This new scheme is being pushed by clothing store owner/city councilman Santo Napoli. We taxpayers are already dressing up all the non-NIZ buildings. Now, maybe if you could bring back Max Hess Jr., you might have someone who could bring people downtown.
Here's a suggestion... Instead of another non-profit staff to support, how about free parking, and use that $300k to compensate the Parking Authority for some lost revenue. Nobody wants a $28 ticket to come downtown to buy a shirt.
This sounds like there are a lot of empty seats at the Archer. Just like the Pawlowski Arena at Center Square
ReplyDeleteBuild them, they won't come.......
These facilities need promoters who know how to book shows that attract people to fill the seats, not non-profit siphons of money
Where do I start? People need two main things to be in place before they even consider coming downtown - free parking (as you note) and safety. That’s before they’ll even consider if there’s enough worthwhile downtown to visit on a consistent basis.
ReplyDeleteBut who feels safe going downtown? On your drive into the downtown area you might give witness to the latest shootings or hit and runs. If you’re lucky, those pops you hear are just fireworks. You might also wonder (that if you’re in trouble) who will hear your cries for help over all the loud music and engine-revving.
I will say again that the a large part of the problem is that city government is schizophrenic. On one hand they claim to want upscale shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. On the other, they will do everything they can to accommodate and draw the exact opposite crowd to the city.
You can’t have both, and throwing another $300,000 to promote downtown isn’t going to change anything. It’s time to choose whether we want to city to improve, or whether we want more decline.
You get what you fund, and right now City Hall is funding the wrong priorities.
Santo Napoli has proven to be a huge disappointment. Many had hope this businessman would bring some nuts and bolts commonsense to our vacuios city council. While his vocabulary seems to be grade above his fellow council people, his reasoning skills are a perfect match with the rest of the board. A word to Santo, you of all people should know nonprofits don't save a city or a downtown, business does. Get a clue.
ReplyDeleteIf I can take one more bite at the apple, I’d like to focus this comment more towards what a business needs to thrive, and how the city is performing there.
ReplyDeleteAllentown is the third largest city in the state, with a population of over 125,000 people, yet a downtown core of approximately 6 blocks struggles to survive. Re-read that and let that sink in. How can downtown possibly be struggling with that many people within the city’s borders? The answer: disposable income.
Unfortunately, Allentown has the highest poverty numbers in the Valley. Making it worse, city government currently champions policies that will only grow those numbers. About a month ago, a city council person stated at a public meeting that she wants to see a “community center” in EVERY neighborhood in the city, as if that was a sign of success instead of obvious failure.
Allentown needs more wealthy residents, not poorer ones, but its policies (including a higher earned income tax than the surrounding suburbs) keep the wealthy from wanting to live here. That leaves the city with two options:
Attract more suburbanites with money to come downtown or convince more city residents (with disposable income) to CHOOSE downtown. Again, we go back to “little things” like parking and safety. Why would suburbanites bypass better options closer to home with free parking and good security? If I’m living in Allentown and looking to go out to dinner, why would I go downtown to hassle (and pay) with parking just to be bombarded with noise and other issues if I choose to dine downtown. I’m already getting the noise and parking issues at home! So again, going downtown is the LEAST attractive option for those that downtown needs to attract. Yes, people with disposable income will sometimes choose downtown, but not consistently or in the numbers needed for downtown to thrive.
Which leads us to the next problem from a business perspective: traffic count.
It’s no secret that successful businesses need high traffic counts to thrive. But Allentown’s downtown is a grid of one-way streets that are not easy to navigate for those not familiar with the city. That’s strike one.
They’re also crowded at times, with traffic lights that seem to be timed to impede the flow of traffic instead of help to move it along safely. Then throw in a myriad of double-parked cars, bus stops and pedestrians (that ignore crossing signals) to slow things down even more. That’s all strike two, from a traffic count perspective.
So what could possibly make all that even worse? Maybe City Hall could permanently close some of the lanes of the main downtown intersection to all vehicle traffic. This will only reduce traffic counts further, as potential customers avoid the inevitable congestion and delays cause by this coming colossal blunder by city hall.
That’s strike three, but a better analogy would be game, set and match.
If I were a downtown business owner, I’d wonder why City Hall was trying to put me out of business. I’d also be doing everything I could to change the city’s leadership before they succeeded.
The number of wealthy homeowners in the West Allentown could triple and the downtown still would not thrive as a retail market.
DeleteAll good points. Having lived in A-town for some years now I am still peeved about the untimed lights which used to be timed and helped traffic run very smoothly. Then under our former jail bird mayor they were changed to be untimed as he stated the opinion that it was the easy flow of traffic that attracted criminals for the easy get-a-ways. As ridiculous as that sounds it seems this policy is still being carried out today. Every time I'm stuck at a light I'm happy of thinking of his lying, corrupt butt is still incarcerated.
