The Fairview Cemetery Situation

In 1997, I began looking for the grave of a young Jewish woman who died in 1918.  In the course of that search I became interested in the small old Jewish section of Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street.

In the late 1800's and early 1900's, Fairview was the most prestigious cemetery in Allentown.  Among those buried there included General Harry Trexler,  John Leh and Jack Mack.  The sprawling cemetery overlooks center city, and contains numerous obelisks and other impressive grave markers. Several unique mausoleums were built, including one for Max Hess senior. Allentown's most successful families purchased large plots, which were separated by low railings.  As the decades pasted,  the available plots were sold.

As time passed a new cemetery, Grandview, was developed northwest of town, along Walbert Avenue. Fairview fell out of favor among the elite.  Move ahead a few decades, and supposedly, the director of the then Fairview Cemetery Association embezzled funds.  Currently, the association consists of a funeral director and his immediate family.  Back in 1997, this new director claimed that the poor ground maintenance resulted from lack of funds. The low railings between the family plots were removed to make mowing easier and cheaper.

I was able to cast a little publicity of the situation. Although it took another decade, in 2008, the Morning Call did a story on the cemetery.  Move ahead yet another decade, Tyler Fatzinger became interested, and now there is a dedicated facebook page. The paper did another story in 2019.

In the best of situations, Fairview would become a park of serenity, like the cemeteries in Paris. In the worst of situations, it will become totally abandoned and overgrown. Chances are the status quo will continue... a for profit operator and a periodic series of concerned citizens.

Bill White's Selective Memory

Fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare and I don't talk much, but when we do, we usually wonder who is the bigger bastard? Bernie is often accused of having favorite people who can do no harm, nobody accuses me of that. What brings on today's rant is Bill White's column yesterday.

White gets nostalgic for the closing Morning Call offices at 6th and Linden. He recalls the pride when the reporters covered the trial of former mayor Pawlowski so efficiently. That's funny, because I recall the decade of Pawlowski's corruption which they silently missed.  Bill also doesn't mention their windfall from the NIZ. The Morning Call building was included in the district, although across the street, and now is the property of the NIZ baron J.B. Reilly.

I appreciate the local articles, and the job done by the reporters, but I'm too much of a bastard to let White get away with whitewashing the paper. They have repressed news of numerous shenanigans by local sacred cows they have chosen to protect.

Pictured above is Wehr's Dam.  There is an active conspiracy in motion to circumvent the citizen's referendum to keep the dam, and demolish it anyway, to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy.  Although I provided proof to the Morning Call that the Wildlands is communicating back channel with the State to that end,  Morning Call editor Mike Miorelli refuses to print the story.  However, Mike did hire Bill back to write his puff column.

Building or no building, business and censorship as usual at The Morning Call.

photocredit:Gregg Obst

Misguided To Mt. Sinai In Fairview

In 2000, when I was looking for the burial place of a Jewish woman who died in 1918,  I ended up searching the Jewish orphan cemeteries. An orphan cemetery is one that is no longer actively maintained by a congregation, usually because the congregation no longer exists. Mt. Sinai was begun by an association of early Allentown Jews in 1875.  Eventually, the group established a synagogue, which in turn started its own cemetery in 1928 on Walbert Avenue.  After that time mostly only spouses of earlier burials were interred in Mt. Sinai.  The last such funeral had occurred in 1976.

I was intrigued by the new Levine marker, near the front of the Mt. Sinai section.  A few years later I took it upon myself to locate any remaining family members.  Joseph was 103 when he passed away, so when I met his son at a local diner for coffee,  he himself was an elderly man.  Years earlier the family had moved from Brooklyn to the Pennsylvania countryside.  When Joseph's wife died in 2000, he contacted Boyko's Funeral Home in Macungie.  When he asked Boyko about a Jewish cemetery, Boyko guided, or misguided him to one that he owned in Fairview.  Boyko did not mention that the cemetery was no longer affiliated with a congregation, or that there hadn't been a Jewish funeral there in twenty four years. Six years later Joseph joined his wife at Mt. Sinai.

