Mar 23, 2016

More Silliness From Allentown's Improvement Fathers.

In a move to improve it's image, the NIZ Board is moving out of City Hall. They're moving to the AEDC building at S.10th and Harrison Street, which is an old Mack Truck Factory. According to The Morning Call, Ken Heffentrager, a local landlord slayer and activist, isn't happy, because it makes attending meetings more inconvenient. Bob Lovett, board member, counters that it's easier parking there and no meters! Bob and Sy Traub could accommodate their desire to put some distance between themselves and Pawlowski, and satisify Heffentraugher at the same time. They could simply ask the lord and master for an office. Supposedly, CityCenter Development has about a 25% vacancy factor,  and J.B. Reilly could give some space with no pain. I suppose such an arrangement would have a conflict appearance, but who are they kidding anyway?

Today, readers will find a second post below this one.  It is my intention to reprint some previous railroad posts, to accommodate those who couldn't attend Molovinsky University last week. Until the railroad series is complete,  two post will be necessary on days when silly political shenanigans take top billing.

 molovinsky on allentown will be shortly changing the comment policy. Anonymous comments, per se, will no longer be hosted. Commenters will be using or creating a Google/Blogger/Open ID. The identity need not be your real name, pseudonyms are permitted. The registration is with Google or such, and I have no access to the information provided.  It is my hope that regular contributors to this blog get such a registered handle, to both help elevate the dialogue here, and protect the integrity of their input.

14 comments:

  1. I've enjoyed commenting from time to time.
    I'll miss the opportunity.
    Thanks for all you contribute, MM.

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  2. @5:18, the new comment policy will cut down the number of comments, but comments or calories is nothing I count. if a commenter registers for a pseudonym name with Google, the information necessary for registration is not shared with me. the person still remains anonymous to me and my readers, however, a "handle" is now associated with his/her comments, giving them some history and point of view. for those not willing to get a "handle", I hope that you continue reading the blog. for those who don't continue reading, thanks for having visited in the past.

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  3. Once again, the concern from ANIZA is form over substance.

    The problem with their meetings wasn't that they were in City Hall. It was that they were in a RESTRICTED AREA of City Hall, on the fifth floor, just down the hall from the Mayor's office. That didn't exactly send a message that they wanted public input or even public attendance.

    Unfortunately, the move to the AEDC office might change the location, but it sends the same message.

    If they really wanted to improve things, they should have moved their meetings to Council Chambers, where the public has ample access and where their meetings could have been videotaped for anyone to watch later.

    If they still felt they needed to move from Allentown City Hall, they could have requested the use of the Commissioners meeting room in the Lehigh County Government Center, where (perhaps) their meetings could have been similarly recorded.

    The move to AEDC seems like ANIZA is simply changing out accomplices.

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  4. @8:30, considering that ANIZA is staffed by personnel shared with the city's community development department, the move, by location, makes those employees less efficient, as they travel back and forth. i chose charlie tuna as today's image, because charlie tuna was originally a character who was more concerned with appearance than substance.

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  5. Am I reading this correctly? An NIZ Board member is actually promoting an area outside of the NIZ as being easier to access due to parking????

    Then WHY have parking meters remained in the NIZ at all???

    If the NIZ is supposedly designed to promote business for ALL businesses in the zone, then the meters should be eliminated for the entire zone, with a two hour parking time limit initiated in those areas during business hours.

    Of course, my suspicion is that the NIZ is not designed to benefit all NIZ businesses - only the new ones built by Reilly and other friends of Pawlowski. The good folks who have been there for the long haul (Tuckers Yarns, Brew Works, Bay Leaf, etc.) are on their own, and are (in fact) competition to Reilly's empire.

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  6. The MC article also includes Pawlowski's own attorney saying Pawlowski will be indicted! Guess he would know.

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  7. Monkey Mamma:, "An NIZ Board member is actually promoting an area outside of the NIZ as being easier to access due to parking????"

    Excellent point!

    This is one issue Allentown has going against it with the competition from the suburbs. The other is Allentown doesn't have anything to offer that can't be found elsewhere. Office space, hotels, restaurants, etc.

    The only thing Allentown has going for it others don't is the riverfront area. That should have been the first priority instead of the 7th & Hamilton area. Riverfront would have brought in brand new tax revenues (city wise). Instead we've destroyed those areas which paid taxes prior. If we would have kept our hands off the Hamilton Street properties we'd still have those taxes on top of the Riverfront area's.

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  8. I suppose if they had asked nicely, Albert Abdouche could have provided them offices and a place to meet at the Americus.

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  9. Correct me if my memory is in error, but Hamilton Street didn't allow parking until after the "Hamilton Mall" conversion in 1973. There was some limited meter parking at Center Square, but up until 1973, most of the parking downtown was at the Park & Shop lots, along with that on the crossover streets (9th, 8th, 6th) which did have meters.

    Although back then, we had a vibrant retail/business district downtown that people wanted to go to or had a reason to frequent Today, ANIZA is trying to create a demand for people to go downtown. One would think that as an incentive for people to go there, free parking would be offered as it is at the suburban malls, which is a competitor.

    However, the APD will not be denied it's money. That would be unthinkable.

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  10. When I saw Lovett's quote about parking and no meters, i literally laughed out loud. It never fails to amaze me how these otherwise intelligent people (and Bob is very smart) can sound just totally clueless.

    This usually happens when government distorts reality, so what are normal comments in normal times, are not normal because they run counter to the distortion.

    The Banker

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  11. For the life of me I can't understand how someone as smart as Bob Lovette is involved in this scam.

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  12. Allentown -A parking lot with a town attached.

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  13. Please keep the APA ticketing the Hamilton area. The sixth ward cannot afford anymore tickets. We should have a new parking garage with the monies we've spent. The APA practices a form of classism and Im tired of paying for lots in Center City. Thank You and FU APA

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  14. Hindsight is 20 /20.... We "naysayers" tried to be the voice of reason, but hey, what do we know?

    - Alfonso Todd

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