DeleteThe "advertised" purpose for the very expensive centrally controlled traffic light system, we paid for, was to expedite traffic leaving the PPL arena. I note the traffic, aka attendance, has not lived up to the need for this system??? What peeves me, as mentioned by 9:08, is why the residents need to stop at nearly every block when it was once possible to roll in and roll out smoothly if you observed the speed limits.... a little computer adjustment of the "system" would cure that ill.
DeleteLet me get this straight.
ReplyDeleteYou already had the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance as the non-profit division of the Allentown Chamber of Commerce working in support of the downtown businesses. But now you have something called the Downtown Allentown Alliance, whose same mission is working to promote the same core of the city. But the DABA hasn't worked. The Allentown Chamber hasn't worked. Which means the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber hasn't really worked (but businesses are still probably still pumping dues -- oh, I'm sorry. "Membership investment incentives" -- into it.
Now, the city will pump at least $300k (and undoubtedly more will follow) into something that is exactly like everything else that has failed.
Allentown: Where if you do what you'll always done, you'll get what you always got.
anon@4:56: they were for a time making Allen students wear a uniform of sorts. Perhaps NIZ employees should have to wear a special shirt, purchased from Napoli's store...that would take care of him and save us money.
ReplyDeleteFor years now, ‘urban thug life’ has been featured throughout our daily existence. On television, in movies, at live performances. That involves a certain “who cares what you think, I’ll do whatever I want no matter who else is affected.” Our inner cities and schools reflect that better than anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteWell, productive people who work hard to actually PAY taxes and not just layabout all hours and consume on the dime of others reject that kind of disrespect. The ‘makers’ of society try not to hang out with the ‘takers.’ Allentown has built a well known reputation for tolerating, even encouraging, such irresponsible lifestyles. That city tends to look the other way and make excuses.
I say, “ NO THANKS.” I can find everything I need somewhere else nearby. With you, Allentown, I feel most vulnerable to unsavory characters and behaviors. I surely don’t want to use deserted, dirty parking decks with smelly staircase, then pay for that experience. Nor, be forced to drive around for blocks looking for open air parking that will probably annoy a bored someone hanging out nearby.
This new, more disrespectful American attitude makes staying close to home appealing.
The NIZ was essentially a real estate scheme, which has turned a millionaire into a billionaire. It has failed to transform Allentown because of the close by poverty neighborhoods, and the problems that curtails. Despite 1,500 Strata apartments, even a food court cannot survive. It is an urban office park...Period, end of story. Let Reilly promote it, he owns it.
ReplyDelete4:56 - My suspicion is that this is an attempt to offload the cost of promoting the downtown onto all taxpayers and take the responsibility of payment away from those who directly benefit.
ReplyDeleteImagine being a business owner in the city (but outside of downtown) and finding out that your tax dollars are now going to pay to advertise FOR YOUR COMPETITION.
Or imagine being the widow struggling to pay your city tax bill (which went up significantly this year to pay for a poorly-negotiated trash contract) so that you can pay the promotional costs for a real estate BILLIONAIRE.
Welcome to a new sense of fairness in Matt Tuerk’s Allentown. He couldn’t care less about you.
The Mayor is not involved in any of the important decisions effecting the development of Allentown. He is nowhere near the rooms where these decisions are taken.
DeleteI walk downtown about once a week and while the streetscape improvements in the 1100 and 1000 blocks of Hamilton are amazing, on a weekend morning, there's nobody there. The first step you take outside the NIZ you encounter 24 hour a day skunk weed smoke aroma, litter, garbage and poorly maintained rental units Even Dunkin Donuts at 9th & Hamilton appears barely able to get by on weekend mornings. Nowhere Coffee can only operate M - F 7:00 am to Noon. I was so excited about the NIZ 10 years ago, but all these years later and all the money spent, it just doesn't seem to work. It's become a glorified commuter village that shuts down at 5:00 pm M - F and on weekends. I'm not sure what can be done to populate the place with people.
ReplyDeleteJust watch TV69 news at noontime. The live camera behind the anchors shows just 6-10 people walking downtown during peak hours.
DeleteAs someone else mentioned, it would have been different if buffers of large surface parking lots surrounded downtown were created first. If you look at the overhead image of downtown it occupies about the same footprint as a very large indoor/outdoor shopping complex in the suburbs. Only that the suburban option is surrounded with more than enough open parking space rather than cheap row home rentals who are not exactly patrons of anything worthwhile.
The NIZ is a massive failure as some claimed it would be more than a decade ago.