A few years ago Boyko also buried another Jew, a hispanic man, in Mt. Sinai.  These burials are assuredly taking place in plots that long ago belonged to other families. However,  at this point in time I don't think that anybody will know or care. Several years ago I asked a local woman about a very prominent marker at Mt Sinai with her family name. She told me that her parents and grandparents are buried in the Walbert Avenue cemetery, but she recalled that her great-grandfather was buried somewhere else.  She didn't know about Mt. Sinai at Fairview, nor was she ever there. When Jews visit a cemetery they leave a pebble on the gravestone.  There are no visitors to Mt. Sinai.

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 previous years

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.

Looking For News In The Trump Era

As a blogger it's important that I stay informed.  Even before the previous election in 2016, a few media companies made a business decision to choose a target audience, with no pretense of objectivity.  As the Trump administration progressed, or declined depending on your point of view,  the concept of objectivity became a rare commodity, perhaps even extinct.

Regardless of how one feels about Trump for president, certainly the sequence of minority speakers at the Republican convention's first night was inspirational.  For CNN to portray the evening as a parade of dishonesty is ironically dishonest.  Even more unfortunate is the former institutions of journalism, such as the NY Times and Washington Post, which now feel morally justified slanting the news.

What will happen to CNN if Trump wins again in 2020? I suppose that they could continue their format, but such an agenda eventually completely erodes credibility. At what point does it become a tabloid at the check out rack, next to the National Enquirer with the Space Aliens Among Us?

Biden's Little White Lie

In one of the Biden's first interviews since the convention,  he said that he didn't feel any pressure to choose a black woman for VP.   Of course, in reality, the only suspense was which black woman was he going to pick.

Black women are a big block in North Carolina, and that state was a big factor in Biden's primary win.  When he obligated himself to picking a woman,  Harris's nomination was practically a done deal.

In Biden's final short list, four out of six women were of color. Among the black women, Harris and Rice were immensely more qualified.  While Rice has extensive international experience, she also had some associated baggage.

When I questioned this blog's Democratic focus group, they all replied what else could he say?  In their minds, no big deal there. After all, it's not like one of Trump's lies.

Obama's Third Term

With the Democratic world going ecstatic for Obama's put down of Trump, I felt compelled to watch/listen to the speech.  Because Obama is such an eloquent speaker, it took two sessions for me to complete the watching.  Although only 19 minutes long, the eloquence which mesmerizes others, annoys me.  Obama could make a rain gutter commercial sound monumental. That quality of such elocution must be put aside, so that the meaningfulness of a speech can be evaluated.

Right off, Trump could not have caused both more virus deaths and also more damage to the economy.  If more restrictions were put into place, there would have been more economic damage.  Unfortunately, both results are proportional to our country's size, and experienced throughout the world.

Both Obama and Biden keep telling us that Joe was Obama's right hand.  However, now Joe would be steering the ship,  but still the best they can say is that he would be steady.  We hear that steady is enough.  Those satisfied with steady think that the country can protect itself, and all it needs is a president less embarrassing.  Perhaps the country can lead itself back to being dependent on outside manufacturing, and picking up the tab for world defense.

Those so offended by Trump would gladly settle for Obama's third term. However, it won't actually be Obama delivering their cherished speeches. It would be Biden, occasionally telling us how the massive bureaucracy has been reengaged, to reproduce the previous status quo.  Actually, that's the best it could be,  because if it's worse,  we'll be paying to make everything free for everybody. 

photocredit:Pete Souza

A CyberVisit To Allentown

The responses and comments to the political posts are usually within a day or two. The historical posts have a much longer shelf life. People using search engines find something of their youth often years after I wrote the post. I still occasionally get a comment from someone who worked at a Mohican Market, often somewhere in upstate New York. Yesterday, a former post on the 6th Ward received such a comment.

 Hello molovinsky, I found your blog today. I was born in the 6th ward in 1933. My grandfather, who died very young, long before I was born, was Emanuelle Markowitz and was, I believe, the first religious head of Aguda Achim. His wife was Ida Markowitz. We lived at 234 and then 244 Hamilton St. and went to Harrison Morton grade school before departing permanently to New York City. Arnold Fein (brother is Barry)

 My grandparents lived on Second Street in around 1900, and belonged to the Agudas Achim congregation. After Arnold and I exchanged a couple comments, I invited him to send me a note about Allentown via email.

