Today's Morning Call contains an incredibly self serving letter by the owner of the Allentown BrewPub; http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-fegley.6198304dec30,0,1003821.story
Mr. Fegley is not happy that the newspaper reports some of the crime in center city, which in turn could scare some clientele away. He refers to a set of new enterprises and their owners as visionary, but neglects to mention that without exception, they were all highly subsidized by the taxpayers and abated of both local income and real estate taxes. He shows no awareness of the plight of the original merchants, and lauds the new Lanta Terminal, which displaced their customer base; He thinks Hamilton Street is there only for these new "visionaries." In a final confirmation of his entitlement to customized news coverage, he actually "lives" in town near the peasants.
MM, Mike Fegley used to be my neighbor before he moved downtown. He is a nice guy, not an elitist, and I think he would be sympathetic to the struggling merchants. I think you are misjudging him by saying he thinks Hamilton St. is there only for the new "visionaries." How do you know what he thinks without asking him?
ReplyDeletedottie, i don't doubt that he is a nice guy, and it often pains me to confront people when i believe their agenda is not in the towns best overall interest. he must know that the dunkin donuts and terminal he praised came at the expense of the merchants, and that they protested the changes to no real avail. i believe those changes were partially instituted to benefit him and the other new "visionaries" on the 800 block. he also received considerations from the parking authority that hurt the small merchants. if he was sympathetic to the struggling merchants, there were a couple of opportunities for him to speak out.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of his letter he says "together we should celebrate and be proud." I take that as meaning we should work together to improve the downtown so everyone benefits. I don't think he has an agenda, other than improving the downtown. I think the Parking Authority and its board members have an agenda.
ReplyDeletedottie, i don't know if you read the comments in the morning call in response to fegleys letter. one of them stated hamilton st. cannot be saved until the current street people and the current crop of merchants are removed. i believe this is the attitude of the current establishment(administration,parking authority, lanta, aedc, etc.) the brewpub is the foremost beneficiary of this establishment. fegley's letter suggested to me he's on board with that mentality. if in reality he's more egalitarian than i portrayed him, i'm glad your setting the record straight. my issue isn't with their goals, but with the methods being used to implement them, i.e., removing the buses. i certainly don't think the news should be sanitized.
ReplyDeleteMM, I started my own blog. Go to the bottom of my profile. I plan on using pictures, but I am having trouble with that right now.
ReplyDeleteI do read the comments at the MC. I have even defended you there on the LANTA issue. The pork-chop racist comments are really getting out of hand.
I had hoped the mayor would be more egalitarian, but he seems to be in a hurry to make big improvements, and I agree his methods need to be questioned. Maybe his heart is in the right place. I think there are some "big shots" working behind the scenes and advising him. Also he comes from a big city, Chicago. He should be focusing on reducing crime first, then we can hang banners and celebrate. Now he is focusing on the parks, which is nice, but should not be a priority. Do you think the new council members will question his methods?
i believe the new council members will articulate the issues wisely, will they actually ever vote against the mayor's preferences remains to be seen. also, please remember, after 4 yes votes, the next three don't count; it's easy then to make an appearance of independence. (5 votes needed if it involves a tax or fee)
ReplyDeletedottie, i look forward to following your blog