At the end of 2000, despite the majority of neighbors in opposition, The West Park Historic District was enacted. The City Administration, City Council and The Morning Call all cooperated in ignoring the true sentiments of the property owners and the State guidelines to implement what they felt was the public good. The presented documents were mailed to the opposers in a final report, return address: How You Were Cheated. My intention is to show how we must guard and fight against this sort of assumption by our elected leaders. I mean no offense to my friends who were on the other side of this issue.
click on documents to enlarge
above reprinted from February 5, 2008
ADDENDUM OCTOBER 28, 2025:The three Allentown historic districts have just been surveyed and digitalized. It is not the intention of this post to delegitimize the West Park District. Over twenty-five years have passed since the above cheating took place, many owners have come and gone. The message, however, is that historic districts, and even history, isn't always what you read.
I'm not here to be polite or popular
Lord Mike, This is pathetic. You lost and you can't handle it. Twenty years later you are still stewing about it. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Yeah...we cheated, go ahead and hang onto that narrative if it brings you comfort. But as we have been friends for a long time, let me offer some advice. Let it go. You will be far happier as a result.
ReplyDeleteScott@8:22: This post resulted from the fact that State Historic Office last week surveyed all the properties in Allentown's three districts. I think that it is historically interesting that the city lied to the state in 2000 that the majority of the homeowners wanted the district, because that was the requirement for inclusion. I think that it is interesting that the MC reporter knew that the majority was actually against it, and didn't report the facts. BTW, it's not a narrative, I provide the addresses.
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting that you don't find pathetic or sad that Trump and the Republicans complain that the 2020 election was stolen from them (and you). Let it go, you will be far happier.
Wow Mike! Let's take the way back machine to refight a battle you lost two decades ago. I guess your narrative must be true that the evil homeowners, and the evil civic association, in league with the evil Mayor Bill Heydt, and evil Community Development director Ross Marcus(who was also. at the same time, an evil Democrat) pulled a fast one on the noble landlord class that was objecting to the creation of the "historic District". Lord what a betrayal of public trust and you have the evidence to prove it. Thank heaven the statute of limitation as no doubt run out, or myself and the one or two other people who even remember this shameful episode would be lawyering up.
DeleteScott@10:25: I'm not refighting the battle, you are. I clearly stated that the purpose of this 2008 reprint was NOT to revamp the historic district. BTW, the vast majority of the objectors were homeowners, not landlords.
ReplyDeleteActually Mike you are, and clearly you are still angry about it. I've lost a fair number of fights myself in the city but I spend zero time thinking about them. I will only add that the WPCA began moving, at least a full year before the council vote. We had a lot of hoops to jump through and meet certain benchmarks that included informing residents of the planned creation of an Historic District. We held public informational, question and answer meetings for residents and one specifically for out of town landlords. Never was opposition to the plan expressed by more than a few individuals and none of them expressed any interest in opposing us moving forward. All this time we were working with the city and with city council doing everything by the book. When community development and council was satisfied we had met the necessary parameters a vote was scheduled. The day before the vote your group presented this list of opposers. Council members told me the fact that your side waited until the last minute to make any protest to what had been a very public process discredited your effort. They also told me, what was being said about the historic district by your group was factually incorrect. Afterwards I heard as much from several of the people on that list who confirmed that what they were told wasn't true. Finally, if at any time during the year long public process, if it became evident that there was significant opposition to our plan we would have abandoned the effort. Clearly that didn't happen and council saw that as well.
ReplyDeleteA couple of comments:
ReplyDelete1). Not getting into how it came to be, I would argue that the West Park historic district has been a positive for the city. It’s held up much better than the surrounding neighborhoods. I guess when you hold people to a higher standard, you get better results. Who would have thought?
2). As to the politicians who voted for it, I think it’s important to note that all of them are no longer in office. So they certainly felt the wrath of those homeowners who were opposed to the district.
On point #2, if only those who voted for the historic district had distanced themselves President Clinton (or then Bush), they might still be in office. And in Allentown, that could even include those that are no longer with us on this Earth.
anon@1:37: I agree with you on point 1., that the district certainly did the West Park Neighborhood no harm, and perhaps good. I credit the WPCA (and Scott) for years of hard work watching out for the neighborhood.
DeleteScott@1:09: I assure you that I'm not angry about it, and haven't thought about it for years, until yesterday. The Lehigh Valley News had an article about how the state historic board was in town to digitize the records from the three districts.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, you're very defensive about it, Everything you wrote is nonsense. The opposition also worked for months, sending letters to all the property owners and getting responses. FURTHERMORE, for the state to certify the district, the majority of the property owners had to be on board, which they were not. Council had to approve the application, but it was the state which had to approve the district. The numbers presented to council were fudged, and council knew it, but approved it anyway. The fudged numbers were then sent to Harrisburg. End of story.
Exhibit A, " Everything you wrote is nonsense."
DeleteExhibit B, "The opposition also worked for months, sending letters to all the property owners and getting responses."
Exhibit C, you don't even attempt to refute the fact that many of your signers were mislead about what the impact of the historic district would impose on them.
Exhibit B, You provide evidence of my point that you/your effort stayed underground.
" The opposition also worked for months, sending letters to all the property owners and getting responses."
You never publicly expressed opposition in any number. Again, if it had become clear during the process that any significant number of homeowners were opposed we would have dropped the effort. Funny how I, as the leader of the effort was never given a copy of the letter you sent to homeowners, nor did any of the many people I personally knew in the proposed district receive one. If they had they surely would have passed it to me out of concern or for clarification. Again, you only have yourself to blame for choosing to wait until the very last minute to oppose. Clearly that tactic was viewed with deep suspicion all around.
Exhibit C, Afterwards, as live in the neighborhood, over time I talked to many of these signers and had the opportunity to correct the record and set them straight on the facts.
Mike, you have been a great advocate for parks, and you among others have had the courage to speak out when few dared. You and me, even as friends have glared menacingly at each other at council fighting over this issue, Rental Inspections, or something else. One time, we had my wife worried we were on the brink of exchanging blows outside. We were younger then. Ah the good times!
Scott@2:41: You always have a. compulsion to have the last word. In reality, neither of us could do more to substantiate our claim than actually provide the names and addresses of the homeowners, which I have done. The objectors were not mislead, they simply didn't want to be regulated about what they could or could not do with their own home. It is somewhat ironic to be having this discussion with Mr. Republican of West Park.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't! (Note humor)
DeleteThis blogspot has been pregnant with irony as of late.
ReplyDelete