  Yeah, Michael, I went back for a visit about 3 yrs. ago. All of lower Hamilton St,is part of a highway and the Jersey RR Station ,I was told, failed as a restaurant.The stores I remember on Hamilton between 2nd and 3rd were, Queenies Luncheonette, Bucky Boyle's Bar, Harry Gross Shoes,an A&P on the corner of 1st (Front?)and Hamilton, a "holy roller" storefront church, a travel agency with a large steamship model in the window,Taylors Plumbing Supply (now Weinstein's-I visited the place when I was there), a "Giant" supermarket on 5th and Hamilton across from the P.O., Francis the barber on the hill,the Colonial theatre,etc.Harrison Morton is still there and 2nd St.off Hamilton is still the same including the "A Treat" sign on the little store near HM, which I remember. Some friend's names from that time are: Stanley and Nancy Kulp (Culp?) who lived in an old wooden house next to the Lehigh Valley RR Freight terminal across from Taylor's. Michael Miller, Bobby Kressler, George Mevrides(sp?), Andrew Kent,Dickie Catalina(whom I'll never forget as the guy who came running out on Hamilton St. on 12/7/ shouting, "the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor"), the 4-5 Delaney kids,Dickie Gross who lived in a stone house on 2nd St.just off Hamilton where his father had his dental practice, Lucille Wiener, Phyllis Malatrott,Victoria Minner,Ronald DiLeo whose father was a Dr., (told me my first "off color" joke in the 1st grade while we were standing side by side at a HM urinal)), Marvin Karll, 2 HM footballers (who were not friends as such), Barney Garulla(sp?) and Albert Casium, whom I believe was Albanian.Other places were the slaughter house, Arbegast and Bastion (sp?). Couldn't miss that!, Riverfront Park, and a horse watering trough on the corner of Hamilton and Front(?)Lots of others. Something priceless about childhood, no matter where it's spent.

 Even in Allentown.

UPDATE: More memories from "Arnie" Fein
Also, my grand parents owned a store on 2nd St. around Tilghman, before I was born. My mother always remembered the few words she knew in Slavic because some of the customers spoke only "Slavisch".Another recollection was in 1943 when a lot of us went to the JerseyRR terminal to watch a train full of German POWs being transported west. Larry and Jimmy Whitman lived above the A&P on that picture you sent. Their name was anglicized from a Polish name their parents shortened.Harry and Jean Getz, friends of my mother, owned a small shoe store between 2nd and 3rd Sts.The name of the travel agency was, if I'm correct, something like Bortz. On Walnut St. around the corner from Weinstein's was the "Perkiomen Transfer Co." The local movie house was the Townie which I believe was in the 6th ward.Further up the hill were the Colonial, the Midway and the Transit.There was a trolley named the Liberty Bell which went from 8th St. to Philly and a trolley to Bethlehem along the "Bethlehem Minsi Trail". Other memories as they come from the distant past...

 photo supplied by Arnold Fein, showing him, brother and mother at Hamilton and the current American Parkway, next to the current Weinstein Supply Company.

reprinted from 2012, 2017, 2019

First Race For The 7th District

On Monday, The Morning Call's article recollecting  Marty Northstein's cycling successes in 1994 must have had the former Olympic champion shaking his head in disbelief.  Generally speaking, it's nice to have former accomplishments acknowledged, but this is the same paper which helped torpedo his congressional run in 2018.  The paper back then, based on a leaked email,  published that an allegation of misconduct was lodged against Northstein with the U.S. Center for SafeSport.  Although the allegation was soon determined to be without any merit, the headlines and timing did its damage.

While the Morning Call asked to be dismissed from Northstein's subsequent lawsuit for invasion of privacy,  a judge has determined that they will remain a defendant.  The paper since simply refers to Nothstein's "unsuccessful" campaign,  they don't acknowledge any part in that defeat.

