A Fitting Birthday Present

In a recent puff piece in The Morning Call about Allentown's 250th birthday, Mayor Ed Pawlowski used the phrase, "City Without Limits," no less than three times. What does that slogan mean?
First, let me tell you that it is just a slogan, created by a paid image consultant. How ironic that the current leadership in Allentown, which was the sanctuary of the Liberty Bell and a bastion of industrial America, can only describe our city in paid-for, meaningless slogans. Truth be told, the current leadership has no institutional memory of Allentown. They didn't live here when Allentown was the All-American City. The proposed hockey arena is referred to as "transformational."
Allentown was transformational in creating the American dream. "Built like a Mack truck" was a meaningful slogan. It meant the people of Allentown had the work ethic and skill to produce the best. The Western Electric plant on Union Boulevard first produced transistors and then silicon chips as Lucent. A hundred factories required several train lines to haul raw material and finished products in and out of Allentown. Hess Brothers taught store owners all over the country how to merchandise their products.
Before somebody reminds me that there is no more strawberry pie at the Patio Restaurant in Hess's basement, let me get back to 2011. If we are to celebrate our 250th birthday, let us honor some historic icons that still exist. In the mid-1930s our park system benefited from magnificent stone structures built by the Works Progress Administration during Roosevelt's New Deal program. These icons of our nationally known park system are in need of major restoration, if they are to remain standing. Such a restoration would be a most fitting tribute to our upcoming birthday.
Michael Molovinsky

The above, titled as A Slogan Won't transform Allentown, was printed in The Morning Call on Saturday, November 12, 2011.

An American Hero

This painting, by aviation artist Mark Postlethwaite, based on World War 2, illustrates an actual air battle; Focke Wulf Fw 190D-9 of 14/JG26 flown by Ofw. Werner Zech is intercepted by a P-51 Mustang of the 339th FG flown by Captain Francis R. Gerard, 18th March 1945. Frank Gerard was one of our flying aces, shooting down four enemy aircraft from his Mustang in one battle over Leipzig, Germany. The retired Major General passed away this week and will be buried tomorrow with full military honors.

reprinted from November 5, 2008

A Tailor from North Street

The Allentown Housing and Development Corp. recently purchased a home at 421 North St. That block of North Street was destroyed by fire, and the agency has built a block of new houses on the street's south side; it will next develop the other side of the street. The deed transfer caught my attention because Morris Wolf lived in the house in 1903. Wolf signed up with the Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on July 18, 1861, in Philadelphia, when he was 22 years old. He was a private in Company A, of the 3rd Cavalry. This unit was also known as the 60th Regiment and was later called Young's Kentucky Light Cavalry.It defended Washington, D.C., until March 1862, then participated in many of the war's most famous battles: Williamsburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Wolf had signed up for three years and was mustered out Aug. 24,1864.

Recently, to commemorate Memorial Day, the local veterans group placed more than 500 flags at Fairview Cemetery. If that wasn't enough of a good deed, the group also set upright more than 300 toppled grave markers. Visiting Fairview recently, I saw they had not overlooked the graves of either Mr. Wolf, or another veteran, Joseph Levine. I have concerned myself with Allentown's Fairview Cemetery for the last few years. I first became interested in the small Jewish section, called Mt. Sinai. This was the first organized Jewish cemetery in Allentown. Currently, all the synagogues have their own cemeteries, and Mt. Sinai has been mostly unused for many decades.

Mr. Wolf lies next to his wife, Julia, who died in 1907. Morris would live on for 30 more years, passing away in 1937, at age 98.
Mr. Levine, a World War II veteran, and his wife, Ethel, were the first and last people to be buried there after almost 25 years of inactivity. When Ethel died at age 93 in 2000, it was the first burial at Mt. Sinai since 1976. Joseph was 103 years old when he passed away in 2006.

The Housing and Development Corp. and North Street are now part of Allentown's new neighborhood initiative called Jordan Heights.Although soon there will be a new house at 421 North St., there is a history that will remain with the parcel. Once a tailor lived there who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.

reprinted from July 4, 2010 and June 7, 2011

Mayo Can't Add

I was disappointed when the new acting superintendent, Russ Mayo, said he planned on going forward with Zahorchak's Pathway to Success, but chalked it up to politeness for a departing associate. I assumed that Mayo would gradually undo his predecessor's damage. Yesterday's newsletter said that the current principal of Allen, Michael Rodriguez, was leaving for another district. I assumed that Keith Falko would now be returned; Does not 1 + 1 = 2? Have not the discipline problems at Allen been headlines in the newspaper? Was not Falko revered as a disciplinarian? In a previous post I wrote that Falko should be returned to Allen. Apparently, although boots on ground also had made the same suggestion, here's Mayo's answer

