sold for $765,000 tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in South Brunswick between Oct. 16 and Oct. 29.

In total, 12 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past two weeks, with an average price of $489,127. The average price per square foot was $312.

The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded from the week of October 16 to the week of Oct. 29 even if the property may have been sold earlier.

10. $275K, single-family residence at 4251 Bayberry Court

The sale of the single family residence at 4251 Bayberry Court in Monmouth Junction has been finalized. The price was $275,000, and the new owners took over the house in October. The house was built in 1984 and has a living area of 800 square feet. The price per square foot was $344. The deal was finalized on Oct. 10.

9. $360K, single-family home at 1303 Blossom Circle

The 1,374 square-foot single-family house at 1303 Blossom Circle in Dayton has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in October and the total purchase price was $360,000, $262 per square foot. The house was built in 2000. The deal was finalized on Oct. 16.

8. $360K, detached house at 56 Cottonwood Court

A sale has been finalized for the single-family house at 56 Cottonwood Court in Monmouth Junction. The price was $360,000 and the new owners took over the house in October. The house was built in 1984 and the living area totals 1,280 square feet. The price per square foot ended up at $281. The deal was finalized on Oct. 5.

7. $444K, single-family house at 8 Dawson Road

The sale of the single-family house at 8 Dawson Road, Kendall Park, has been finalized. The price was $443,519, and the house changed hands in October. The house was built in 1960 and has a living area of 1,841 square feet. The price per square foot was $241. The deal was finalized on Oct. 13.

6. $460K, single-family house at 159 Susan Court

The property at 159 Susan Court in Kendall Park has new owners. The price was $460,000. The house was built in 1990 and has a living area of 1,291 square feet. The price per square foot is $356. The deal was finalized on Oct. 10.

5. $525K, detached house at 3 Ritter Road

The 1,092 square-foot single-family home at 3 Ritter Road, Kendall Park, has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in October and the total purchase price was $525,000, $481 per square foot. The house was built in 1961. The deal was finalized on Oct. 10.

4. $536K, single-family residence at 268 Georges Road

The property at 268 Georges Road in Dayton has new owners. The price was $536,000. The house was built in 1964 and has a living area of 1,389 square feet. The price per square foot is $386. The deal was finalized on Oct. 12.

3. $550K, single-family home at 1 Ellis Court

The property at 1 Ellis Court in Monmouth Junction has new owners. The price was $550,000. The house was built in 1973 and has a living area of 1,664 square feet. The price per square foot is $331. The deal was finalized on Oct. 4.

2. $620K, single-family house at 504 Yarrow Circle

The property at 504 Yarrow Circle in Dayton has new owners. The price was $620,000. The house was built in 2000 and has a living area of 1,842 square feet. The price per square foot is $337. The deal was finalized on Oct. 2.

1. $765K, single-family home at 10 Tiffin Road

The sale of the single family residence at 10 Tiffin Road in Kendall Park has been finalized. The price was $765,000, and the new owners took over the house in October. The house was built in 1960 and has a living area of 2,300 square feet. The price per square foot was $333. The deal was finalized on Oct. 6.

Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data.

A house in Kendall Park that sold for $825,000 tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in South Brunswick between June 12 and June 18.

In total, 11 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $558,114. The average price per square foot was $285.

The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of June 12 even if the property may have been sold earlier.

10. $250,000, single-family home at 30 Sassafras Lane

The sale of the single-family residence at 30 Sassafras Lane, Monmouth Junction, has been finalized. The price was $250,000, and the new owners took over the house in May. The house was built in 1984 and has a living area of 1,204 square feet. The price per square foot was $208. The deal was finalized on May. 30.

9. $367,000, single-family house at 40 Deerberry Lane

The property at 40 Deerberry Lane in Monmouth Junction has new owners. The price was $367,000. The house was built in 1984 and has a living area of 1,448 square feet. The price per square foot is $253. The deal was finalized on May. 31.