While I won't pass judgement on the paper breaking the story at the time, they are a defendant in a suit by Northstein. What factor the article(s) played in his loss is beyond the gaze of my crystal ball. Whether the article(s) damaged his reputation or invaded his privacy is beyond my legal understanding.

However, I do know irony when I read it. I do think that their current praise for him winning some races in 1994 is tone deaf.

Lehigh Valley Transit Freight Service

Lehigh Valley Transit Company began their freight service in 1908, using converted passenger cars. By 1912, they were purchasing cars manufactured for commercial hauling. Various train/trolley websites specialize in the exact specifications of these trolley cars, and trace the history of specific cars. It was not uncommon for a car to be used by three or four different companies, and retrofitted for various uses. Throughout the formative years, Lehigh Valley Transit acquired smaller companies and absorbed their freight operations; The Quakertown Traction Company operated between Perkasie and Quakertown. Lehigh Valley's freight operation extended to the 72nd Street Freight House in Philadelphia.

Several years ago, Allentown lost an expert on our local train/trolley history, Gerhard Salomon. Mr. Salomon was a partner in the family jewelry store, one of few remaining gems from Hamilton Street's past.

UPDATE: This post heralds back to May of 2010, and was republished in May of 2013. Since that time we lost the few remaining gems on Hamilton Street.  Salomon's was torn down and replaced by another glass Reilly NIZ tower.  Tucker Yarn has recently closed, and will become the location for yet another tower of blandness.  This blog, with perhaps a unique combination of history and politics, will continue chronicling these transitions.

Issue With Morning Call Editor

On Friday afternoon Mike Miorelli, editor of the Morning Call, clarified for their readers that although the paper is giving up their work space, the paper will continue on, with the staff working from home. He wrote, "Our commitment to the Lehigh Valley and our readers is as strong as ever."

Well, I'm not sure about that. I do know that Mike Miorelli feels no commitment to the residents of South Whitehall, at least in regard to Wehr's Dam.  Although he knows that the Wildlands Conservancy interacted directly with the Pennsylvania DEP to complicate the status of Wehr's Dam, he will not allow my opinion piece on the impropriety of such ex-parte communications.

Mike Miorelli knows that the director of public works in South Whitehall, Randy Cope, is the son of a former Wildlands official, and that the Wildlands is determined to demolish the dam. Cope has made no good faith effort to defend the structure.  Although Miorelli knows that the voters of South Whitehall approved a referendum to keep their cherished dam, he ignores a commissioner wondering aloud how the township can get out from under that obligation?

Miorelli is apparently committed to what he deems important.  For other topics, seemingly, not so much. Not only doesn't his staff have a work place, the public doesn't have a voice. While he has positioned himself as the gatekeeper of opinion in the valley, truth has suffered. Whether you're the CEO of St. Lukes, or just a citizen advocate for a dam,  democracy needs an open opinion page.

ADDENDUM: Because of censorship at the Morning Call opinion page, I will reinstate a blog feature from years ago, OPEN MIKE. For this alternative public square on any subject of concern,  label your submission Open Mike, and submit through the comment windows. They will be collected and printed periodically as a special post. All Open Mike submissions must contain your name and phone number for verification.

photocredit:Wehr's Dam by Jason Fink

Smoking The Morning Call

This post concludes my trilogy on Donald Miller's legacy; a former newspaper is now a cigarette tax dodge, allow me to elaborate.  Under Miller's leadership the paper grew in its physical plant,  circulation and influence.

My post on Wednesday explained how Miller's influence continued after his death through the Century Fund, which after 25 years is ending.

My post yesterday explained how the Morning Call has compromised its journalistic credentials with nonsense stories, glorifying anybody with a bullhorn shouting profanities.  Worse yet, are the stories that the paper refused to print over the last decade.  The improprieties of former Mayor Pawlowski were first covered by me,  until fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare joined in. It took years later, only after Pawlowski was indicted, for the Morning Call to report on the crimes.  The current construction under the Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) is not without controversy.  Only I sat with the former merchants in city hall, when the city was using straw buyers and intimidation to force them out of their properties and livelihood. Only this blog reported on the deception being used. Not only didn't the Morning Call report on what was happening, they were part of the deal. The newspaper building was included in the zone,  even though it was across the street from the district.