Keith Falko will continue to assist us at the district level with the ASD program of study, the Dual Enrollment effort, the high school graduation initiative grant, and with assisting the ASD middle and high school principals during this transition. “Keith’s experience in this district, his expertise, and general wisdom is invaluable to me personally,” commented Dr. Mayo. “I want his expertise influencing this district as a whole. I appreciate the interest many of the faculty and staff have in his returning to Allen as principal, but his influence district-wide is even more valuable to us.”

Fortunately, for the neighbors and parents of Allen, there is a new player in the game. On Tuesday, voters elected Scott Armstrong to the School Board. Like David Zimmerman, Scott lives in the Allen neighborhood and has first hand knowledge of conditions at the school. I believe that together they will provide some much needed tutoring to Mayo about how to restore civility to that neighborhood.
UPDATE: The above commentary was based on a news release issued yesterday by the Allentown School District. In today's Morning Call, reporter Steve Esack details the consequences of poor decisions by former Superintendent Zahorchak. In my opinion, nothing in the article suggests that we can expect much better from current acting superintendent Russ Mayo.
UPDATE 2: I've been informed that the school district has been audited personnel wise, in regard to the grant that removed the four principals from their original positions. Consequently, Falko cannot return to Allen. With Rodriguez's departure, the system now has lost 3 of the 4 principals that were doing a good job before Zahorchak chased that grant, without the School's Board's knowledge.

One Party Town

Peter Schweyer attributed his victory to the voters overwhelmingly approving the vision being implemented by him and his fellow Democrats. He ignored the fact that the vast middle class voted with their feet, and moved out of Allentown in the last decade. Jeanette Eichenwald attributed her victory to spending no money on the campaign. Frank Concannon, 88 years old, confided that he did no campaigning at all and conceded It's a little strange. As I mentioned in a previous post, no Republican has won in Allentown since 2003. In 2005, Republican candidate for City Council Charlie Thiel, paid to have billboards put up throughout the city, to no avail. This cycle, Republican Eric Weiss knocked on hundreds of doors, and was aided by two mailings from the LVAR-PAC. We are a one party town. The new electronic voting machines make the one party pick easier than ever. With the old lever machines, a voter could see all the candidate names before them on the machine. Now. the new electronic machine asks if you would like to be a one party monkey, and apparently, the vast majority push yes.

The Mohican Markets

Once, before the malls, there were three thriving cities in the Lehigh Valley, and some merchants would have a store in each of the downtowns. Some of the buildings still exist, and have been reused; the Allentown Farr (shoe) Building is now loft apartments. Two of three Mohican Market buildings, famous for baked goods, no longer exist. The Easton location, on S. 4th St., was victim to fire. The Allentown store now is the parking lot behind the new Butz office building. The Mohican Markets were last owned and operated by Bernard Molovinsky.

recipe for Mohican Chocolate Chip Brownies

Kingdom At Stevens

On Saturday afternoon, Stevens Park, a large center city playground, teemed with festivity. As the parents and older kids swayed to the Latin beat from a live band, children at the other side were entertained with craft activities. In between, large stands provided free hot food. The event was sponsored by Kingdom Life Family Center, an outreach ministry based in Orefield. After leaving the park, I decided to visit some merchants who are relocating to 7th Street from Hamilton. On 7th, I encountered the Pastor of the Ministry, Tony Adamo. It is his hope to secure a storefront in that vicinity, and establish a full time presence in Allentown. That would be a blessing.

Secrets From The Shadow

The headline in the paper said that infamous developer, Abe Atiyeh, might monkey wench Pawlowski's Palace of Sport with a lawsuit. It says that he has been a tenant in the building since 2004. That's not exactly true, he's been a tenant on the building* since then. Nobody has used the inside of the building for many years. Regardless of Atiyeh's weak case as a displaced tenant, his other points are right on target. The threat and passage of eminent domain was, as he claims, a misuse of that law. Also, as he claims, the building is not blighted. Matter of fact, this blog reported on a luncheon given by Pawlowski and Realtors several years ago to promote the building.While Pawlowski and crew were serving lunch in a winterized building with no running water, a coffee shop across the street, in the Monument building, was being cited for multiple code violations. I suppose the status of a building in Allentown depends on the Mayor's agenda.

