Molovinsky On Allentown has rented temporary space in Philadelphia to help in predicting Allentown's future. I use my father's old meat truck route all the way down Broad Street to get to the new office, which is high over the city near Rittenhouse Square. Although J. B. Reilly hopes for a taste of the sophistication which surrounds Rittenhouse, I think that he better not hold his breath. The area between Broad and Rittenhouse is full of beautiful classic buildings, unlike Allentown, where the older buildings have been demolished to make way for new plain mid-rises of architectural meagerness.
However, lets get back to the meat truck route. North Broad Street is a litter filled desolation of urban decay. Apparently gentrification doesn't spread like wildfire. I'm afraid that J. B. will have to learn how to clone the few millennials he supposedly attracted to the Stratas.
In conclusion, I give Reillyville a slight chance of success in terms of any energy resembling the Rittenhouse area of Philadelphia. Fortunately for him it's our tax money funding his NIZ. For Allentown beyond Linden and Walnut Streets, my best recommendation would be a trash can every ten feet. Maybe some of the litter will accidentally land in them.
photocredit:molovinsky
above reprinted from July of 2018
ADDENDUM MAY 19, 2022: The office was on the 43rd floor, and as you can see from my photo above, the view was quite spectacular. I'm revisiting these Philadelphia posts because of Tuesday's primary election. I was forced to give up the office because of a crime spree in center city Philadelphia, which I believe will factor in the upcoming election for governor...at least with my vote.
The problem is Allentown City Hall wants it both ways.
ReplyDeleteYou can't change Hamilton Street (or any part of the city) and keep feeding the "poverty magnet" (your term I believe) programs that draw low-income residents to the city. Allentown already has a disproportionate share of lower-income residents. This promotes a transiency in the city that is a downward spiral for both the city and the school district.
People with disposable income from outside the city aren't going to drive through areas where they don't feel safe in order to get to a government-funded oasis on Hamilton Street. Especially when they can drive 10 minutes in another direction and have better options right outside the city.
If City Hall were smart, they'd pursue policies that attract higher-income residents instead of those that draw an ever-changing transient population. Instead, city residents (and potential residents) get a higher earned income tax for working, higher property taxes for buying their own properties, a failing school district for their kids, and elected representatives that are increasingly hostile to those who are paid to keep the city safe.
Not a recipe for success, but one easy lesson that the city's elected officials could learn from Philadelphia and other major cities as policies that lead to failure.