According to The Morning Call, $32.84 million $dollars of state taxes was diverted last year to pay the debt service on J.B. Reilly's growing empire of center city buildings. While this was over 90% of the $36.3 million diverted, Jaindl's got $2.1 million, and Butz got 3/4 of $1 million. The Morning Call headline referred to developers. NIZ articles always refer to developers. In reality, the NIZ should be called JBR, that would be much more accurate and truthful.
As someone who went to city hall meetings with the former merchants of Hamilton street, I can tell you that there was no truthfulness about the whole deal. Strawbuyers threatened former building owners with eminent domain, and Reilly bought up downtown. The Allentown Parking Authority even offered its lots for sale, so that development would even be cheaper for the developers.
I sat on the stage at WFMZ debating Mike Fleck about the ethics of the NIZ. The Morning Call's Bill White wrote that I was misguided. Reilly now owns the Morning Call building, and Mike Fleck is in prison.
The NiZ is no good great job sir
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