On Wednesday evening, optimistic victims of the Parking Authority went to City Council hoping for relief from the current punitive ticketing. Although an elaborate dog and pony show was staged, relief was never in the cards. Three of the Council members sit on the Parking Authority Board, and helped that agency design the current citizen punishments... the quintessential fox guarding the henhouse.
Council will never be able to safeguard citizens if they remain on the Parking Authority Board. Although that provision goes back to the Authority's creation in the early 1990's, it is now time to provide oversight, not complicity.
Matthew Tuerk, who preaches inclusion and diversity, slipped out of the meeting before the citizens realized that only disappointment was coming their way. Those who receive the most tickets are the poorest among us. He knew the evening's coming script, and had the police and fire chiefs there to defend current Authority policy.
While the Authority touted their new mini lot on 7th Street, they forgot to mention all the surface lots they sold off, for the gain of several developers.
Matt Tuerk talks a new day in Allentown, but as an old activist, I can tell you it is business as usual.
photo of Betty Cauler, whose efforts brought the reform attempt forward, trying to convince a stubborn city council.
There are so many parallels between Allentown City government operatives and the present mess we see as created by the junta in Washington, DC.
ReplyDeleteSo much needed change in philosophy and attitude will take several years to happen, if not longer.
Mike you mean to say he knew the design of the parking authority narrative before the meeting? Than he left it to the public servants to protect the minions of the parking authority. Him and the rest of the farce makers should be run out of town by the public with torches and pitchforks.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is suspect why he hightailed it out of chambers before the meeting even began considering his call to investigate the APA. Perhaps he knew it would be a dog and pony show and nothing would get accomplished. But CeCe and Ed are determined to get something done so there is that. Tuerk really needs to get new members appointed to the board ASAP as three sitting council members on the board, including the president, is a clear conflict of interest. It just amazed me how some members of council could not seem to understand the difference between having overnight enforcement available for dispatch calls but not "active patrols" to fulfill quotas. SMFH. As my friend commented, "There is some low-hanging fruit on city council."
Deleteanon@6:21: This situation with the APA and council has nothing to do with national politics. In the original APA mandate, there was supposed to be a council member. I believe that Affa was a APA board member long before she became a councilperson. Perhaps Napoli as a merchant also was on the board prior to council. I suspect Hendricks might be the council representative. BUT, obviously three council members on the APA board is a conflict, with council charged with approving APA initiatives.
ReplyDeleteTo your comment, words such as "junta" represent a partisanship I don't desire identified with this blog. Not all comments received will be published.
Michael, Thank you so much for coming out to the meeting on Wed. My friend nudged me and said, "There's Michael Molovinsky!" You are still a rock star when it comes to the APA! And it was a real honor to meet you after following your posts for many years. You truly are my inspiration!
Deleteanon@7:07: Council meetings always have an official agenda. People are always assigned, appointed and requested to make presentations.
ReplyDeleteThe meeting was "reported" on by the MC, 69, LVL, LVN. As a blogger, I posted a commentary. Although I don't purport to be "objective", as an old blogger I have much more institutional knowledge than most, if not all the reporters.
Tuerk need not fear tar and feathers, he is very popular.
I've heard APA get bashed for years. There is a problem with most of the basher's thinking. Owning a car requires financial responsibilities and a parking space is one of those responsibilities. The city and it's taxpayers are not responsible for providing and maintaining a parking space for your car. I lived downtown for years and, as a renter, I had to rent a parking space and I had a bit of a walk from the parking space to my house. It's one of the realities of living in a city, any city. One reason people moved out of downtown was to have off-street overnight parking on your own property, for which you pay taxes. The idea of a city providing residents free parking is flawed thinking to begin with. Merchants, however, deserve a break for their customers who might bring a little income into the city. I'm not really sympathetic when I hear people with unpaid parking tickets rant against APA. The decision to park illegally rests with the driver who is making that decision. As usual, disregard for the rules gets you in trouble. It's really pretty simple; don't park where you shouldn't, or when you shouldn't, and you won't get a ticket. I've seen people on Linden Street crumple up tickets and throw them on the street- this isn't going to make the ticket go away, it just compounds the situation, and again- a disregard for the rules. The city, any city, doesn't owe you free parking.
ReplyDeleteAs a resident in the West End who has enjoyed "off-street overnight parking on [my]own property, for which [I] pay taxes" for 26 years but now suddenly getting ticketed for parking on said property on a street with no parking restrictions you can bet I am bashing the APA. Enforcement officers are not properly trained in reading ordinances and are obviously not able to notice if a street has no "NO PARKING" signs. The APA is revenue-driven and therefore aggressive in ticketing to fulfill quotas (although they vehemently deny that) in order to continue to feed the beast. Executive Director John Morgan makes close to $170,000 a year (plus regular $10,000 bonuses) and lives in Scotch Plains, NJ. The mayor of Allentown only makes $95,000. And with three sitting members of City Council, including the current president, on the board there is a clear conflict of interest when bringing complaints about the APA before the council. Our legitimate issues are mostly ignored although the increase in attendance at meetings is garnering some superficial attention. I make my tickets "go away" by bringing them before a magistrate whose first question is always, "Are there any 'NO PARKING' signs on this street?" Granted, the downtown is a whole different can of worms but the same overzealous practices ensue there as well. APA officers have no conception of ethics when it comes to ticketing a business owner unloading his produce who has to double park because there are supposedly no loading zone spaces allowed on Hamilton Mall (although I can't find that in any of the city ordinances). With no back door to his establishment and therefore no alley access, what is he to do? And if his truck is clearly marked with the restaurant name and he is parked in front of his clearly-marked business for less than 5 minutes why is he continually getting $100 tickets? What's your solution if you even have one? It's easy to spout the old "don't park where you shouldn't, or when you shouldn't, and you won't get a ticket" BS. There are many sides to this issue. "Quality of life" is important for everyone concerned, including those of us who have been unfairly targeted. We are taking the necessary steps to get changes but have been thus far stymied by council members who promise to "get in touch" but never do or who sit in council meetings making faces or yawning as residents voice their concerns. People's lives are being affected by this so please stop with the self-righteous pontificating and look at both sides of the issue. It’s time to end the “Poor People’s Tax.”
DeleteI have to commend the anonymous comment written at 10:20. This simple explanation as to a City's responsibility along with it's taxpayers is informative and realistic. It is time to stop blaming those involved with monitoring what are in essence "quality of life" issues for helping to keep order in a growing City with ever increasing demands.
ReplyDeleteA growing city grows, and doesn’t keep archaic language in their ordinances that even the APA has said needs to change.
DeleteBetty @12:46: Although I've taken the APA to task over the years (I documented that they fabricated a survey that the merchants "wanted" a meter increase) I never had the results you generated just so far...I never got them to even propose any change.
ReplyDeleteBetty@1:00: While Ed and Ce-Ce may want change, it appears that Daryl and Candida do not. I do not believe that there should be more than one council member on the APA board. I'll "walk back" Tuerk "slipping out". I do not know what other obligations he had Wednesday evening.