Jun 29, 2011

Zahorchak's Politics Compromise School District


Back in February I wrote an OP-ED piece in The Morning Call questioning Zahorchak's endorsement of Pawlowski's revitalization plans. Somehow, the superintendent's support seemed to me to be potentially in conflict with his job. Allentown never stops asking for KOZ's and other business perks which deprive the school system of needed taxes.
When I read the recent column by Allentown's new superintendent of schools, Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, I thought perhaps the first few paragraphs were written by Mayor Pawlowski. The new restaurants on Hamilton Street were referred to as a renaissance. I hope nobody tells the good doctor that the restaurants were enticed there by massive grants and tax abatement, yielding nothing to the school district. Michael Molovinsky,The Morning Call, Feb.19, 2011
For several months this blog has concentrated on two major themes; The arena and the school system. Those issues now seem to be converging. Yesterday, school board member David Zimmerman used this blog's comment section, to outline Zahorchak's stonewalling of the issue.
Dr. Zahorchak responded, the next day, stating he would look into it. I spoke to him about a week or ten days later and reminded him again. He told me, the next day, he was meeting with Pawlowski and would let me know. I never heard anything. Another email on June 20, 2011 to which there was no response was sent inquiring as to the status of my original request. David Zimmerman, molovinsky on allentown, June 28, 2011

Although Zahorchak expects the school board to approve his budget tomorrow evening, Zimmerman's questions from May remain unanswered. Zahorchak should be putting the interests of the students and their taxpaying parents first and foremost, way ahead of any revitalization scheme by the Mayor.


UPDATE: There is an excellent article in today's Morning Call by reporter Steve Esack, on all the complications caused by Zahorchak's overly ambitious plans. The article ends with an introspective comment by David Zimmerman, But if anything fails, Zimmerman said, ultimate blame lies with the school board for signing off on all of Zahorchak's changes in one school year.

Jun 28, 2011

Arena Shell Game

Back on May 22, this blog ran a guest post by School Board member David Zimmerman, titled Our School Tax for Hockey Arena. Today, the Morning Call catches up with an article explaining how the arena will be financed. Anybody who fully understands the article, please phone me, I need help with my tax return. Although the article states which entity may get some money back, it doesn't address the 64 thousand dollar question. (reference to television show from the 1960's, when that was a lot of money) You do not make payments on a $100million dollar loan, and get anything back from a minor league hockey team. The Arena Authority will need to use every possible legal steal allowed, including holding you upside down and shaking the coins from your pocket. In short, this will indeed cost the school system, at least indirectly. The Pawlowski Palace of Sport doesn't come cheap.

Jun 27, 2011

Temporary Inconvenience, Permanent Degradation


Urban renewal projects are nothing new to Allentown. Every couple decades some Mayor thinks he has a brighter idea. In a previous post, I showed the historic Lehigh and Union Street neighborhood, totally destroyed by city planners. Today, an under used Bank calling center sits awkwardly alone on that Lehigh Street hill. The picture above shows another hill of merchants and residents, fed to a mayor's bulldozer. The picture is from 1953, and shows Hamilton Street, from Penn Street down toward the railroad stations. At that time we still had two stations, The Lehigh Valley Railroad and The New Jersey Central. The current closed bar and restaurant occupies the Jersey Central. Everything on Hamilton Street, west of the bridge over the Jordan creek, with the exception of the Post Office, was demolished up to Fifth Street. Government Center would be built on the north side of the street, and a new hotel on the south, to accommodate the many anticipated visitors. Recently we had to remove and replace the facade of the county courthouse, which leaked since it was constructed. The hotel is now a rooming house.

Unannounced plans are underway for a new hotel to service anticipated visitors to Pawlowski's Palace of Sports. It will be up to some future blogger to document how that hotel becomes a rooming house.

Jun 24, 2011

Hardball on Penn Street

When I addressed the School Board at the end of March, I already knew that they made a mistake last spring hiring Zahorchak. I asked them if they were capable of moving beyond that poor choice, or would they circle the wagons and blindly endorse his endless ideas, in order to justify their previous decision. Today's Morning Call headlines the tension between the Administration and the teacher's union leader. Although I read the story three times, beyond the headline and bold print, it says very little. We know that the Superintendent attempted to intimidate the union leader. Nobody wants to comment, and the School Board postponed the vote approving the layoffs and budget. There is also tension between some School Board members and the Administration, and between two camps in the school board. A few members realize that they were elected to represent the parents and students, not just support the Superintendent. Intimidation has also been used against those board members who question Zahorchak's tactics, and his Pathway to Success plan.

