The big news this week is that Ed Pawlowski's sentencing has once again been postponed, now until October 23th. While the judicial reasons for delay has been pretty much explained, it begs the closure issue for Allentown. However, that issue only resides in those of us who are local political junkies, aka blog readers.
Although I didn't attend the fair this year, it was supposedly marginal by every account. At one time the fairgrounds was a valuable parcel, only remaining mostly intact because control was diluted among so many of Allentown's blue bloods. Although that breed is dying off, the attractiveness of the real estate has also diminished. There is however a real estate wild card in the works... with the NIZ.
This blog has noted over the years that the NIZ is written in pencil,...adjusting to the benefit of a small connected circle. The latest stretch of the law is trading out certain parcels contained within the original boundaries, for those outside of it. This new machination acknowledges that center city seems to have some obstacles that defy gentrification, so why not harvest the tax benefit somewhere else?
On the subject of state laws such as the NIZ, I see the probability of the upcoming election making any changes at about zero percent. Although people remain frenzied for and against Donald Trump, they have no focus on the local scene, whatsoever.
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Saw the mayor with two city officials at the West Park meeting last night. It was a good meeting and many left cautiously optimistic. This group knows as much about zoning, codes, city boards and commissions and crime as the officials so it was a serious no nonsense exchange.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the presentation and question and answers revealed the real devastation Ed Pawlowski and his cronies inflicted on the city. City hall is a wreck and needs rebuilt from the ground up. "There is still a lot of "Pawlowski" left there" was a quote from one official.
ReplyDeleteA couple from the west coast who were attracted by the NIZ opportunities were shocked by the complete and apparent corruption they see here. They said perhaps a citizens commission to needs to be created to weed out the corruption. I told them in Allentown such a commission would likely endorse the corruption and the paper would back them.
Too many in Allentown accepted/accept way too much.