8. $440,000, single-family residence at 7 Calvin Road

A sale has been finalized for the single-family home at 7 Calvin Road in Kendall Park. The price was $440,000 and the new owners took over the house in May. The house was built in 1960 and the living area totals 1,331 square feet. The price per square foot ended up at $331. The deal was finalized on May. 19.

7. $450,000, detached house at 213 Kendall Road

The sale of the single family residence at 213 Kendall Road in Kendall Park has been finalized. The price was $450,000, and the new owners took over the house in May. The house was built in 1958 and has a living area of 1,136 square feet. The price per square foot was $396. The deal was finalized on May. 18.

6. $450,000, single-family home at 277 New Road

The 2,524 square-foot detached house at 277 New Road in Monmouth Junction has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in May and the total purchase price was $450,000, $178 per square foot. The house was built in 2003. The deal was finalized on May. 18.

5. $500,250, single-family residence at 22 Jamie Court

The property at 22 Jamie Court in Monmouth Junction has new owners. The price was $500,250. The house was built in 1991 and has a living area of 1,529 square feet. The price per square foot is $327. The deal was finalized on May. 24.

4. $635,000, detached house at 33 Spring Drive

The 2,010 square-foot single-family residence at 33 Spring Drive, Dayton, has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in May and the total purchase price was $635,000, $316 per square foot. The house was built in 1987. The deal was finalized on May. 22.

3. $650,000, single-family house at 52 Andover Drive

The 2,332 square-foot single-family house at 52 Andover Drive in Kendall Park has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in May and the total purchase price was $650,000, $279 per square foot. The house was built in 2008. The deal was finalized on May. 22.

2. $721,000, single-family house at 103 Downey Lane

The sale of the detached house at 103 Downey Lane, Monmouth Junction, has been finalized. The price was $721,000, and the house changed hands in May. The house was built in 2016 and has a living area of 2,256 square feet. The price per square foot was $320. The deal was finalized on May. 25.

1. $825,000, detached house at 23 Adams Road

The sale of the single family residence at 23 Adams Road in Kendall Park has been finalized. The price was $825,000, and the new owners took over the house in May. The house was built in 1990 and has a living area of 2,784 square feet. The price per square foot was $296. The deal was finalized on May. 19.

Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ - A Kendall Park woman is suing the township, the zoning board, and her neighbors for constructing an in-ground pool that violates certain property ordinances. The woman claims that the new construction was too close to her property and failed to meet the standards set by the municipality, despite getting approval from the zoning board earlier this year.

Last November, a couple in Kendall Park submitted an application with the Zoning Board to build a 16ft by 32ft swimming pool in their backyard. According to a local ordinance, swimming pools must be built at least 15 feet away from the border of their neighbor's property. The plan submitted to the Zoning Board was only 10 feet away, according to the lawsuit.

The woman raised concerns to her neighbors that she claims were “ignored,” as they began construction in April 2022. The woman made two visits to the Township’s Zoning Board which resulted in an examination by Zoning Board Officer Charles Lynch.

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Upon inspection, Mr. Lynch had confirmed the construction was less than eight feet away from the property line. They were asked to halt construction pending the action of the zoning board.

Back in May, the Zoning Board held a public hearing to discuss the new swimming pool. All property owners within a 200 feet distance were made aware of the hearings and given an opportunity to speak. Some residents raised concerns about possible flooding. It is unclear if the neighbor who is suing attended this meeting.

The Zoning Board was made aware that the construction did not meet the 15 feet standards, but granted permission as “this error in permit approval created a hardship for the applicant and does not create any detriment to any other properties.” The applicants agreed to meet all the standards set by the planning and zoning board.

The lawsuit charges the township and zoning board on a count of failure to enforce a municipal ordinance and an improper grant of variance relief. The plaintiff is seeking a judgment that would vacate the zoning board’s decision.

Lawyers representing the plaintiff and township officials were contacted for this story. Neither responded to a request for comment.