Penn Street is where the Administration Building is located.

Jun 23, 2011

Pawlowskitown


Guest Post from Mike Schware
The other day I was driving through my neighborhood and came across a small section of roadway that was being resurfaced. Near the barricade was a half-sheet of plywood, painted blue, with the following message painted on it:
Allentown Alive
Public Works Project
Ed Pawlowski, Mayor
I had seen these signs a few years ago during Ed’s first term, but thought they had long-since been retired. Apparently not. They certainly conjured up the same feelings within me that they did a few years ago, when I viewed them as the cheesy invention of a small-minded politician.
It takes a lot of nerve to claim credit for even the most basic city services, such as road resurfacing. These projects – funded with our tax dollars – go on no matter who is in office. Maybe Mayor Ed would like to put his name across city police cars and fire trucks as well. I don’t think he’s gotten around to that - yet.
Ed certainly has no problem with self-promotion. His name has been added at city entryways. His photo is emblazoned across countless city publications and the city website. We even get a self-serving video message from the Mayor before the feature
film when we attend Movies in the Parks with our families. Of course all this is also funded with our tax dollars, but adds nothing to the service received. We also somehow even hear of the Mayor’s “private” works of charity, such as his current trip to Haiti.
I then thought of the plaque that sat on President Reagan’s desk that said “There is no limit what a man can do or where he can go as long as he doesn’t mind who gets the credit”. What a contrast between a great President and our Mayor. Maybe the Mayor’s never-ending need for recognition and publicity is part of the reason that so little has actually improved in our city.
If the Mayor feels the need to post a sign on public works projects, might I suggest that he replaces his name with the following:

Thank You Allentown Taxpayers

I know that might be asking a lot, but I can always dream.

Mike Schware

Jun 21, 2011

Shenanigans Continue

Although City Council has a short memory, I do not.


According to an article by Jarrett Renshaw in today's Morning Call, the long term (more than ten years) operator of the restaurant at the golf course has been out maneuvered by Mayor Pawlowski. Although his bid was identical to the successful bidder, the winner provided better answers to a questionnaire; so much for the concept of respecting an existing tenant and his track record. The new tenant, Allentown Brew Works, also has a track record with the city and taxpayers. Jarrett Renshaw writes, "The awarding of the Brew Works contract continues a long line of public support to the Allentown Brew Works, which has enjoyed more than $4.5 million in local, state and federal loans and grants to renovation and construction. The public support includes more than $90,000 in direct taxpayers support from the city of Allentown for design and facade improvements. In addition, the Allentown restaurant sits in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which means it's exempt from most state and local taxes until 2011."
The decision was not officially made by Pawlowski, but by his five-person committee of city officials. Rumor of this shenanigan has been circulating town for several weeks.

reprinted from December 24, 2008

Since I wrote about the golf course in 2008, grants to the BrewWorks continue. We have reached over $7million dollars.*In 2009, City Council continued the KOZ tax free zone by deciding that the upper floors never benefited, and somehow it became a separate location, resetting the clock for ten more years. Anybody concerned that the BrewWork may have received preferential treatment can be reassured by our city government. On Wednesday evening, in regard to a new money for the upper floors, Councilman Julio Guridy said,* "We need to make sure people in the community know how to get that money," City Business Development Manager Ted Collins said*the city is trying to improve its outreach, but that its resources are limited. "It's my aim and interest to continue to grow this. I am six months into this position and I have already identified, along with you, that our outreach needs to improve," he said.

I'm reassured, are you?

