Podcast Link At High Noon

                                    CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST

Please leave your topic suggestions for the next episode in the comment section.

The Fairgrounds, An Allentown Tradition

My post last Friday about the Farmers Market drew the nostalgia crowd on Facebook (Allentown Chronicles), and their wishes that the tradition continues.  There are however particulars about that institution not widely known. The Fairgrounds Association is mostly owned by a group of aging stock holders, and traditionally no one family held more than a few shares. That group is rapidly aging out, with the average age 110 years old :). 

The Farmers Market is rented to one vendor, who in turn subleases the various spots. That vendor is 105 years old :). Now I'm also old, and this information could likewise be dated. However, knowing the institution fairly well, I doubt that much has changed.

Years ago, the fairgrounds was a highly sought after real estate parcel for a shopping center and/or housing. Although that demand may have subsided, there are institutions, such as the LVHN, Muhlenberg College, etc., who might some day have similar designs. Back then, the old stubborn stock owning families resisted, but old is now the key word. Anywho, for now, we still enjoy our fairgrounds.

No Threat To The Public

Chief Charles No Threat To The Public Roca assures us after every shooting. Mayor Matt Inclusion Tuerk started his term with Discovery Trips to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. He should have started his term with trips to 6th and Allen and other frequent gunfire zones in Allentown. 

Chief Roca is always asking the public for help, does anybody ever come forth? Shouldn't Promise Neighborhoods know something about such things, with all the grants going their way?

Subscribers to this blog on the web version can find Radio Molovinsky on the sidebar. Last year I created a few short podcasts, and learned that air time is not easy to fill by yourself. Recently, I decided to try the medium again, and thought that it would be interesting to discuss Allentown with someone with a different perspective. I've known Alfonso Todd for over twenty years. While I'm an old, third generation white man in Allentown, he's a younger, 1st generation black man in town. Alfonso is an event promoter and occasional DJ. We live in different worlds, but in the same town.  I hope to provide a link to the first podcast by Friday afternoon.

New Jersey Parties On The Lehigh

If it wasn't for the Allentown Police cars, Canal Park looked like a crowded park along the Delaware in New Jersey...Not a Pa. license plate to be seen. I hadn't been to the park since the invasion began, but reports certainly were not exaggerated. A friendly guest was providing Caribbean music for all with his low-rider's high volume stereo.

Just a few years ago, I was often the only one there. Now, after witnessing the invasion myself, I suggest that with only one entrance into the park under the old train trestle, they could close the park until the invaders find another destination. At the least, they could take advantage of the restricted entrance and limit the park to Allentown residents. 

This is an administration which removed the flood gates at the picnic grove behind Cedar Beach  swimming pool, so that nobody ever feel unwelcome. The parks and taxpayers are paying the price for Tuerk's absurd attitudes about inclusion. We never used to need three police cars for Canal Park.

Jordan Meadows vs. The Rose Garden

As an advocate for the traditional park system, I have been campaigning against the Riparian Buffers for years. I think that people should be able to see the creek, at least around the Rose Garden in Cedar Park, and the Robin Hood section of Lehigh Parkway. Every park director since 2005 has disagreed with me. When I complained to current director Mandy Tolino about invasives in the weed wall, she replied that there were some natives mixed in. The city maintains that the buffer keeps the waterway cleaner.

Allentown has made an exception to their park policy in the Jordan Meadows. There, anything and everything goes, and goes into the creek. The growing homeless camp has a population of about a hundred people. The adjoining property owner, Nat Hyman, has noticed the contradiction, and made arrangements for a pending lawsuit. However, he is first giving the city another opportunity to address the homeless encampment, and has even offered to help fund a proper shelter.

Needless to say the encampment would not be tolerated along Cedar Creek by the Rose Garden. Last year one denizen and his tent got a quick boot.

related post at O'Hare's Ramblings

Fairground Farmers Market

If you grew up in or near Allentown, chances are that you been to the Farmers Market. The market has been in operation since 1953, all year except during Fair Week.  

While those visiting downtown Allentown will recognize very little from the past, the Farmers Market is frozen in time. Some of the purveyors have been there for near 60 years. 

When I was a boy, my father operated a meat concession at the market for a year or so. He gave it up because he recognized so many of the customers from his market on Union Street, and realized that he had  doubled his overhead to serve the same clients.

For those of us who find change not always for the best, the Market remains a comfort.

reprinted from August of 2023

Freight Trolleys and Shenanigans

This was supposed to be a Men's Stuff post, about the working cars on the Lehigh Valley Transit Company. Doing research for the previous post on that company, I became fascinated that they operated a freight operation with the trolley cars. I started acquiring documentation and photographs about the working cars necessary for such an operation. They built power substations throughout the valley that generated electric, then converted the AC to DC for their use. The rolling stock required coal trolleys, wire stringing trolleys, snowplow trolleys, and etc. I will present these black and white photo treasures in future posts, because I got side tracked by a shenanigan; you know me. Lehigh Valley Transit operated out of the Fairview Carbarn, which Lanta still uses off of Lehigh Street. Despite a trolley fleet that covered the entire City, plus the remainder of the Valley (Bethlehem and Easton), all the Men's Stuff working cars, and trolley service to Philadelphia, Lanta now needs Bicentennial BallPark because they acquired five (5) new hybrid buses? Supposedly these five new buses require a special garage. Although the Fairview facility now handles 78 regular buses, the ballfield has to go because of the five new hybrids.

 enlarge freight trolley by clicking on image

above reprinted from May of 2010

UPDATE July 4, 2019:  Attempting to save the ballpark, I organized a meeting at a center city church.  Attending the meeting were two city council members and families involved with Bicentennial Park.  Pawlowski and Lanta finally backed off, and the ballpark remains. Some people who attended that meeting became interested in Allentown politics, and attend council meetings to this day. Pawlowski's shenanigans have since caught up with him.

ADDENDUM JUNE 26, 2025: I did this post about the freight trolleys over fifteen years ago. Back in the day, especially when they (Lanta) were accommodating Pawlowski and the upcoming NIZ, I would even attend the Lanta public meetings. My words at the public commentary portion were always met with cold eyes.  Lanta has remained a handmaiden for the influential, and serving the public remains secondary.