Yesterday, it was announced that the paper is vacating its building at 6th and Linden. For the last several years they actually have been a tenant there, with Reilly's City Center Realty being their landlord. It was also revealed that Reilly filed suit against the paper, which has not paid rent since April. Their departure will not hurt Reilly, because most of the building is used as a cigarette warehouse and distribution center. The NIZ allows Reilly to use all state taxes generated by all his different buildings' tenants for his debt service. Under this insanely lucrative arrangement, he has been able to build $1 billion dollars of new construction at the taxpayer's expense.  Not only has the Morning Call failed to report on the details of this legislation, they actually promoted each new building with a news article.  In addition to this taxpayer funded money tree arrangement,  the NIZ law also allows Reilly to use the cigarette tax, previously designated for children's health purposes. He purchased a cigarette wholesaler, and relocated it to the now former Morning Call building.

You might say that Miller's legacy is now being smoked on the corners of downtown Allentown.

The Morning Call As Justice Warrior

As is my style, yesterday's post on the Century Fund was brief. In however brief a style I care to post on this blog,  the topics are nevertheless extensively researched.  While others may have chosen to list all the beneficiaries of the fund and the amounts received, I preferred to present a condensed version, hopefully distilling the essence. While that post concerned Donald P. Miller's legacy,  today we dissect the remains of his Morning Call.

In Miller's era, reporters stayed on a beat for decades, and knew the back stories; they had institutional knowledge of Allentown.  We are now two media conglomerates away from Miller's family owned paper. The current editor in the front office assigns politically correct topics to the reporters, for a dwindling audience who could care less.

In yesterday's paper, we learn that people who live in center city own fewer houses than those in the suburbs. The article concludes that hispanics must have less opportunity here in the valley.

“It is absolutely systemic racism. Whatever the power in control decides what they want to do, they can exert their power onto others,” said Becky Bradley, executive director of the commission.

I will not comment on the article or the organizations quoted in it, or those who work in what I refer to as the poverty industry, but I will throw an insight on the fire they try to ignite.

From working in center city real estate, I can tell you that these oppressed victims are very glad to be here. They consider both the housing and quality of life immensely better than from where they came. 

Lengthwise this blog post exceeds my preferred template by far. In conclusion, I ask the paper for whom they are writing? The victims referred to in the article don't read the paper, and the suburban home owners who do, are tired of hearing endless renditions of the same drumbeat.

photocredit:Stacy Wescoe

End Of A Century

When Donald P. Miller owned and operated the Morning Call, he and a few associates more or less ran Allentown.  Fortunately, they were a benevolent oligarchy.

When he passed away, his fortune funded a trust, which has been one of the wizards behind Allentown's curtain. There are several such trusts or foundations in the valley.  They are very much a closed society.

Miller's trust, The Century Fund,  was specified to end in 25 years, which will be reached this coming year.

The Fund is contributing about a third of its remaining assets  ($20mil) to established local cultural institutions,  such as the symphony, library, art museum, theaters and colleges.  A third will be contributed to the Allentown School System, and the remaining third to another fund, the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation.

A Crime By The Wildlands Conservancy

photo by Tami Quigley

REPRINTED FROM JULY 2018

The top photo shows the Robin Hood Bridge, before the Wildlands Conservancy demolished the little  Robin Hood Dam, just downstream beyond the bridge. The dam was only about 10 inches high, and was built as a visual effect to accompany the bridge in 1941. It was the last WPA project in Allentown, and considered the final touch for Lehigh Parkway. Several years ago, the Wildlands told the Allentown Park Director and City Council that it wanted to demolish the dam. The only thing that stood between their bulldozer and the dam was yours truly. I managed to hold up the demolition for a couple weeks, during which time I tried to educate city council about the park, but to no avail. If demolishing the dam wasn't bad enough, The Wildlands Conservancy piled the broken dam rubble around the stone bridge piers, as seen in the bottom photo. I'm sad to report that the situation is now even worse. All that rubble collected silt, and now weeds and brush is growing around the stone bridge piers. I suppose the Wildlands Conservancy considers it an extension of its riparian buffer.