*Atiyeh has a small sign advertising his nursing home in Whitehall painted on the side of the building. Atiyeh has a long term lease for that sign which has been conveyed to several owners. Because the sign will be covered up by the adjoining Arena, he seeks compensation.

Would Be Kingmaker

There's a new factor in Lehigh Valley politics, and it's the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors. Valley voters have received no less than four slick mailings from the LVAR-PAC. Their mailing placing a Democrat with an organized slate of Republicans was the topic of a previous post. Their second mailing for this hybrid team now identifies the team as bipartisan. An Allentown City Council candidate has also benefited from two of their mailings.
Ryan Conrad, who has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in political science. became CEO of the Realtors Association this past September. Before becoming a Realtor, he worked for various elected officials in New York State. Ryan is vice president of the Township Commissioners in Lower Macungie. Look for more voting advice from your friendly neighborhood real estate professional.

Pawlowski's Palace of Sport

Although the Arena/Concert Venue will not open for over a year, attendance is already down over 1 million people. Only several months ago, Mayor Pawlowski told City Council that the Center would attract 1.5 million people annually. Earlier, he used the figure of two million. Although his current figure of 500,000 is more realistic, there's still no lack of sugarplums. The Morning Call uses the term vision, hallucination would be more accurate. The best guess estimate for the 40 home hockey games would be 200,000, requiring an additional draw of 300,000 for concerts. Between the lines, his mention that real estate taxes may be necessary to finance the project, is the writing on the wall. Also translating political speak into english, there are no plans, whatsoever, for parking and traffic. His claim that the hockey fans will visit upscale restaurants and stores after the games is beyond wishful thinking.

Here is the Shadow Mayor's* take; The square block White Elephant will sit dormant most days and nights of the year, creating a ghost town feeling, sucking whatever life downtown had remaining. Stores and restaurants, induced by grants and incentives, will wither and drop away when the owners must start reaching into their own pockets. On the sixty or so nights a game or event takes place, the restaurants will do virtually no business, as the fans scurry back to their cars afterwards. Welcome to the bitterness of the sugarplum's reality.

*a self anointed title I bestowed upon myself

Picture of Dedication

Lou Hershman in the past has served as Controller for a total of has 24 years. During his tenures, there were never any questions about where and how taxpayer money was spent. Who knows where to look, and what to look for, better than Lou Hershman. Lou's not a good public speaker, but as an accountant, he's great with numbers. It's hard to imagine a more dedicated man offering his services to the city. I think even if I was a straight Democrat lever puller, a real party man, I would vote for Hershman, just to keep the game honest. The controller makes no policy decisions, he only safeguards the budget. Of course, I suppose a town as prosperous as Allentown, need not concern itself with cash issues.

Gentrification Day in Allentown

And let’s be quite honest, the intention of this project and the redevelopment of downtown is to remove the stores that bring lower incomes to downtown. Discount sneakers, $1 stores, urban clothes, cheap jewelers, cell phone repair, and barber shops are not (the) answer, they are the past and on 10/31 they will be gone! Now it is time that we take back our downtown and make it in what we want it to look like.....Gentrification is not a bad word Future Downtown Arena Attendee

Today was D day, or should I say G day, for the merchants displaced by the arena. Future Attendee, who has become the De Facto voice of the Administration on this blog, looks forward to the transformation. According to Future, he's in attendance at all Council Meetings, and may well be connected with the regime. I have been told, but have not confirmed, that this blog, along with O'Hare's Ramblings, have been blocked from city computers. I do not have an issue with the Administration's desire for a more upscale downtown, the problem was the method. Such change, if successful, would have been organic, with a level playing field. If gradual market forces would have made the merchant's property more valuable as real estate, than businesses, they would have been eager sellers. Such a transition would not have compromised the merchants rights, and not made the taxpayers potentially liable for the project's failure. This blog is proud to have been a voice for the merchants, and wishes them the best success in their new locations.

An Independent Lady

Although Allentown City Council is currently composed of all Democrats, there is an independent voice. On the vote for approving Eminent Domain, the only dissenting vote came from Jeanette Eichenwald. Whenever a group is being disenfranchised, they have an ally in Eichenwald. Her passion for prejudice reduction is well known in the community, and always supercedes any party affiliation or loyalty. Eichenwald's campaign budget for this coming election is $0.00. She feels that it's inappropriate for financial support to be a factor in City Council Elections. The moral compass in the Council Chamber has always pointed to her seat on the dais.