Festival de Estacionamiento Doble

Join Mayor Tuerk on Saturday July 19, as 2nd Street is turned into a meandering  Caribbean lane.  The Double Parking Festival will run from Tilghman to Hamilton. Enjoy authentic food, free from permit, licensing and inspection restrictions by the man. 

The event is being coordinated by Xana, he/she/they, Allentown's new director of Above and Far Beyond. This new position was created because the People & Culture Specialist, Kumari Ghafoor-Davis,  limits herself to DEIAB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Acceptance, and Belonging)

This new annual event will be the fourth Latino vote pandering festival on the city calendar.  A car stereo contest will be based on volume and bass vibration. The only ICE present will be in your drink cups. Security by Promise Neighborhoods.  Park where and how you like.

artwork by Fred Schoenk

Promise Neighborhoods Gets An Easy Pass

Last week the Morning Call gave Promise Neighborhoods another Easy Pass. Two paid employees conducted a survey on neighborhood violence. Only five men participated, and they were paid with gift cards to fill out the forms. 

It is painful that our tax dollars are being used to provide grants for such things. It is painful that our local paper found it news worthy enough to have fourteen photos about it. The men were photographed from the left, then the right, collectively and then individually. One photo showed just a man's hands with a pencil.

This blog gives no easy passes. The only stories about Promise Neighborhoods that are interesting is that there was another shooting this past weekend, and that Hasshan Batts is stepping down with little explanation. Now, that might be a back story worth a paper's time!

photocredit:The Morning Call

Pennsylvania's Odd Couple

Both were elected by partisan purists at the time, but world events have brought them closer together than foreseen.  Granted, the D is a very odd duck from the beginning. John Fetterman's support of Israel, while a traditional Democratic position, has stood out because of Netanyahu's extremism.

On Saturday night, both Pa. senators, Fetterman and McCormick, praised Trump's military action against Iran. while most Democrats were complaining about lack of congressional approval. Those congressional approvals might take some of the S out of any surprise.

I'm wondering if Fetterman will become his party's whipping boy, he already wasn't their favorite. I'm hoping that with BiBi's existential threat reduced, he will take the stranglehold off Gaza. If the bombing ends up a one off, as Trump claims it was, or an entrapment as feared by many, remains to be seen.

Ed Zucal Breaks Out Of Pack

On Wednesday evening, Ed Zucal broke ranks with the Democratic City Council and voted against Bill 16. That bill essentially changed zoning to allow homeless shelters anywhere in the city, by striking the phrase seniors only concerning certain community center kitchens. While we all have compassion for the homeless, having a homeless encampment, inside or outside, across from your home can be trying.

Such a shelter was a controversy for the West Park Civic Association at the former church at 16th and Chew. That strong neighborhood has successfully maintained itself, despite dealing with discipline issues outside of the high school.

City Council voted 6 to Zucal for the new ordinance. While Ed lost the Democratic primary, he did secure the Republican write-in vote, and now will be on the ballot for November. As an independent, I appreciate  that there is now an alternative to what I consider an administration preoccupied with a social agenda. Yesterday, as I navigated through double parked cars and blasting car stereos, I longed for a less tolerant Allentown.

Revive Fairview Cemetery

About twelve years ago, I began searching for the grave of a young Jewish woman, who died around 1900. Among several Jewish cemeteries no longer in use, I searched Mt. Sinai, a small section of the sprawling Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street, just west of the 8th Street Bridge. The cemetery is the history of Allentown's past, including the graves of Harry Trexler, John Leh, and Jack Mack. As one proceeded deeper into the cemetery, away from sight on Lehigh Street, conditions worsened. As is the case with many old cemeteries, fees paid for perpetual care, 100 years ago, were long gone. Complicating the situation, the current private operator wasn't particularly assessable. In addition to extended family members upset about conditions, the situation was compounded by his refusal, with few exceptions, to allow private upkeep. My early posts on the situation drew response and phone calls from people with no interest in local political blogs; They were just exasperated relatives, with a family member buried long ago at Fairview. After beginning a series of posts, and letters to the editor, I prevailed upon The Morning Call to write a story one year later. The Call's story appeared on August 11, 2008. Within two weeks, the cemetery operator agreed to a public meeting I had organized at a local church. Arrangements were made between the operator and several parties. As with several of Allentown's older cemeteries, the issue of maintenance would be ongoing.

The current operator of Fairview, in addition to operating an on-site crematorium, is actively having new burials in the cemetery. It appears as if some of these new burials might be on old large family plots, which haven't been used or even visited in decades. In other cases, they appear to be along the internal roadways, which were previously not considered proper burial places.

Because of my longtime blogging on Fairview, periodically I would be contacted by someone with a family member buried at the cemetery. They were always frustrated by conditions at the cemetery, and asked where or to whom they could turn.  The photo shown above was taken by a frustrated family member. It occurred to me that a facebook group page could be a common meeting ground for such families.  Recently, after I started the Allentown Chronicles facebook group, local resident Tyler Fatzinger demonstrated strong concern for conditions at Fairview. I suggested that he moderate a new group dedicated to the cemetery. He agreed, and started Revive Fairview Cemetery.

reprinted from June of 2019

UPDATE AUGUST 26, 2020: Tyler Fatzinger has turned out to be a tireless advocate for Fairview, volunteering his free time working and clearing at the cemetery.

ADDENDUM JUNE 19, 2025: Eventually, Tyler would receive a no trespassing notice from Fairview Cemetery, and conditions there remain unsatisfactory. The current city administration, as previous ones, has not intervened in regard to the poor upkeep.

Courtesy Of The Floor

I consider myself a local gonzo type journalist. This blog is in its eighteenth year, and during that time I have immersed myself in numerous issues and have irritated numerous members of the local establishment. Most of these so called accomplishments are self-proclaimed here on the blog, because the local institutions I've offended include the Morning Call.