The business under discussion will never succeed. This seems obvious. One wonders what the motivation is for such an ambitious project destined to fail.
ReplyDeleteCould blind hubris account for this folly?
Must be an intriguing back story here.
DeleteThe do mention the $300K as seed money to attract more grants. They mention certain people, and eventually having someone for each block :)
DeleteThe residential component of the NIZ was designed to accommodate thousands of young professionals and unban sophisticates eager to live the Center City experience. It was announced again and again.
ReplyDeleteBuild it and they will come!
The NIZ was a pipe dream from it’s inception but it was all done with free money so let the good times roll!
Councilman Napoli never misses an opportunity to remind everyone that he’s a business owner and that he is the best employer ever. At this most recent committee meeting, he pushed for promotions for the City employees because he claims as a business owner, he knows what it’s like to take care of people. It’s funny how he doesn’t pay very good wages at his shop but is more than willing to use taxpayer money to reward city employees who are already compensated rather well. Seems to be a common theme at council—spend, spend, spend. He should also take a look at the ethics rules and make sure he’s not violating any policy by continuously and shamelessly plugging his business at council.
ReplyDeleteMM, are you finally ready to admit what you knew all along?
ReplyDeleteArcher Music venue can not succeed in the crowded LV entertainment market at that location.
you may have me confused with a commenter at Allentown Chronicles (Facebook) who was enthusiastic about the venue. The last concert I went to was Peter, Paul and Mary in 1963.
DeleteWe were warned that a city the size of Allentown couldn’t sustain a second music venue (second to Symphony Hall). It comes as no surprise that the Archer has not brought in the numbers it projected. A new non profit sounds like a desperate idea. Poor Allentown tries so hard to be Easton, but it doesn’t work. Parking in a building isn’t something older folks with disposable income will do. The revolving door of restaurants doesn’t attract diners anyway. A new non profit won’t change that. I’m not going downtown to buy a shirt, even though I do support school uniforms. They made a difference in behavior, even for parents.
ReplyDeleteMichael, there are a lot of contributing factors to the demise of Downtown Allentown. As some people have previously noted…getting around downtown is not the easiest endeavor.
ReplyDeletePlus, who wants to come downtown and be harassed by the Parking Authority. They single handily have thrown up more reasons NOT TO VISIT Downtown (ie: Parking Kiosks)
The ability to sit in your home order things from the Internet. If they don’t please you… the ease of returning them back to Amazon has made the habits of people that shop for certain items completely different.
Plus, isn’t it interesting that the Allentown City Government CHASED OUT!!!! One of the highest grossing dollar stores in the country, that was located Downtown in the 700 block of Hamilton Street.
The Palowski administration didn’t even try to help them find another location in downtown. They just chased them out!!!! Their thought process was “Good Riddance”to the DOLLAR STORE! Now, in the suburbs you can’t pass a shopping center or a strip mall without seeing a Dollar Store somewhere in the mix of stores. Smart Move! by our Allentown City Officials. What a bunch of Einstein’s!!! Those bunch of clowns couldn’t run a lemonade stand successfully.
I would NOT encourage any person that was considering of locating or starting a business in Downtown Allentown. The odds are against you… along with the Parking Authority and City of Allentown.
Those #@$%^& parking kiosks... they're jammed up and not working more than working!!! The kiosk outside of city hall was down 2 years in a row when I went to pay my city tax... maybe we can go for 3 years in a row!!!
DeleteWhen I paid my school tax, I returned within 5 minutes to an officer writing a ticket... my payment failed to show up, glad I had my ticket stub!!! Bring the meters back and kick the kiosks to the curb!!! I'm a fan of neither, but the meters work.
Hey, it’s not even a half of a million dollars.
ReplyDeleteLighten up.
Not a Napoli fan. Has proven to be a yes man to the Mayor. Votes for whatever the Mayor wants, making it suspicious. He was sort of a favorite when he started but as stated on here has become a let down. Council members with businesses in the city are a big no,no. Bleeds corruption, kickbacks, and self interest.
ReplyDeleteJust the fact that my hard earned tax dollars continue to be thrown at that NIZ money pit revolts me. Seriously, I want nothing to do with that wasteful scam. I’m sure others feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I no longer set foot into New York City or Philadelphia either.