Jun 17, 2011

City Hall Insults The Neighborhood


This is a post which I spend a week trying not to write. It is a story of favoritism and abuse of power. About four years ago a homeowner, in a quiet south side neighborhood, moved out and rented the house to his brother. Under Allentown regulations this property hence became a rental property, and subject to license and inspection procedures. As it turns out, these brothers are childhood friends with an Allentown inspector. The second brother, the tenant, has been disruptive in the neighborhood by every criterion relevant to code enforcement. The property became unkempt and subject of numerous police calls, including the SWAT team. All calls for relief from surrounding properties seemed to end up with the family's inspector friend, and brought no relief from the problems. Allentown has been very pro-active with problem properties. In the first eight months of 2010, 342 properties received orange tags, forcing the property to be vacated. Most tags were issued for problems significantly more minor than those occurring in the subject of this post. This past October, the bank foreclosed on the property. The tenant legally became a squatter. A neighbor's complaint resulted in another inspector discovering that the bank owned property was an unregistered rental, and he issued a 30 day to vacate tag for illegal occupancy. It appeared that finally the neighbors would get relief from the trash, noise and police calls. The childhood friend inspector intervened, and the 30 day notice was never enforced. My efforts with the inspector on behalf of the other property owners (including myself) were to no avail. I have spent the week documenting the problem up the chain of command, right to the Mayor's office. Although the property is in gross violation of code, the illegal tenant is allowed to remain. Although in the last eight months police have surrounded the property several times in complete violation of the disruptive tenant ordinance, the occupant remains. In typical City Hall fashion, they have circled the wagons around the inspector, around their own. They are now actually trying to work with the bank and make him the homeowner. The top photo is the back yard on May 9, 2011, with years worth of garbage. You will be happy to know that a city contractor has now been hired to clean the property and cut the grass, at your expense. The City's course of action is a total insult to the neighbors. I did see some inspectors today, they were walking around my property.

UPDATE: I understand that the occupant is a disabled US Veteran so that may have played into the equation. City Official June 16, 2:02pm

Mr. XXXX, I understand that he is a disabled veteran. I don't know if you have received all my emails, first to the inspector, then XXXX, then XXXX. Two years ago I had to treat his unattended green swimming pool with bleach, (because the city complaint was repressed) last year I had to paint his totally peeled porch.... He has no legal basis in that house whatsoever..... Frankly, the situation is an outrage. You may want to check the police reports. Twice police have surrounded the house in the last 8 months alone... Is this social work or code enforcement? Michael Molovinsky
p.s.. he is not physically disabled, and I don't know if his mental health issues are military related, nor is it relevant to code
enforcement. I do know that he is family friends with an inspector who has put myself and other neighbors off for years. He is the same inspector who has issued hundreds of orange tags to other properties in the same period for much less problems.

Being a disabled veteran is not the reason for this favoritism, but the excuse now being used. I have no doubt that at least some of the hundreds and hundreds of units vacated by the same inspector, also housed a few disabled veterans.

Step Right Up, Prize Every Time

Years ago, a popular feature at carnivals and fairs was the weight guesser. For a mere few quarters he would guess your weight within a few pounds. His success didn't matter so much, because the prize cost less than they charged to play the game. The Administration has offered up phenomenal numbers of expected arena attendance. Although Pawlowski once said 2.5 million, for the City Council Eminent Domain vote, he used 1.5 million. To achieve that number, the hockey team would have to play 365 home games a year, to over 4,000 people each night. Yesterday, another shill for the arena boosters wrote another opinion piece. This gentleman used the figure of one million. The hockey team will play forty home games, and even if they achieve 5,000 viewers each game, the arena must still draw 2,500 people each remaining night of the year to reach the one million mark. The Sovereign Center in Reading works very hard to reach their declared yearly total attendance of 500,000. I suppose this arena is like the old weight game; The advocates are not using their own money. How far the guess is off has no consequence to them, they still win.

The weight and age booth at Dorney Park in 1948

Jun 16, 2011

Resetting the Demographic


The bill and resolution for another grant to the BrewWorks has become routine at Allentown City Council Meetings. Since Pawlowski was Director of Community Development, that location, 812-814, has received over $6 million dollars in grants and loans. How much of that must be repaid, or will be forgiven, is a subject for forensic accounting. Last night's request ($360,000) was small potatoes in comparison. What was interesting were the crib notes given to council.
Priority status/Deadlines, if any
Immediate. Please arrange to have this resolution reviewed and voted on in the same night.
Why should Council unanimously support this bill?
Council should unanimously support this bill because it promotes development in the central business district, moves a KOZ project forward, and offers opportunity for new office space on Hamilton.