I am also my staff photographer. Shown above, Eddie Aviles is being restrained by MsPhoebe Harris, Jessica Lee Ortiz, and Chief Charles Roca. Although I don't recall what irritated Eddie that evening, he has been quite vocal recently. I also won't go into the current issues...Those disclosures are better left to him.

However, as a gonzo I follow the stories, and came across his self-proclaimed involvement in the water crisis issue after the hurricane in Puerto Rico. In a fine documentary on water, especially in Flint, Michigan, Aviles is heralded for his activism in Puerto Rico.

Alan Jennings To Train Sharecroppers

Those of you who listened to the podcast of my interview with Alan Jennings know that toward the end of the interview I confessed to snickering about his organization's plan ( Community Action Committer of Lehigh Valley) to take over the farmer training at the Lehigh County owned Seed Farm.  Those who follow this blog know that I oppose Farmland Preservation,  because it is a ridiculous disconnect with the reality of food production in 2018.  It is however politically correct for urban liberals to think that if as much farmland as possible stays available,  there will be an endless banquet of environmental bliss, with organic food no less.  Alan sees it as an extension of food for the poor, sort of another ladder step in the food pantry mission. Low income food issues are because of money, not food production shortfalls. These liberals of course are ignorant of the long hours and hard work which goes into farming. They are also ignorant of the economic reality of competing with large scale agriculture.

Now, unless Alan wants to gift each of his graduates with a farm at our expense,  they will either be a farm hand, or at best a sharecropper.  What is really scary about Alan's plan is that it has the endorsement of the Republican controlled Lehigh County Commission.  They are apparently so vote craven, that they go along with such nonsense.

The only practical program assisting farming is Clean And Green.  Unfortunately, the Morning Call ran an expose on the program featuring photographs of large expensive houses,  surrounded by farmland. While the program limits tax reduction to only the land actively farmed,  the photographs give the impression that the tax breaks are going to people who don't need it.  I suppose the liberal paper thinks that those involved in agriculture are supposed to live in shacks.  Worse yet, the paper thinks that their story is a masterpiece, has has been running it on their website for months.

photocredit: Dorothea Lange, Son of Sharecropper, 1937

above reprinted from July of 2018 

ADDENDUM JUNE 17, 2025:If you use my blog's search engine, over the years you can find dozens of posts about Community Action of Lehigh Valley. I have criticized them for not giving out fishing poles, but rather buying people fish markets. Currently, they are crying the blues over proposed federal cuts under the Trump administration. They have gotten so big over the last couple decades, and so far beyond their original mission of directly helping poor people, they would. have to shrink 75% to get back to their original mission. They are so fat, that in the current Morning Call article they claim that many of their employees could be making more in the private sector...Perhaps now they will have that opportunity.

Non-Profits and The Allentown Parks

On Friday afternoon I saw a young family holding hands and staring longingly through the fence at the empty swimming pool in Jordan Park. At the same time, I saw thugs racing their cars on the large parking lot at Jordan Park. The expensive outdoor prison yard exercise equipment stood there unused. 

They're building full court basketball on the remaining grass at the previous kiddie friendly Stevens Park. The Rider-Pool Foundation is one of the backers of the project. The foundation supports the Wildlands Conservancy, which promotes the weed walls along the creeks. The foundation also supports Promise Neighborhood, which supposedly reduces gun violence. Meanwhile, as the Morning Call compiles and aggregates the press releases from the wealthy non-profits, tension is mounting between the lessor non-profits, which are competing to monitor the thug activity the ill advised full basketball court is sure to foster.

Being an advocate for the traditional park system has become a lonely job. Reporting on the park system realities is not only thankless, but resented. Seeing resources misspent on a naive, woke agenda is  frustrating. Nevertheless, this blog will continue the mission.

shown above the deteriorating Jordan Park Pool

Fountain Pool Of My Youth

While I've been involved in many issues in Allentown over the years, defending the park system of my youth is the one I find the most rewarding. It's not my personal memory lane I care about, but rather an iconic park system that was in itself a designation.

I remember the picture postcard racks in the dime stores on Hamilton Street. They were full of postcards of the Allentown parks, including the rose garden, and along the different creeks. The card shown above is the former Fountain Park Pool, now closed for many years. Although most of my swims took place at Cedar Beach Pool, our gang would visit the other four pools when one of us could borrow the family car.  

Over the years our different pools have been closed for different excuses. The Fountain Park pool shown above was closed because supposedly the filter broke, and it would cost $170K to fix. Allentown is now spending over half a $mil on a cement skateboard bowl at Jordan Park, while the park's swimming pool is shuttered. I understand that the swimming pools are expensive to maintain. I understand that finding lifeguards isn't easy, and that the pools may require more oversight than in previous years. BUT... swimming pools on hot summer days should be a city recreation department 101.

Allentown Archaeology

When it comes to the history of industrial Allentown, the railroad buffs are among the current experts. Our heavy manufacturing base moved its materials on the tracks of several railroads. The Front Street area was crisscrossed with tracks and sidings. The West End Branch ran along Sumner Avenue, crossed Tilghman Street, looped around 17th Street and ended near 12th and Liberty. The Barber Quarry Branch ran along the Little Lehigh until it then followed Cedar Creek. It crossed Hamilton Street near the current Hamilton Family Restaurant and ended at what is now the Park Department Building. The rail buffs are current day archaeologists, looking for remnants of those glory days. Shown above is a portion of the Barber Quarry pier and track. This is at the bottom of Lehigh Street hill, near the former bank call center, near the former Acorn Hotel, in a former city still called Allentown.
photo courtesy of Mike Huber, Coplay

above reprinted from March of 2011 

ADDENDUM AUGUST 22, 2023:The bridge has just been rebuilt, and the portion of the earlier railroad bridge show above was removed.

ADDENDUM JUNE 12, 2025: Between the NIZ handouts and compliant city planners, future archaeologists will be wondering about two new projects. The 2013 blueprint and undersized parcel at 9th and Walnut has a new owner.  Compliant planners had kept Bruce Loch's pencil tower plan on the mini parcel marketable for over a decade. I remember back in the day in the mid 1980's, when Daddona sold Loch the undersized city parcels in the west end, and allowed him to build houses on them.