The Wildlands Conservancy should be made to remove, piece by piece, all the rubble that they piled around the bridge piers, despoiling the bridge's beauty. City Council should refrain from ever again permitting The Wildlands Conservancy to alter our park designs.

JULY 9, 2018: It has been five years since the dam's destruction in 2013, and the bridge piers look more disgusting than ever.

UPDATE AUGUST 11, 2020: Last week's storm Isaias caused unprecedented damage to the iconic bridge. The top of one of the stone piers was battered off, and now lies on the bridge deck. The rubble placed around the piers in 2013 narrows the channel between the piers, and raised the water level... neither of which helps the bridge in high water events.

Lehigh Parkway Bridge Decimated In Storm

The crowning glory of Lehigh Parkway was completed in 1941, the Robin Hood Bridge. Its curved stone end piers, and its two oval middle piers, were designed to compliment and mirror the long stone entrance wall into the park.

As a boy in 1955, living in the housing development above the park, I remember marveling about how high the water arose the morning after Hurricane Diane.

As an advocate for the WPA in 2020, I'm saddened to see the damage that Isaias inflicted upon the bridge last week. The stone top of one the stone piers, which serves as a wall and railing anchor, was smashed off and lies on the bridge, which itself is full of debris. With perhaps record high water, I speculate that a tree trunk or limb battered the stone buttress loose.

The main park entrance wall is in the process of a long overdue stone repointing. We now have an extra, unexpected repair which must be made.  I am optimistic that both the city and Trexler Trust will meet the challenge.

The Soliloquies Of City Council

At the end of Wednesday's City Council meeting, when the city clerk bought up a counter resolution submitted by the public, the opportunity arose for soliloquies by both Ce-Ce Gerlach and Joshua Siegel.

Although Gerlach claimed that she was abandoning her notes, it was apparent that many of the phrases were already committed to memory.  Gerlach wondered why a city mired in evictions, revenue losses and the pandemic could concern itself with her personal support of BLM.  She couldn't understand why a public censure was contemplated, instead of private calls to her by her council colleagues. She wanted to protest publicly, but be reprimanded privately.

Siegel's soliloquy was about the Moment of Moral Reckoning. He spoke of mental health. He spoke in admiration of the speed of the mobilizing, and the new energy of the protesters.  When questioned about f.ck the police,  he claimed that while raising his clenched fist in solidarity, under his mask he was only saying defund the police.

Siegel's soliloquy was even more rehearsed than Gerlach's.  It's almost a tragedy that such a performance is hard to see on the council camera system. Perhaps he can repeat the performance sometime in the future?

Night Of The Censure

Wednesday was a night of dueling censures at City Council. Although the resolution against Gerlach and Siegel was dropped,  there was a motion likewise against Zucal, Hendricks and Affa, for attempting to suppress freedom of speech.

At the end of the tag team match, it was up to referee Julio Guridy to restore order to the arena.

The merits of the resolutions has been discussed in length here on this blog, and elsewhere...What concerns me is the future of council and the city.

Although I just wrote the other day that Siegel and Gerlach miscalculated, perhaps the misread lies with me. While I have no doubt that they would be tarred and feathered in a Lehigh County vote, this is Allentown. This is the city where a indicted mayor cobbled together his fourth victory with assorted fringe groups by attending birthday parties.

There are those who feel that a Hyman candidacy can be a saving grace for the Little Apple, a back to business for a fragmented city. Regardless of who gets the top office in the next election, I see city council becoming even more progressive. In my vocabulary that's not a compliment.

screen-grab from Imantrek's Red Bokeh Society

Yellow Journalism

I was informed yesterday that this and O'Hare's blog practice yellow journalism. This description is supposedly circulating among the social media sites frequented by the progressive elements in our community.

Although I cannot speak for O'Hare, I can tell you that in my opinion both of us have often been called much worse.