The approval came one meeting after endorsing the forced expulsion of the merchants in the 700 block. I suppose it was considered better form to separate the victims from the benefactors. There appears to be no limit on what the Administration will do or spend to reset the demographic. They keep thinking success is just one more project away.

Jun 15, 2011

Asians Offered Rickshaw Concession

The Asian merchants being displaced by Allentown's new arena, have been offered the rickshaw concession on Hamilton Street. Mayor Pawlowski said that when fans exit the games and events, there will be an enormous opportunity to ferry them to and from the many restaurants planned for Hamilton Street. I first learned of this plan on Jon Geeting's blog, Lehigh Valley Independent. Jon, although he's only 26 and lives in New York City, knows everything about Allentown. In a comment on his post taking me to task for using the G word, he stated " Nobody is saying that the Hamilton St merchants' businesses are unwanted in general - just not on Hamilton Street." So, I asked Pawlowski if there was any way that this set of hardworking merchants could remain on Hamilton Street, and he suggested the rickshaws. The rickshaws would be inspected and regulated by the Allentown Arena Authority. Applications are currently available at the Allentown Parking Authority. Jon Geeting contributed to this post.

Jun 13, 2011

TC Salon Clips Allentown

Channel 69, WFMZ reports that Technicolor Salon on 19th Street is closing today. Mayor Pawlowski hyped this business about two years ago, and we invested at least a quarter $million.
BILL6TC SALON.DOC
Refer to CEDC

Amending the 2009 General Fund to provide for a supplemental
appropriation of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand ($250,000) Dollars; to
provide for the grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and
Economic Development to rehabilitate 617 N. 19th Street to become TC Salon
Although the small beauty parlors in the neighborhood had to fight the subsidized giant, they continue on, paying their own way. Wasting taxpayer money on grants is a lesson this Administration refuses to learn.

UPDATE: The Morning Call today reports that the business also received a $907,000 loan from the LVEDC. Although the report says that renovations including a crystal chandelier from Hess's Allentown department store were made, that chandelier was there from the previous business, the Shanty Restaurant. Readers may find my post about this grant over two years ago interesting, especially the comments at that time.

Jun 12, 2011

Molovinsky Launches New Blog

This weekend I launched a new blog, The Morning Chronicle. The Chronicle will concentrate on topics beyond the Lehigh Valley. The initial post deals with a growing problem; newspapers helping themselves to idea's harvested from the blogosphere. Information from this blog has been the basis for several stories in The Morning Call, with no attribution given. Although local reporters seemingly cannot type Molovinsky, in the future their names will be noted here. The Chronicle will host some of the articles which appeared here, such as Shrines in the Middle East, and boxing's golden era.
Bernie O'Hare will be an occasional contributor.
sputnik takes off, October 4, 1957

Jun 10, 2011

Molovinsky Plays Race Card


Mike, your moving the gooks remark is not cool and uncalled for. Not sure how you can justify when anyone and I mean everyone is being recruited for clustering businesses on 7th. I'm not saying there is wisdom in the current effort to develop hamilton street, but feel your drawing the race card is not right.
A comment received on Moving the Gooks post.

The comment suggests that because some second tier merchants, many Hispanic, have been given grants for 7th Street, that Allentown isn't racist. I do not accuse Allentown of racism, I accuse them of classism. He doesn't really mean everybody; the City has not recruited Butz or Fegley to 7th Street, but apparently a Koreatown would be welcome. A Koreatown on 7th Street would leave valuable space on Hamilton, for the coming wave of mixed income retail, which they fantasize will follow the arena.

UPDATE: Provided by David Zimmerman
Curious over recent discussions of classism (bias based on social or economic class.) I undertook a small project to understand exactly who the customers of the Hamilton St shopping area (The Market Area) are.
Using software and data provided by ScanUSA I calculated a variety of demographic data based on what I assumed to be The Market Area.
Specifically, given a moderate walk rate of 3 miles / hour, a fifteen minute walking time would extend about 3/4 of a mile in this area. I looked to the census designation of block groups, in this area, to gather this data.
The total population is estimated to be 26,146 individuals; 59.8% white, 20.7% black, Other - multiracial 16%. This differs significantly from Allentown ("All of Allentown") with an estimated 2010 population of 110,456 individuals; 73.8% white, 12.6% black, Other - multiracial 9.5%. Significant differences.