The second NIZ fueled project is an oversized building near the river on Front Street. This will be the second harvest for the boys building at the former Neuweiler site. Pat Browne's NIZ is the gift that keeps giving for a few developers, regardless of parking or other quality of life issues plaguing Allentown.

Both projects have supporters, and I'm not saying that they are bad for Allentown. I am, however, injecting some institutional knowledge into the projects, and reminding readers that they will be paid for with our diverted state taxes.

East Side 'Shootings

There were two gunfire incidents last weekend on the east side. Police Chief Roca said  The actions that are committed by people in this incident do not reflect the hard working people of Allentown. Maybe they don't reflect the hardworking people, but they do reflect too many others. In regard to a new basketball court being built at Stevens Park, Mayor Tuerk said (we can) start rebuilding trust...

Last week Allentown unanimously passed an anti-discrimination ordinance, despite that the last discrimination incident was staged by the victim. Seemingly, there are no longer any officials or institutions in Allentown interested in candor. Motivation appears limited to electability and inclusion and trust, even if it's including the wrong people or having the wrong result.

I'm just a simple small town pizza blogger, who thinks that a city hall should be preoccupied more with public safety, and less with inclusion and trust.

artwork by Mark Beyer

SpaceX and Mar-a-Lago

Chronic readers of this blog know that last year I revealed that molovinsky on allentown also maintains a low-rent office near the Space Coast in Florida. While not actually on the coast, it's close enough that I can see Musk's rockets taking off, and they take off several times a week. Consequently, they are a large part of the economy on the eastern side of central Florida.

Trump has been saying that if Musk doesn't shut his yapper,, there will be a price to pay. While it's true that SpaceX rakes $Billions from the government contracts, there is no competitor that can provide service anywhere near as safe and/or reliable. SpaceX actually softly lands its reusable rockets on the middle of a barge in the ocean. Last time anyone saw something like that was Flash Gordon make-believe in 1950. Even if Trump and Musk end up in the ring on McMahon's wrestling show, we'll still need SpaceX.

The pundits are saying that Trump won and Musk loses. Musk says that Trump is around for 3.5 more years, but he has 40 to go. I think Musk gives Trump's influence too long, it will be over by the mid-terms.

photocredit:James Robert

Allentown Urban Archeology

This blog over the years, and this weekend was the 18th year, has worn several hats. First and foremost, it has supplied local political scrutiny. I started scrutinizing the Pawlowski administration from day one. At first even fellow bloggers assumed that I had sour grapes, as an independent candidate who fared poorly in 2005.

I defended the former merchants of Hamilton Street against the real estate scheme called the NIZ, which to this day has avoided accountability.(Jarrett Coleman is working for an audit) I appeared as an opponent against the NIZ on Iannelli's Business Matters, and consequently was described as dour and misguided in a column by Bill White. 

I have campaigned against the Wildlands Conservancy using our iconic parks as a science fair project, and for the preservation of our WPA structures.

I have written pieces on our local history based on my experiences, rather than wikipedia pasteups. I've managed to save a few structures, notably among them Wehr's Dam and the Reading Road Bridge.

At this point in the endeavor, urban archeology gives me the greatest pleasure. Over the years I've turned my camera on things which are either now gone, or soon will be. Shown above is a railroad bridge used by the former Barber Quarry line, which ran west along the Little Lehigh.

The Morning Call, A Useful Tool

Yesterday's post about Emma Tropiano generated some expected replies. When I referred to an agenda at the Morning Call back in the day, people piped in with a 2020's point of view. Now we hear about left vs right, CNN vs Fox, fake news, etc.. Back then papers had local agendas, this mayor, that developer and this or that project.

The consolidation of the newspaper industry has certainly affected the Morning Call. Now a Tribune paper, it no longer has a building, office space or presses. The paper is composed in Chicago, printed in Jersey City and distributed in Allentown. The local reporters are, for the most part, young and new to the area. The editor's background is in digital production, which is not inappropriate in 2025.

In yesterday's post, I refer to a Bill White quote about Emma not having a new idea in forty years. Ironically, Bill is still the paper's columnist, and he's reprinting posts from forty years ago. The opinion page still has editorials from the same non-profit heads, writing about business in the valley. What they have in common is that none of them ever had a real job, and they're all gray now. However, the paper is a useful tool for the current local establishment, printing what they're given, with few, if any questions asked.

The only local thing I enjoy reading is this blog, because by the morning, I forgot what I wrote the night before :)

Back To The Future With Emma

Although the Progressives, who campaigned against the waste to energy plant and the water lease this year, didn't like Emma Tropiano back in the day, or now, here's a history lesson they may find interesting. Shown above is Emma camping out by the entrance to Kline's Island on October 13, 1989. Her statement to the press. "The deal with the Lehigh County Authority to open Kline's Island to outside sewage sources has promoted massive development in western Lehigh County, drawing potential commercial and industrial development away from Allentown and resulting in higher taxes for city property owners." She was running against The First Mayor For Life Joe Daddona's fourth term. His reply. "It's obvious once again that Emma, because of her lack of knowledge and understanding of a problem, is shooting from the hip and hitting herself in the foot." She was also outspoken about the direction the city was heading in: Is Allentown in an ugly decline, with drugs, crime, filth and mismanagement rotting away the core of the Queen City, as challenger Emma D. Tropiano insists? Or is it squarely facing its problems and coming up with sound, creative solutions, as Mayor Joseph S. Daddona says?" The Morning Call, Nov. 5, 1989.

reprinted from November of 2013

ADDENDUM May of 2017: On Tuesday Bill White repeated his quote about Emma from 2001; I like Emma, but she wouldn't know fresh ideas and positive leadership if they were driving down Hamilton Street in a blue Cadillac. Bill has made Emma one of the symbols of his Hall Of Shame. Bill White protests against this designation, coined by yours truly years ago, and cites the philanthropic Cipko Brothers as proof that the Hall isn't limited to shame. However, I remember back when, and the gag about them was their ridiculous toupees, which White featured in photographs. Philanthropic or not, their toupees put them in the Hall, not their charity. Anyway, I digress. Bill White has been wrong about Emma for over 40 years. The problem is that now a whole generation of people disparage her, based on  Morning Call distortions.