What is circulating from these groups is an air of intimidation. People who know that these new leaders are not what they claim to be, or what the Morning Call reports that they are, don't want to become their victims. There's plenty of information out there, but nobody to quote.

The new leaders are saying that their political power got city council to drop the resolution against Gerlach and Siegel. I think that they're confusing pitchforks and torches with democracy. I think that they're confusing a woke editor at the Morning Call with Democracy.

Normally, I attribute credit for the photograph or illustration that I use at the top of a blog post. However its creator, and many other people in this community, do not want their identity revealed in this climate.

ADDENDUM: In the Morning Call's  recent report that the censure resolution against Gerlach and Siegel was dropped,  Hendricks and Affa state that the paper treated the resolution as if it was against Black Lives Matter. The local BLM movement and its minions on social media certainly did portray the censure as such, but not the paper. BLM said outright that if you're for the Blue, you're against BLM, it's one or the other! While the local BLM did succeed in getting Daryl Hendricks and Candida Affa to back down, they haven't intimidated the general public.  A petition is circulating that Gerlach and Siegel should resign.

Gerlach and Siegel's Miscalulation

The resolution to censure Ce-Ce Gerlach and Josh Siegel would not have passed Allentown City Council. That would have required four votes, meaning that either Cynthia Mota or Julio Guridy would have had to go along with the resolution. Current news from the grapevine is that council's enthusiasm for the resolution has waned.

After Pawlowski resigned, and Cynthia Mota nominated Hassan Batts for appointed mayor, this blog was the first to report that she worked for him at Promise Neighborhood. Batts is a mentor for the local BLM efforts. Julio would have delivered a long speech about how difficult the decision is, but in the end he would have voted against the resolution.

As private citizens, of course, there would be nothing wrong with Gerlach and Siegel marching with BLM. But, since they chose to run for city council, which has oversight over the police department, they have an obligation not to participate in any such public controversies. They are expected to be honest brokers in all police matters, including contracts, hiring and personnel.

Josh Siegel's mentor is Mark Pinsley. When a drug-crazed Dorney Park menacer was shot after terrorizing women drivers on Hamilton Blvd, Pinsley stood with the protestors, even though he was just elected as a South Whitehall Commissioner. That election also didn't stop him from running for state senator and then county controller. Siegel likewise has political ambitions beyond city council. 

Although apparently a censure is not coming their way, both Gerlach and Siegel miscalculated public sentiment about law and order. In the march up Hamilton Street they may have received adulation and high fives, but they garnered no appreciation beyond the marchers, quite the contrary.

ADDENDUM:Censor advocate Ed Zucal was forced to drop the resolution, as he ended up standing alone.  Bernie O'Hare elaborates on Siegel's far left positions.

Ce-Ce Goes Through The Tunnel

When Ce-Ce started her involvement in Allentown years ago, I was a more than a supporter, I was a booster. I blogged about her several times.  Likewise, when she decided to run for city council, I supported her.  Recently, with her support of the Maingate Noise Exemption Zone, I became somewhat disillusioned.

I watched Ce-Ce's youtube before she marched with the local BLM that Saturday, when Allentown had just seen the Sacred Heart video taken by the passerby, which was somewhat out of context.  As both a council person and a woman of color, she was conflicted. Her conflict was understandable, her course of action is the problem.  Even when the full video became available, and the policeman was exonerated,  she remained entrenched with those challenging the city's police.

Others members of Allentown City Council are not conflicted. A resolution of censure was drafted toward her and Josh Siegel, because of things said and done while they actively participated in that protest march.  This weekend she participated in additional BLM protests, in Palmerton and Emmaus, even though there have been no incidents in either one of those communities.  A member of city council should understand that she represents the city,  especially with our neighboring municipalities.

In  facebook posts by the local BLM activists, we are told that if you support the Blue, you're against the BLM, it's one or the other.  I would hope that our city council members who are supporting the local BLM  are not against Allentown's Blue.  At any rate,  when Cc-Ce went through the tunnel this weekend to Palmerton, she left my support behind.

photo: Make The Road congratulates Ce-Ce last November