With respect to the Hispanic population The Market Area is 69.6% while "All of Allentown" is 40.6%, another significant difference. Subtract The Market Area from the rest of Allentown and the percentage of Hispanics living outside of The Market Area drops to 31.6%.
Relative to income; per capita in The Market Area is $15,591 and "All of Allentown" is$21,207. Median family income is a similar proportion with The Market Area at $33,206 and "All of Allentown" at $45,056. Family size in The Market Area is 3.60 while that in "All of Allentown" is 3.28 about 9% less.
More profound is the aggregate income of The Market Area; $377 million. "All of Allentown" is $2.246 Billion. The Market Area represents 23.7% of the population of "All of Allentown" while the aggregate income of $377 million represents only 16.8% of "All of Allentown", proportionately less But then the unemployment rate in The Market Area is estimated to be 12.5% with "All of Allentown" at 8.6%
Another interesting variable is housing; 51.3% of "All of Allentown" is either rental or vacant. In The Market Area this rate is 68.7%. In The Market Areas 31.2% of housing units are owner occupied. In "All of Allentown" this jumps to 48.7%.

So is there bias on social or economic class? You decide. I'd say there are significant differences that could easily be classified with this term.
David Zimmerman

Jun 8, 2011

Molovinsky Takes Aim

Moving the Gooks

I support the downtown location of the proposed hockey arena. ...While I could care less about hockey, I have several reasons for supporting the downtown location:
•The investment and financial risk involve private investors who are typically wiser than government figures in assessing parking, traffic routes and ticket demand.
•Downtown needs a large footprint anchor to reset the Hamilton Street demographic. The arena will draw mixed-income, retail customers downtown and is our best bet for a downtown revival.
•We will get new faces downtown with continued growth in our restaurant and night spot usage.
•The arena has the potential to expand demand for true mixed-income rentals and home ownership in the city.
... I attended the first baseball game of my adult life at Coca-Cola Park; likewise, I hope to attend my first hockey game a short walk from my front door.
Charles Versaggi
letter in today's Morning Call

Just when I was complaining about Old Allentown being silent on the hockey arena, long time cheerleader Charlie Versaggi chimes in. Seems like the vanguard of Old Allentown sees this as their last hope for mixed income. Charlie, in the future, drop that private investor line, it makes Ed Pawlowski's eminent domain plans illegal. That fascism is suppose to be used for public projects and public good. Well, I suppose moving those gooks and their brown customers off Hamilton Street is for the public good. I don't know if you're going to get those new stores and white faces, excuse me, mixed income faces, but good luck with that. Enjoy your first hockey game!

The Idea Man

...Allentown School District is introducing the concept of a Newcomer Academy which will be housed at the Midway Manor building and will serve as a first-year high school experience for students new to the United States. Newcomer Academies have been successful in cities throughout the U.S., but the ASD program will be the first comprehensive academic program for immigrant students in the Lehigh Valley...
Our new framework, Pathways to Success, aims to increase the achievement of all of our students...Kindergarten students will be assigned to other buildings ... Newcomer students will take a bus to the Academy and back to their home high school each day... Courses will be taught by experienced and innovative ASD teachers.
As the school year winds down, my wallet and I were hoping that The Idea Man would give us a vacation from his national harvest of educational ideas. Not to be. Zahorchak has introduced yet another program. In this age of $4 gasoline, we will bus new immigrant students back and forth from Dieruff and Allen every day to another new academy. We will also disperse the current kindergarden kids to other elementary schools to accommodate the new academy. What's with this guy and academies? He wanted to bus the honor students to a special academy at 4th and Allen. Here's my innovative ideas. Why not teach the newcomers English at Dieruff and Allen and save both the time and gas? Why doesn't the School Board tell Zahorchak to sit down, shut up and just run the school system.