ADDENDUM JUNE 5, 2025: Emma passed away in January of 2002. Many people who still disparage her, didn't even know her. Many of those from that era were fed misinformation. Back then some reporters and the paper had agendas, about both certain people and certain topics.

Kline's Island, An Environmental Frankenstein

Today, Kline's Island is synonymous with the sewer plant. It wasn't always that way. Originally, like Adam's Island, it was owned by a family, and had houses. It was the location of the first bridges across the Lehigh, being the narrowest point. Allentown doesn't have a good history with the environment. Besides allowing the Wildland's Conservancy to actually defile our park system with their inappropriate, token science fair projects, we're not much for islands. The sewer plant on Kline's will soon be transferred to the Lehigh County Authority. Far worse for the previous island, we are allowing a company to build a trash to energy plant, which will mix imported garbage and sewage into pellets to burn. This project isn't energy driven, but rather motivated by tax credits and finance. Allentown is the only community which was receptive to such such an environmental frankenstein. The top photo shows Kline's Island in 1939, when it was still an island. Allentown decided that Kline's would be a good spot to use as a fill dump, and filled in the entire western channel of the former island. Please join me in my efforts to save the small historic Robin Hood dam on the Little Lehigh. Believe me, Allentown City Hall doesn't know best. 




above reprinted from June 5, 2013

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 15, 2018. 

The public trash to private cash plant on the island was never built. If it was, it may have been part of the Pawlowski corruption trial. Unfortunately, the small Robin Hood Dam was demolished by the Wildlands Conservancy, and its rubble piled around the formally picturesque stone bridge piers.  It's five years later, and this blog continues to fight against the sacred cows, and for the traditional park system.

ADDENDUM JUNE 4, 2025: Although I remain an outlaw at City Hall, I still get back channel calls when some official needs to know something about the parks or city history. That arrangement is OK by me, and I keep their privacy. I still patrol the streets and parks, and don't hesitate to speak out on this blog.

Trump's Kindergarten Cabinet

Subscribers to this blog know that I don't think much of Trump's nominations to his cabinet and other posts. There was one exception, local wiz Jared Isaacman's appointment to NASA. Isaacman, in addition to being a business genius, is a space geek. Trump has withdrawn Isaacman's nomination, because apparently the geek has described himself as a moderate, and has contributed to candidates from both parties. 

Trump's obsession with those that kiss his ring has cast his presidency as flawed since before day one. Trump is to be given credit for closing the border, but everything since has been way too impulsive for my liking, and for good governance.

Trump will be studied in the future not by political scientists, but by psychology majors, studying narcissism.

County Executives Stammer

Our social studies teacher turned county executive has failed the federal test on sanctuary cities. He's now complaining that Lehigh County shouldn't be on the Fed study hall detention list, because we're not a full blown sanctuary conspirator.  Although we don't cooperate fully with ICE, we thought we cooperated enough.

Apparently, ICE and the Trump administration see it differently than Lehigh's Armstrong and Northampton's McClure. They both  thought that they could play it both ways, not cooperate, but not actively interfere. I witnessed a Lehigh County commissioner encourage Allentown City Council to adopt the Welcoming City ordinance, in which a city does not collaborate with ICE.

The fly in their ointment is that the Trump administration controls the funding that bleeding hearts depend upon. They will now complain about MAGA, and have their legal departments spin their wheels in reverse, hoping to get back to the starting line.

ADDENDUM: The Department of Homeland Security has removed the list of sanctuary locales from its website, responding to pushback from the Association of Sheriffs.

Deciphering Fetterman

I didn't vote for Fetterman, and at the time of his election, it was hard for me to understand why anybody would have chose him over Oz. But then again, being an independent, I underestimate party loyalty. 

However, since his victory, I have become somewhat of a fan. Overcoming the effects of a stroke is hard enough work, without being in the public spotlight. Going public with any malady, much less depression, also requires courage.

He is now combating accusations of poor attendance.  His independence from the party platform on several items, while a positive with me, hasn't helped his predicament. If he was a representative who had to run again next year, I'd consider him a long shot. But he's a senator, with over three years left to reestablish his popularity.

Removing The Undesirables From Hamilton Street, Circa 2007

In the fall of 2007, Allentown began the systematic removal of the undesirables from Hamilton Street, in cooperation with Lanta. At the time, I championed for the now former merchants and their customers. Among other things, I organized a meeting at a center city church. Below, three posts from that period are reprinted. For a more complete understanding of the bus stop issue, click on 2007, listed on the right side bar, under the archive section.

MEETING AT CHURCH
As the organizer of the forum at Faith Baptist Church on Lanta, I would like to make some speculations on what was not said at the meeting. First and foremost, the meeting was not covered by The Morning Call. I sent the press release to two reporters,plus the local editor. I'd like to note the "Paper" is a "partner" in the new Lanta Terminal. It was built on land they sold to the Parking Authority and they receive free parking at the new deck; Their publisher attended the dedication with the three amigo's.(scroll down to earlier posting). All four democratic candidates for county commissioner were no shows, although one of the candidates, Kevin Easterling, expressed solidarity over the phone; but Kevin was recently hired by Ed Pawlowski as our new Recreation Director. My attempts to connect with Lehigh Carbon Community College in regard to the effect on their students at the Hamilton Street annex were unanswered. I would like to thank all the candidates who did attend, Ellen Millard-Kern from Senator Browne's office and Bernie O'Hare for his coverage of my efforts.
UPDATE: As a result of a inquiry by Ellen Kern, I did finally receive a call from a dean at the Community College. They approve of the bus stop being removed from in front of their facility because it has "reduced the litter". I inquired about the inconvenience for their students who now must walk to the Lanta terminal; they have received "no complaints". As one who tried to contact a dean myself and received no replies, I must question whether that comment has much value. As winter weather approaches, common sense would indicate a bus stop moved from in front of the building to two blocks away, is not student friendly.

