Now, if I have my numbers wrong, don't blame me. The state house voted down Jarrett Coleman's proposal for a real audit. Joining the panel discussion with Miller was a City Center spokeswoman, and a merchant. Also you shouldn't blame the new reporter, he doesn't know that he's beating an old drum.
Talking of that old drum, I wonder who is still listening to it? Someone recently told me that they were billed hundreds of dollars a month when their subscription promotion expired. Here you might also get distorted news, but at least it's free!
Back around 2010, before I was banned from the Morning Call's chat forum (do they still have one? I stopped my subscription to the Call's electronic edition in 2019 when my mom passed) I said that no one would go to these new buildings in the NIZ because of Allentown's crime problem.
ReplyDeleteWell, it wasn't just the crime, which nothing was really done about, but also the fact that many of the retail outlets that Reilly has approved for his Potemkin village have been either unaffordable for most Allentonians (Allentown today is not a wealthy city, both its residents as well as its municipal government) as well as the truly eclectic choice of retail outlets he has selected.
I visited the "Allentown Market" on my last trip to Allentown last fall. Quite honestly, there was nothing in the place that interested me enough to buy anything. Or in fact, any of the outlets in the "Arts Walk" had anything I wanted to buy.
Now, I do not drink alchohol, so that means most of the bars in the NIZ i'm not going to frequent. Also the restraunts in the NIZ are quite expensive, especially for the average Allentonian if they want to risk their personal saftey by going into the NIZ.
Reilly isn't going to give up control of whom he allows into his properties so expect to see more Ethiopian barbecues and other types of places come and go.
I miss the Kopper Kettle and other places that used to be on Hamilton Street in years past.
Oh, I do not know if this is considered "off topic" but has the Archer Music Hall been drawing many people? Also has the new trendy hotel at 10th and Hamilton ... "Moxy" been busy?
DeleteI always wondered how the Renaissance Hotel did between hockey seasons. Does the arena on Center Square have enough attractions to keep it going? I know the Arena/Renaissance complex was pre-NIZ, but it is in the middle of it... literally. So was the Cosmopolitan, and that is no longer around.... and still dark after several years of being shuttered.
Every time I visit the arena is dark. And I don't want to stay downtown either. I prefer the suburbs to stay at when I visit.
Brent@5:49:The arena/Renaissance are NIZ. While the first floor entrance belongs to the arena, the upper floors are Reilly. I do not know how the Archer, Moxy or Renaissance are doing. The Cosmopolitan was never NIZ, was built right before, and was the last private significant investment in Allentown. It was too high end to begin...it was a hobby venture for a very wealthy couple. By its second incarnation, the market was too competitive for the limited foot traffic downtown.
DeleteThe only ones calling 10th & Hamilton "trendy" and "up and coming" are Tuerk, City Center and the media that parrot their press releases. I was there this past Saturday morning and "trendy" Nowhere Coffee was closed, there were no "trendy" people and I was almost run off the sidewalk by some "outer ring" guy on a motorized scooter.
DeleteYes, “amazing” is an adjective that’s certainly appropriate.
ReplyDeleteAdding to all to perceived problems in downtown Allentown that help to make the NIZ so unattractive to area residents who could (if they chose to) drive in and patronize business is an overall RESENTMENT of the whole scheme. These are the actual taxpayers who are being fleeced by an obvious, yet never-ending money pit.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if you are forced to be downtown for your job you have no choice. If you are a hockey fan, or find a rare music performance in town you can’t resist seeing live, you’re good to go, probably oblivious to anything else.
The Morning Call would be a lot more palatable if it could refuse to run so much government controlled, ultra liberal propaganda. I pass right over all of those articles. I can page through each minimal size edition in about 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI still subscribe, but the Morning Call has never been of such little value to me. Far more trustworthy reading can be found on the internet.
I know someone who just started working downtown. Has a view of the nine hundred block of Hamilton. Says it's a ghost town. At lunch a few people appear but them and a sprinkling of colorful and/or nefarious folk are all he sees all day.
ReplyDeleteScott@9:17: As I stated previously, I do believe that the residential conversion of both PPL buildings, along with the Archer venue, will help foster life on Hamilton.
DeleteAs someone with the long view of the rental market in center city, who do you believe will be the people likely to rent a unit in the PP&L tower?
Deleteanon@1:27: The views will be the draw for older childless couples. Hopefully, the view we be able to sustain their interest, because Hamilton Street doesn't have the amenities of a normal urban center.
DeleteAgreed. Hamilton Street has many of the challenges of a downtown such as crime and quality of life issues but none of the amenities. I'll be very interested to see how the PPL building works out. It would be amazing if the PPL building could somehow be the catalyst that causes a chain like Giant to bring in an urban grocery store like the one at 23rd & Arch Sts in Philadelphia.
DeleteFor whatever reason, the published version I saw had the sub headline saying "experts" instead of "leaders." I'm reminded of that satirical motivational poster that said "Leaders are like eagles...we don't have either one of those here."
ReplyDelete