Allentown's fatal problem is the poor residential neighborhoods surrounding Hamilton Street. These neighborhoods were built predominately for single family homes and transportation by horse, not for the density of multi rental units and thousands and thousands of motored vehicles. The density of people and their vehicles now that now occupy these neighborhoods dooms them to chaotic, transient living, with trash, decay, litter, noise, and violence. These neighborhoods form a collar around Hamilton Street choking off any possibility of success. The NIZ is a failure. It does not address the real problem in Allentown, that is the horrible conditions and the poor quality of life in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. You can not put all the poor in one political subdivision and expect success no matter how much money you throw at it. The people who live in Allentown determine what kind of city it is. Building a city is first residential than commercial. Right now you've concentrated poverty which has repelled nearly all others and attracted big government panacea-type "solutions" that the past 60 years have proven do not work. It's amazing to me that I've seen, in my lifetime, Allentown go from this wonderful town to a pariah. It's been a long, incremental journey into this night. The hope it that what goes down must come up so it's all been part of a 50 year cycle and we've bottomed out and it's all up from here. Start addressing the real problem and stop sucking Allentown dry.
ReplyDeleteAllentown won’t hit the bottom in the lifetime of anyone reading these comments.
DeleteThis is payback to J.B. from Santo. Just check out his Campaign Finance Report. When him and another candidate were running for office they received almost $10,000.00 from the Allentown Fraternal of Police. In the political world this is called "Bundling". All one has to do is watch how people vote for certain things on Council and who it benefits. It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to see it. If this is truly a new non-profit the Mayor is involved. Non-Profits are his specialty. Just to think Ed Pawlowski is sitting in jail. Allentown is still the same old Allentown.
ReplyDeleteanon@10:19: So far today there was about a dozen comments I didn't print, and yours maybe should be among them. It's hard to imagine anybody, even Reilly, donating 10k to just two candidates, and through the FOP to boot. So far the new Hamilton Street isn't set up for shoppers. There isn't enough stores to have selection and or appeal, and I'm not sure Reilly even aspires for that in his office park. With the exception of Zucal, council seems very sycophantic to me. Gerlach and Santos preoccupied with social service, 'Affa and Hendricks with the APA, and Napoli and Mota with Tuerk.
DeleteThe current mayor never said a word that challenged the Pawlowski crime administration back in the day.
ReplyDeleteNot a single word.
10:19 - I think you need to supply more information before you even allege that a donation to Napoli from the F.O.P. was actually from Reilly.
ReplyDeleteYou’d have to go to the F.O.P.’s campaign finance report (for their PAC) and find the $10,000 contribution to them from Reilly. Then you’d have to see the contribution from the F.O.P. to Napoli shortly before or after that. And again, that’s just to allege that’s what happened (and I don’t think it’s illegal).
Also, “bundling” is a way to attribute multiple contributions through a single source, giving the bundler (usually a lobbyist) more clout since they are the ones bringing those multiple individual contributions in. It’s most often used in federal elections, to skirt campaign finance limits contributions to candidates, and the bundler turns over the multiple individual contributions (and the information needed for the campaign finance report) to the candidate (or more precisely to the candidate’s campaign committee).
You see it less at the state and local level because there are no limits on individual contributions to candidates. To get a similar effect, it’s more likely for a wealthy contributor to organize a fundraising event for a state or local candidate they support, and then invite their (similarly wealthy) friends to the fundraiser to meet and contribute to that candidate.
The current mess that is Allentown was created by politicians. Can it be improved by politicians? Possibly, but it’s probably best to, at least, vote for DIFFERENT politicians. I’m not eligible to vote in Allentown but, geez, what’s to lose by bringing in new people to take over control?
ReplyDeleteEnforcing quality of life ordinances and basic traffic laws makes a tremendous difference in any given community.
ReplyDelete1:07... Ya think??? Traffic enforcement could bring in a boatload of money and Allentown is always short of that commodity... On my street, they could hand out traffic citations 24 hours a day... may even solve some ancillary problems, too!!!
DeleteAllentown has no pidgeons flying around. There used to be the birds and pidgeons on Hamilton street to feed. It needs more benches to sit along the street also. What is wrong with some food carts? Selling hot dogs or burritos or maybe just ice cream cones? Also Downtown needs some cocktail lounges. Some chinese restraunts. It needs people places to attract people. What about stteet mimes? Bodegas? It needs things for people witih just a little money can enjoy downtown.
ReplyDelete1:28... Allentown HAD ALL the accoutrements you mentioned and they either went belly-up or TPTB blew them out... does the "House of Chen" ring a bell???
DeleteApparently all the "new" and "trendy" desired businesses all closed up for lack of business... too bad they couldn't leave the old and establishes places continue to exist but I suppose they weren't deemed a proper "fit" for our gloriously "revamped and reimagined" downtown...
Downtown Allentown is on the brink of a breakdown, I mean breakthrough. This $300,000 jump starts the piece that puts it all together.
ReplyDeleteAll that’s missing is a message.
This time next year Allentown will be another Easton.
A few million dollars in grant money will get the messaging out there.
ReplyDeleteMessaging is the missing piece.
Look out LMT, here comes downtown Allentown!