 ALLENTOWN CELEBRATES

Allentown's latest Dancing in the Street, Octoberfeast, will have multi-cultural attractions. There will be genuine rickshaw rides, pulled by former Asian merchants who were forced out of business by the City Department of Gentrification. After this week's party for the Brewpub, the rickshaws will operate on a regular basis between Hamilton Street and our new Lanta Transportation Center.

 SILENCE OF THE LANTA
Hannibal Lecter has been offered parole on the condition he restrict his diet to Hamilton Street bus riders. Once a month he will be permitted an Asian merchant; on thanksgiving he may have a preselected blogger. Mr. Lector will be micro-chipped and given a new Hamilton Street loft apartment. He will be monitored by the new surveillance cameras. Mayor Pawlowski and Armand Greco will provide more details at a press conference early next week at the new Lanta Terminal.               

above reprinted from July of 2015

UPDATE MAY 10, 2021: Because J.B. Reilly is building more apartments on the northeast corner of 7th and Linden,  the Lanta Terminal,  bus entrance and exit, will once again be reconfigured. As local activist Erin Keller points out, these changes to the Lanta property, which is only twelve years old, will be at tax-payer expense. 

It started years ago when they took the bus stops off Hamilton Street. The bus passengers and the merchants had a historical relationship, dependent upon each other. Now of course the bus passengers are just cattle, whose pens are moved around at the convenience of the current establishment. The Morning Call article on the changes, characterizes them as improvements for rider convenience.

The Zucal Factor

Before the primary election last week, my hunch was that if Zucal could reach 40% of the Democratic votes, combining that with Republicans and independents, might take him over the top in November. Well Zucal came up short in the primary, by about 20%. Does that mean that November is a lost cause for him? 

I believe that Zucal is still viable for November, and here's why. Tuerk was a little nervous for the primary. Witness his absurd meltdown about Zucal being MAGA, and Police Chief Roca rolling out neighborhood crime stats, just a week before the election. The patter about violent crime being down is nonsense, witness a shooting last Wednesday at 18th & Chew Streets. Tuerk and Roca will not crack down on noise and litter, they're too woke for any culture clashes.

Tuerk got out his vote for the primary, but Zucal has plenty of people to mobilize. The. homeowners on the east and south sides knew and remember a better quality of life. Overcoming Tuerk will not be an easy task, Zucal will have to knock on a lot of doors.  He was essentially a one man band for the primary. Although not really a Republican, will the soldiers from that party get behind him?  I can tell you that as an independent, life long Allentonian and chronicler of this city,  Zucal has my support.

Nagy Novelty Company

In Downtown Allentown's commercial years, stores extended 3 blocks out from Hamilton Street. The only remaining remnant of that era is the parking meters, which apparently haven't noticed that the stores have been gone now for over 30 years. On 8th Street, also a couple blocks off Hamilton, was the Nagy Novelty Company. The dictionary defines novelty as a small, often cheap, cleverly made article, usually for amusement. The Nagys' had thousands of them, floor to ceiling. There were little jokes and gags, sometimes risque, passed around parties in the 40's and 50's. When you pulled " Miss Lola, The Snappy Bubble Dancer" leg's out, your finger got snapped. The Nagys', an ancient father, son and dog, stayed open till around 1980. I was never sure which one was the son. To me, as an aficionado of the old and curious, the store was a shrine. Items which they sold for a few cents, now sell on ebay for many dollars. They manufactured their own greeting cards. Shown here is the front and inside of an embossed card probably dating back to the 1920's.

Reprinted from Dec. 23, 2008

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 2010

General Trexler's Streets

Allentown benefitted enormously from General Harry Trexler. Most obvious is the park system, which unfortunately has suffered continuous depreciation under Pawlowski's misguided priorities, and The Wildlands Conservancy's agenda.  The General's various business interests played an important part in Allentown's prosperity.  He was largely responsible for developing the West End, through his lumber, real estate and construction businesses. His connection with the Lehigh Portland Cement Company resulted in several concrete streets, which have lasted almost a hundred years.

Yesterday,  Chew Street was blacktopped over the cement, which had been there since the 1920's. Nearby, Allen Street is also still cement from that era.  Unlike cement which lasts forever,  blacktop lasts  about ten minutes;  I suppose that's why they use it now.

 

reprinted from April of 2017

ADDENDUM MAY 23, 2025:Although eight years have passed since the above post, I'm still fighting the same battles with the city and park department. Never-the-less, I remain an advocate for the traditional park system and the WPA. Although a new mayor and park director  now resent this blog, my message resonates with many more citizens than they like to admit.

Rusting Away By Union Terrace

In 2010, I learned that Lehigh County had fast track plans to demolish the 1824 stone arch bridge by Union Terrace. Several decades earlier in 1980, Mayor Joe Daddona had the accompanying pedestrian bridge built, to insure the safety of both Union Terrace and Raub students.

Back in 2010, when I successfully defended the old Reading Road stone bridge, the steel on the pedestrian bridge was already rusty. Here we are over a decade later, and the city still hasn't painted it !!!

I was just watching a video of the mayor congratulating himself and the city workers on his victory. He said that they accomplished a lot, but there's still more to do. Mr. Mayor, may I suggest that the city spend a couple $thousand now and paint the steel beams? Or, you could wait until the steel needs replacing, spend $millions, but have a ribbon cutting.

Another Crime By Allentown Park Department

While Mayor Tuerk and his park department brag and cut ribbons for a new gimmicks in the parks, they allow irreplaceable historic icons to deteriorate. Recently they demolished the large cherished picnic pavilion in Cedar Park, after submitting it to a decade of benign neglect. Likewise, they're submitting the historic barn to their neglect schedule.

The barn and current park office was the A.H. Balliet Pastime farm, predating most of Allentown's west end. The trolley to Dorney Park ran along the creek.Through the vision of Harry Trexler and others, the city acquired the farm in 1929.

Vines are extremely destructive to structures, both to the masonry and wood components. We need park leadership and personnel who have some understanding of infrastructure.

Pandering On Hamilton

In a wholesale vote pandering extravaganza, Allentown held a Latino Festival two days before the primary election. Tuerk stood on the stage speaking Spanish and waving Caribbean flags at Fiesta On Hamilton.