Jun 7, 2011

A Tailor from North Street

The Allentown Housing and Development Corp. recently purchased a home at 421 North St. That block of North Street was destroyed by fire, and the agency has built a block of new houses on the street's south side; it will next develop the other side of the street. The deed transfer caught my attention because Morris Wolf lived in the house in 1903. Wolf signed up with the Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on July 18, 1861, in Philadelphia, when he was 22 years old. He was a private in Company A, of the 3rd Cavalry. This unit was also known as the 60th Regiment and was later called Young's Kentucky Light Cavalry.It defended Washington, D.C., until March 1862, then participated in many of the war's most famous battles: Williamsburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Wolf had signed up for three years and was mustered out Aug. 24,1864.

Recently, to commemorate Memorial Day, the local veterans group placed more than 500 flags at Fairview Cemetery. If that wasn't enough of a good deed, the group also set upright more than 300 toppled grave markers. Visiting Fairview recently, I saw they had not overlooked the graves of either Mr. Wolf, or another veteran, Joseph Levine. I have concerned myself with Allentown's Fairview Cemetery for the last few years. I first became interested in the small Jewish section, called Mt. Sinai. This was the first organized Jewish cemetery in Allentown. Currently, all the synagogues have their own cemeteries, and Mt. Sinai has been mostly unused for many decades.

Mr. Wolf lies next to his wife, Julia, who died in 1907. Morris would live on for 30 more years, passing away in 1937, at age 98.
Mr. Levine, a World War II veteran, and his wife, Ethel, were the first and last people to be buried there after almost 25 years of inactivity. When Ethel died at age 93 in 2000, it was the first burial at Mt. Sinai since 1976. Joseph was 103 years old when he passed away in 2006.

The Housing and Development Corp. and North Street are now part of Allentown's new neighborhood initiative called Jordan Heights.Although soon there will be a new house at 421 North St., there is a history that will remain with the parcel. Once a tailor lived there who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.

reprinted from July 4, 2010

Jun 6, 2011

Syrian Commotion


This weekend there was a disruption in the Syrian community. When the protests first began in Syria, there was a demonstration of support for Assad and the Syrian government here in Allentown. Allentown's Syrian community dates back to the 1900 era, when many families migrated from Amar, in the valley of the Christians. The Syrians, Jews and other ethnic groups lived and worked together in the 6th Ward. Second Street was almost exclusively home to the Jews and Syrians. In 1903 practically every house in the 600 block was Jewish, including my grandparents. Although the Jews migrated up town to 6th Street, there still is a Syrian presence in the Ward. Hafez Assad, father of the current president, supposedly had a Christian nanny, and an affinity for the minority. Ties between Second Street and the homeland have existed for many decades, including Syrian Ambassadors speaking at local events. In more recent years, newer immigrants have a more personal experience with the realities of the current regime. Tensions between the two groups, newer immigrants and the community here for a hundred years, erupted at a protest this weekend in center city. I invite my friends of Syrian descent to elaborate on this post.

Jun 3, 2011

Open Letter to Lee Butz

In today's Morning Call there were seven letters against the arena, and one for it. The seven against, all stated well thought out reasons, while the eighth, by Lee Butz, was more smiles and giggles.
On the morning of May 24, I had the pleasure of attending a Lehigh Valley IronPigs game at Coca-Cola Park. It was attended by thousands of school kids, and seeing (and hearing) them was a real delight. I couldn't help but think of how it would look and sound when those kids attend an event in the new hockey arena in downtown Allentown. We have something very exciting to look forward to.
Lee Butz

Lee, I wished you had attended the recent City Council meeting, there was another sight; Grown men and women, the merchants facing eminent domain, actually sobbing. Sorry you missed that, but it's not too late. Walk down to the next block, and stop in a few stores. Ask for the owner.
Michael Molovinsky

Klavan on the Culture

The Landed Gentry











One of the popular misconceptions in our granola society is that our open space is threatened. Consequently, in addition to welfare and corporate welfare, we now have landed gentry welfare. We purchase land, at almost market value, and even allow the owner to keep it. Although there is a deed restriction prohibiting development, who can guarantee it will be enforced in future generations? In every case I'm personally familiar with, the owner never had any intention of development; In one instance, the owners were compensated over $1million.