New Slate Member

Last week I received the oversized postcard with the Republican Slate for County Commissioners. These giant postcards have become the mailer of choice for politicians. Although there are four open seats, and four Republicans running, the Slate only contains three members; Scott Ott, Lisa Scheller and Vic Mazziotti. It seems that the fourth Republican, Brad Osborne, wasn't part of the cooperative effort stemming back to the primary. It's my understanding that the Slate was created to oust Dean Browning, for not toting the party line. Frankly, such political nuances don't interest me. I prefer to dwell on the issues, not the characters. As I approached my special archival container for political mailings, I noticed that the Slate now had a fourth member. Putting on my special glasses for political mailings, I saw that it was Geoff Brace. How could this be? The card was practically identical to last weeks, but the new, forth member is a Democrat? Turning the card over, the name linkage continues. Ott, Scheller, and Mazziotti, were now Ott, Scheller, Mazziotti and Brace. They've Got Plans...., They Will...., Vote For..., My first inquiry was to a long time Republican workhorse, who is currently disenchanted with the Republican Party leadership. I explained the card, and his initial reaction was perhaps the Slate was trying to tag team Osborne, as they had done against Browning. The address portion of the card does contain the sender's name, LVAR-PAC. That name didn't register with me or him. A call later in the evening, to Dean Browning, solved the mystery. LVAR is the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors. Browning believes that the association is supporting those four candidates because of their replies to a survey on county assessments and other real estate issues. I think most voters will find the card most confusing. If you didn't get one in the mail, click on both sides shown here, for a larger version.

Allentown Picks Winner, Then Announces Contest Rules

In what could only happen in Allentown, the City announced the contest rules, after the winner was picked. The Morning Call dutifully reported on the murky guidelines the City will use to allow property owners use of NIZ tax funds for development. The rules come after developer J.B. Reilly had his plans approved, and even before anybody else knew such a tax incentive was available to private owners. If that wasn't enough favoritism, the City loaned Reilly $20million to do the project. As the kids now say, everything about the deal is sketchy. First of all, what I call the City is called ACIDA. This is handpicked Pawlowski Authority, used as handmaiden of convenience. The Morning Call article kindly refers to the guidelines as flexible, having wiggle room and not cast in stone. Missing from the article is that the CocaCola Park promoters complained that they never were given a chance to bid on arena management. The displaced merchants, despite two meetings with the City, were never informed that the NIZ could be used by private property owners, and the unions have already protested initial renovations by Reilly. Most glaringly missing from the article is no mention of these Bizarro sequence of events; The City will now allow public input after all the decisions were made. The City will now explain how to enter the contest, after the brass ring has been won. The article does mention that The Morning Call building is in the NIZ zone.

Saving The Queen City Airport

When I grew up on Liberator Ave., I would walk up Catalina Ave. toward school, which was at the end of Coronado. The streets were named for the Vultee-Consolidated WW2 planes, and the neighborhood was next to the airport built as part of the war effort. Vultee Street was built to connect the hangers with the Mack 5C plant, which was given over to Vultee-Consolidated for plane part manufacturing. Today this small airport is known as Queen City, and is threatened by Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

1944 was the first full year of the operation for the company's Allentown, Pennsylvania factory. Consolidated Vultee handled over $100M in wartime contracts at their Allentown plant where they produced TBY-2 Sea Wolves, components parts for B-24 Liberator bombers and other essential armaments and products for the war effort.

Pawlowski covets this unique part of our history to expand the tax base. What he doesn't understand is that more housing or commercial space is not in Allentown's best long term interest. Unfortunately, long term interest is not a term understood by our current leadership. There is a whole development of started houses off S. 12th St. and Mack Blvd. which were never completed. There are filled in foundations on 8th Street, also never completed. More housing is the last thing both the real estate market and school system need. Likewise, the existing commercial sector has been struggling to maintain an acceptable occupancy rate. Queen City airport is an unique asset to Allentown. If LVIA does successfully expand, a separate airport for small planes is very desirable for safety. Considering Pawlowski's predetermined objective, I question whether he should have been appointed to the LVIA Board.

Dennis Pearson, long time community activist from the East Side Rittersville area, reports last night(Sept. 23, 2010) that a portion of the State Hospital grounds had been given to the Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Corporation. Just last week, Dennis requested that the City inform him of any plans concerning that land. Although representatives of the Administration were present, nobody had the consideration to response to Pearson's statement. These open spaces in Allentown, both Queen City and the State Hospital, are too important to let Pawlowski and Cunningham squander them for a short term, politically expedient, tax fix.