What this event costs the taxpayers, we'll probably never know. How many police officers were there on overtime, and how many street department workers to set up and clean up?  Yesterday, Promise Neighborhoods held an open house. Again, just a coincidence, I assure you.

The picture above I grabbed off of the mayor's Facebook page, although this blog probably wasn't the intended audience.

Allentown Comes To Macungie

When the shots rang out last week in Macungie, welcome to Allentown. Chief Roca just released neighborhood crime statistics, but who cares about them with the music blaring? 

The question in tomorrow's election is, will Tuerk's pandering pay him a dividend? Will all those flag raisings buy him another term?  Unfortunately for Tuerk, he probably won't know the answer until November. Even if he wins the primary tomorrow, he may still face Zucal in the general election, if Zucal gets enough Republican write-in votes.

Tuerk says that Zucal can't have it both ways, he can't be both a Democrat and a Republican. Zucal says he is an Allentonian, first and foremost. Allentown's minority-majority communities are maturing. They're less faltered by the pandering and more concerned with the quality of their lives. Nobody is fooled by these new initiatives just announced last week by the Tuerk administration.

SPECIAL EDITION, TUERK OBSCURES THE TRUTH

Matt Tuerk sent a mailer claiming that there was no tax increase under his administration. His opponent, Ed Zucal, took him to task for that distortion.

 "Most people received a mailer from Matt Tuerk claiming to have not raised taxes during his first term as Mayor. What he forgot to tell you is he wanted to raise taxes 5.4% in 2023. Remember when he threatened to take away Lights in the Parkway if he didn't get his way. Council shot his 5.4% down. Then he came back with a 2% raise. Council shot that down to. So the real truth is Mayor Tuerk would have raised your taxes. If you also remember Council had a vote of "No Confidence" as a direct result of this caous. Thank Council for no tax increases not Matt Tuerk."

As we approach Tuesday's election, my support goes to Ed Zucal. I believe that an emphasis on public safety and quality of life issues will benefit all our citizens, more than raising flags and having festivals.

ADDENDUM: Zucal press release Friday Evening 

                  Mayor Matt sends in the Machine ALLENTOWN — 

In the final days of Allentown’s mayoral primary, the Ed Zucal campaign is responding to a wave of anonymous attack ads with a warning: voters are witnessing a coordinated, last-ditch effort by entrenched political insiders to prop up Mayor Matt Tuerk and silence opposition. As reported by the Morning Call, the ads in question are funded by shadowy PACs, including the Civic Growth Initiative, a group tied to former mayoral candidate Charlie Thiel—a longtime ally of the political class surrounding Mayor Tuerk. The group has ads attacking Zucal and other candidates while boosting allies of the current administration. “Despite trying to hide his involvement, it’s clear that Tuerk is behind these shady efforts, ” said Zucal. “The individual who has attached his name to this effort —Ray Lahoud— has also donated thousands of dollars to Tuerk. He wants voters distracted from the outsiders and special interests that are bankrolling his campaign. ” “Voters will see through Matt’s dirty tricks and dark money. On May 20th, they will vote for truth and transparency.

A Personal Memoir

I'm not sure memoir is a good title, rather than facts and records, I have hazy recollections. Assuming my memory will not improve at this stage of the game, let me put to print that which I can still recall. In about 1958 my father built Flaggs Drive-In. McDonalds had opened on Lehigh Street, and pretty much proved that people were willing to sit in their cars and eat fast food at bargain prices. For my father, who was in the meat business, this seemed a natural. As a rehearsal he rented space at the Allentown Fair for a food stand, and learned you cannot sell hotdogs near Yocco's. He purchased some land across from a corn field on Hamilton Blvd. and built the fast food stand. In addition to hamburgers, he decided to sell fried chicken. The chicken was cooked in a high pressure fryer called a broaster, which looked somewhat like the Russian satellite Sputnik. The stand did alright, but the business was not to my father's liking, seems he didn't have the personality to smile at the customers. He sold the business several years later to a family which enlarged and enclosed the walk up window. Subsequent owners further enlarged the location several times. The corn field later turned into a Water Park, and you know Flaggs as Ice Cream World.

I'm grateful to a kind reader who sent me this picture of Flaggs

reprinted from March 12, 2009

When Republicans Ruled Allentown

I remember 1955 pretty well. I was nine years old, and Hurricane Diane roared through Allentown.  I remember the sound of the metal trash cans blowing around the neighborhood, hitting houses and cars. Living in Little Lehigh Manor, my neighbor's large willow tree blew over. The creek was way over its banks. My father had spent the night moving meat from the first floor cooler to a second floor cooler, with his market being next to the Lehigh River. What I don't remember is that Republicans ruled the city back then.

But I do remember the prosperity of Allentown. The factories were going full tilt, some with two and three shifts. More mothers were staying home, with the father's union wages being enough to support the family.  The southside was booming, with new factories between Lehigh Street and Emmaus Ave. Mack 5C was putting out an endless line of truck cabs.

I was about fifty years away from thinking about local politics. I couldn't tell you who the mayor was until Joe Daddona in the late 70's. We're learning that Ed Zucal is asking Republicans to write him in on May 20th, and that Matt Tuerk and Dems are in a huff about it. 

Although conservative, I'm a true independent. By that I mean that I vote for people, not a party. There hasn't been a Republican voted to any Allentown office this century, but a shakeup sure wouldn't hurt the town. When nobody from the Baum Art School, which just started building a new addition, doesn't complain about the Museum moving away to 10th Street, we have become mired in go along to get along. It is my contempt for that attitude which fuels this blog.

Allentown Has No Shame

As a long time critic of the NIZ, the newest article by the Morning Call is right up there as an infomercial. It involves placing an arch over the street by Reilly's new buildings, and installing a statue of, no less, a Greek g-d. The icing on the cake is that it is being promoted by none other than Pat Browne, patron saint of Reilly's good fortune.

The new Morning Call reporters are following a tradition at the Morning Call, writing good news about the NIZ, and skipping any unpleasant realities, like the 7th Street drug and gun bust at Strata #5, aka The Hive. The paper has also taken to using stories from former editors and reporters, who now have news letters and blogs.

