The new oligarchy consists of much fewer men, they could all met at a small table in Shula's, and be entertained by watching street people arrested. The former 1st National Bank location is now a new Reilly building. The former Livingston Club building is now a parking lot, and future site to another Reilly building. Shula's is also a Reilly building....
reprinted from August 19, 2015
ADDENDUM DECEMBER 12, 2024:I can't say where the current oligarchy can meet, because the restaurants now have a short shelf life. But, they don't need a large table, just big enough for Reilly and a couple Jaindls'. Perhaps they would also invite Sy Traub, he's been at the table since the NIZ began, as consigliere. I suspect that if the ghosts of Farr, Miller and Leh looked at all the new privately owned buildings, which are paid for with public tax money, they would feel pretty small compared to the new players.
what about the Hogan's club, might you find a few big shots tipping back Jumbo Martinis and plotting for the elimination of a very cunning silver fox?
ReplyDeleteBecause the above comment was sent anonymously, I cannot say with certainty who it is from. I can say that because anonymous comments can be sent to this blog through the blogspot format, that I have received hundreds and hundreds of such trolling comments from the same person. Of course I have no doubt who it is from, neither does former DA Jim Martin or the current DA office. If there is a lesson from the recent tragedy in NYC, it is that such troll's danger to the public should not be ignored, especially over "conflict of interest" and other excuses which endanger the public.
DeleteThe silver fox? The three-time criminal defendant that WAEB settled for $5 Million with Jim Martin for allowing to lie on the air? The nut who posts photoshopped images of violence against women?
DeleteHave to wonder about the ability of Allentown’s Chief Oligarch Reilly to continue enlarging his empire. Let’s assume he finds space downtown for a new multi-high rise (30+story per each building) office park, costing several billion to create.
ReplyDeleteI’m not aware of how such a grandiose plan can be denied, nor by whom. There must be some cap set on his group’s ability to use our taxpayer dollars. I believe this is the essence of what Senator Coleman is trying to establish.
In any event, it appears the same NIZ scheme has not been duplicated in any other Pennsylvania city. That’s nice to see!
Pat Browne had as a long term incumbent accumulated an enormous amount of influence, enough to pass legislation that only benefitted Allentown, at the expense of every other municipality in the state. And that power continued beyond his elected time, as Shapiro appointed him Revenue Director. Jarrett Coleman's tenacity as a freshman senator to inject some accountability is courageous.
DeleteAnon 7:54 said: "In any event, it appears the same NIZ scheme has not been duplicated in any other Pennsylvania city. That’s nice to see!"
DeleteMy response is simply: "That was the idea."
The Livingston Club was where the money men of Allentown gathered to discuss various projects and how the city would remain prosperous and economically grow. This would include bankers, retailers, lawyers, politicians, generally the well-connected who could deal with these matters amoungst themselves.
ReplyDeleteNow what Allentown has are real estate developers, using the Commonwealth as a piggy bank embarking on essentially no-risk projects to enrich themselves. Allentown tears down old buildings and puts up architechtually debatable new ones, but that is really where it ends. Yes, the developer finds a tennant for HIS new building (we all know who actually pays for it, but has no say in the decision-making about what it is used for) that leases it, however that's about it, The developer's interest is putting up buildings. They may have tenants, they may not, and really that is a secondary source of revenue as the main source of revenue for him is the profit on the construction.
In the past, the boys at the Livingston were looking to the future for buisness and commerce, not putting up a buiding on the monopoly board; i.e., the lot on Hamilton Street (if you consider Allentown like a monopoly board).
The NIZ is the exact opposite as the boys at the Livingston who had the buisness lined up, then worked out the details of the real estate to house the buisness.
And also, who considers addressing the causes of the decline of the Hamilton Street commerce district? Are those issues addressed? I doubt it. Hamilton Street is even deader now than it was before all the new buildings. Our good mayor from Chicago got rid of the last of the buisnesses there by removing them and condemning their properties though government coercion (eminent domain).
As someone who supported the former merchants and attended meetings at city hall with them, eminent domain was threatened, but it never had to be utilized.
DeleteYes, Mike, eminent domain was threatened in such a manner that the implication was that you'll get "much less" if you go thru eminent domain... yes, scare tactics. The government always gets it's #$%^&* babyland way. Witness the poor woman with the beauty shop with first class apartments above... they bulldozed her real good. I believe she pulled up stakes and went to Emmaus and reopened her shop. I hope it was ultimately a good move for her.
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