In some cases the owners are working farmers, in many, just gentlemen farmers with country homes. An article in Sunday's Morning Call laments the reduction in the farmland preservation funds. Nothing in the land preservation compensation really guarantees continued farming, that would be somewhere between indentured servitude and slavery. In 2006, Pennsylvania spent $102 million in Growing Greener handouts. Although the program has been cut back in recent years, there is a long list of applicants hoping to get some of this handout. The granola eaters should drive across Pennsylvania. There is a lot of open space even in this heavily populated state, over 8 million farm acres. While we close mental hospitals and sell nursing homes, we pay yuppies playing weekend farmer, development rights on land they never intended on subdividing anyway.

reprinted from August 9, 2010

Jun 2, 2011

Pathways To Success




Imagine being an education major at a Pennsylvania State University; that's a bright future! I think that it would be best to stay on and get a Masters in Administration, or perhaps get out the old hockey stick. Yesterday, Allentown School District sent out pink slips to teachers. When all the budget dust settles, it is expected that 247 teaching positions will be eliminated. Although this program may be a Pathway to Success for Zahorchak, it certainly is not for either our teachers or students.

Ripping Out Downtown's Heart

Eminent domain would rip out downtown Allentown's heart
Years ago I appealed a zoning decision to Allentown City Council. Council told me at the time that if I wanted to be assured the right to operate a business, I should locate into the downtown business district.
Our merchants on Hamilton Street thought they had that same assurance, after investing both their time and assets for many years.
Although Hamilton Street has been our mercantile district for more than a century, our current mayor envisions an arena. Straight out of the catalog for unimaginative administrators, he hopes this one will succeed, although many have failed.
The 700 block of Hamilton Street certainly is not the neon success of the 1950s. Nevertheless, it still supports much more commerce than many people realize. Two national chains, Family Dollar and Rite Aid, succeed there along with numerous independents. Family Dollar is the modern equivalent of the 5 and 10 that anchored that block during its heyday. The senior citizens, at the two high-rises on Walnut Street, depend on Rite Aid's pharmacy.
Anecdotal evidence from other cities Allentown's size indicates that an arena/event center will not create spinoff business for nearby restaurants. It may well discourage existing patrons who now enjoy convenient parking.
Allentown's one-way streets would ensure unnecessary traffic congestion when patrons leave the arena. Most people feel that if an arena is built, it should either be along the Lehigh River or at Coca-Cola Park. I would prefer the former Mack 5C location at S. 12th and Lehigh streets. Lehigh is a major street that intersects with Interstate 78, less than two miles away.

My best recommendation for Mayor Pawlowski would be to concentrate on quality-of-life issues and throw away that catalog of distracting projects. I have seen mayors build a canopy, take down a canopy, reconfigure the parking, build parking decks, create a parking authority — and all the while ignore the things that really count.

When Allentown was the All-American City, we didn't need projects from that catalog. If the city was simply kept clean and safe, it would promote much more business than any boondoggle project.
This project has received no feedback or input from the citizens of Allentown. It is being rushed through various channels to accommodate the schedule of a minor league hockey team. While other cities have prospered from their history, we can't wait to tear down the heart of our downtown — by eminent domain. I say no thank you.
Michael Molovinsky

reprinted from The Morning Call, June 1, 2011

Sign electronic petition against eminent domain

Jun 1, 2011

Silence of the Lambs

This blog has never been too complimentary toward the Old Allentown Preservation Association. I don't have much use for people who go along to get along. It seems that the Mayor always gives them a cookie for their good behavior. By that I mean the city buys some problem property, and spends five times more than it's worth deconverting it back into a single family house. Although the taxpayers can't spend enough preserving architecture for them, not a whimper from them about the endangered merchant's architecture. When Cannons closed as a yuppie bar, a few of their guppies claimed on this blog that they would patronize the new mixed demographic bar; apparently not too many or too often, it closed. As one citizen after another testified against the hockey arena at City Council, the Preservation Association was again silent. They have changed their website from a picture of Pawlowski's house, to pictures of Pawlowski himself. Perhaps they should change their name to the Pawlowski Preservation Association. When the arena leaves out and the Catasauquans head back home up 8th Street, the quality of life in Old Allentown will take another hit. Give them a cookie.