I keep resolving to be nicer, but I just can't find any justification for it. Meanwhile, back at the upcoming election, Tuerk is claiming that Zucal lies!!!! That he can't be both a Democrat and Republican! Of course Zucal is entitled to ask Republicans to write him in on May 20th, and Allentonians are entitled to vote as they see fit come November.

shown above WW1 Victory Parade arch in 1919, 500 block of Hamilton St.

A Giant Among Midgets

Here's a story you will not read about on any official City of Allentown website. It's a story of private gumption, instead of the usual public subsidy. It's the late 1990's, and I stop in and visit infamous Allentown landlord Joe Clark. He's sitting at a desk in the middle of a large empty storefront at 7th and Turner, surrounded by landlord supplies and building materials. The phone rings and it's Mayor William Heydt. Heydt just learned that Clark purchased the vacant Eastern Light Building on Hamilton Street, and wants to know Clark's intentions. Clark tells him he's going to build the best nightclub Allentown has ever seen. Heydt doesn't offer any help, but tells him that he'll be under close scrutiny. Clark does go on to build the club, without a nickel of help from Allentown. Years later, when the BrewWorks would open with unlimited city subsidy, a public parking lot on 8th Street was given exclusively to the BrewWorks. A few weeks ago Clark asked if he could rent the Parking Authority lot behind the nightclub; Request Denied. This week, based on ticket sales, Crocodile Rock was rated the 60th most successful nightclub in the world for 2011. The midgets at City Hall pay for consultants, when there's a genius half a block away.

above reprinted from January of 2012

ADDENDUM February 8, 2023:What brings this decade old plus post back today is the news that J.B. Reilly's CityCenter Real Estate will build a band venue within their new projects in the 900 block of Hamilton Street. The Morning Call doesn't mention that Reilly purchased the old Croc Rock building and virtually all of Hamilton Street, except for a few holdouts who wouldn't sell. The Morning Call also doesn't mention that Croc Rock was run by Joe Clark, less, but still infamous. I can't tell you how much the current Call article amused me, but Joe got to laugh all the way to the bank.

ADDENDUM MAY 13, 2025: Joe Clark passed away last week. Recently in Allentown homelessness and affordable housing have been news items. I can tell you that there would have been considerably more homeless in Allentown without Clark...He took chances renting to tenants that other landlords wouldn't touch. Bill Heydt also recently passed away...He was the last Republican mayor in Allentown.

Protecting Who From Whom

When Strata 13 was built on the northeast corner of 7th & Linden, Lanta reconfigured the bus flow to accommodate it.  Actually, Lanta has been accommodating Reilly's NIZ since before the beginning. They started by relocating the bus stops off Hamilton, and herding the sheep to 6th & Linden. Actually, Strata 13 is called the Hive, but I call all Reilly's residential buildings Strata. 

On Friday police raided the Hive, seizing a gun and marijuana. Reilly's City Center Real Estate has it own security force to protect the tenants. That seemed appropriate, especially with the infamous 7/11 across the street. After reading about the police raid, the question now is who is going to protect the street people from Reilly's tenants?

With us taxpayers footing Reilly's debt service, I always figured that Reilly would  keep a unit empty rather than rent to the wrong element.  I suppose with the housing storage, the do-gooders pressure him to make units available. At any rate, it appears as if the Hive is fitting into the neighborhood. 

photocredit:WFMZ

Señor No Credit

Although the Poison Hemlock is already thriving along Cedar Creek, I notice two short strips by the Rose Garden that are being cut for the first time in well over a decade. That would be the narrow area between the bridge and first pond, behind the stone house currently hosting Friends Of The Parks. The second strip, which is very narrow, is after the last pond, before the middle walk bridge. While he who cannot ever be mentioned will receive no credit, subscribers of this blog know that I have been complaining since day one about the weed wall.

Over the years there has been a few other suggestions of mine adopted, such as the three large stone landing, next to the middle walk bridge mentioned above. Among my current campaigns, I hope to see the broken up pieces of concrete removed from around the stone piers of the Robin Hood Bridge. Another high priority item on my list is to see the small walk bridge from the Walnut St. side of Union Terrace replaced. It was removed about five years ago, rather than repaired.

Although I remain he who cannot ever be mentioned, occasionally officials have privately sought my opinion, on one topic or another.

Know Thyself

On yesterday's blog post I commented that I don't like slogans, having placed one myself on a photo of Ed Zucal, which I had cropped and turned from color to BW.   So, I suppose I don't like a slogan unless I wrote it :)

On this know thyself topic, I didn't plan on plugging Zucal until closer to the May 20th primary. However, who knows what news will preoccupy this blog in the meantime. While most of my readers trend conservative and are receptive to Zucal, beating Tuerk will be no cakewalk. Tuerk's a flatter machine, and people eat that up.

Ed Zucal's background as a policeman appeals to those of us who believe that the ship should be run tighter in Allentown, while Tuerk's constituents enjoy the carefree attitude about enforcing quality of life issues.  Of course, in reality, that attitude really benefits no one.

Who Is Repressing Crime Reporting In Allentown?

Mayoral candidate Ed Zucal reported Monday on social media that someone was stabbed on Friday near West Park, and that two cars exchanged gunfire near Hayes Elementary School. As of Tuesday evening, neither incident was reported by the Morning Call or WFMZ.

Being a small town pizza blogger only claiming informed commentary, rather than investigative reporting, I have not checked the police blotter or with those news outlets to analyze the crime repression. However, I do know that both Mayor Tuerk and police chief Roca claim that crime is down. They're not bashful about complimenting themselves when someone is caught, as was the person firing a gun on 2nd St.. From my excursions around Allentown, I can tell you that quality of life is down, and that reality is what affects most of us.

As long as the car stereos vibrate a block away, and people feel free to stop their cars anytime, anywhere, Tuerk and Roca lack credibility with me. Tuerk has been playing his Latino card harder than in his first campaign, but I don't think that compensates with the residents in West Park and other affected neighborhoods.