Malcolm Gross, an associate of Pawlowski, was just appointed by the court to overseer the $16million dollar payment due to the Fuller family by the Lehigh Valley Airport. The Airport Authority should sell the Fuller land that it never used, and retain Queen City.

UPDATE: Since a version of this post first appeared in September of 2010, LVIA is under court order to raise $16 million, as noted above. The airport (LVIA) is currently without it's former Executive Director. The Morning Call reports an offer for $18 million for the Queen City. Although such a sale would be incredibly shortsighted, that's a prominent local eye and mental condition.

What Is It?

What is it columns seem to be popular, and popularity is all I want for Christmas. The first person to identify what the object in the picture does, wins the contest. The winner gets his choice of a one month subscription to The Morning Call, or cleaning the Porta-John for a week at the Allentown Arena construction site. Contest entries must be submitted by 12:00pm, Oct. 26, 2011.

No Jews of Libya

Despite having settled there hundreds of years before Christ, there are no Jews in Libya.

I left Libya more than 42 years ago when the mobs were roaming the streets. They were not chanting for democracy or yearning for freedom — they were looking for Jews.

Gina Waldman.

This community, that goes back 2,500 years, has obliterated their oldest minority...They drink anti-semitism with their mother's milk.

Gina Zanzur
After the creation of Israel in 1948, anti-Jewish riots and killings forced 30,000 Jews to flee. After the 1967 Israeli war, the remaining 6,000 were expelled, each allowed one suitcase and $20.
historic photo of the Jewish Quarter in Tripoli

reprinted from March 14, 2011

UPDATE: An envoy from the displaced Libyan Jewish community now living in Italy, was told that there would be no place for Jews in the new Libya.

Future Downtown Arena Attendee

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with the commentator who identifies himself as Future Downtown Arena Attendee. He first appeared months ago, when I began posting about this misguided project and it's mistreatment of our long standing merchants. He is a staunch defender of the project, with no use for the current merchants or their clientele. Beyond being an apologists for the Administration, some readers have speculated that he actually works for the City or has another interest in the project. I generally appreciated his participation in the dialogue; It provided an insight into the arrogance by those who govern us. On my recent post, questioning which branch of our local government considered us dumber, Future made this comment.

Why do you think that you are entitled to public comment on this? The people elected the officials to speak on their behalf. The officials are speaking. If you don't like what they are saying do not vote for them in their reelection bids.

The blogger known as LVCI made an excellent reply. Below are excerpts from his comment.

Voting for a public official is nothing more then hiring someone to do a job on our behalf. We are the owners and city hall officials are our employees, we aren't theirs. Not one official running for office mentioned in their campaign they were going to seize over 30 private properties downtown, bulldoze an entire square block and risk advancing over $160 million of the taxpayers' dollars to do it. They didn't mention the new, sometimes expen$ive, pre-sale inspections before one sells their home. Nor was there any mention in their campaigns while they were running for office that they were going to put in miles of bike trails, a playground or install asphalt roadways in a park either. A lot of changes affect us for many years long after their time in office. The police & fire pensions are a fine example of that. According to your way of thinking why bother having public meetings after elections. Our civic responsibilities are completely done after we elect them, right? Citizens should only concern themselves every 4 years after the $'s are spent and the changes are already done that affect them. Is that the way you want it?
Come to think of it, that pretty much seems the way we're being dealt with already.

I suppose that Future Attendee and LVCI both have a point. As voters we don't seem to learn from our mistakes. Although a previous City Council lamented about the Police Pension they approved, many of the lamenters were re-elected. Currently, members are awaking to the lack of public and Council input concerning the Transformational arena. Will there be consequences come election day next month? Last night I drove past the Sangria Restaurant. Although I wish this business and all others well, I must report that they were virtually empty. This attempt at a restaurant row was subsidized by the Administration to the tune of half a $million of taxpayer dollars. If the new restaurants are struggling with easy available parking, how will they fare with congestion caused by the hockey fans? After two hotdogs and a beer, will the hockey fans patronize Sangria after the game? A failure of the arena and adjoining event center will put the taxpayers on the hook for over $200 million; Now that's a transformation! I hope that Future Downtown Arena Attendee at least actually attends.

A Step Daughter

The young bride pictured is not my step daughter, but she is a daughter of the steps. In addition to choosing the steps at Fountain Park for her wedding pictures, she also helped to dig out and recover the steps at the Boat Landing, in Lehigh Parkway. Although it is wonderful that a young person appreciates the WPA structures, I wish that the Mayor, Park Director and Trexler Trust shared her love of Allentown history and values. Next week, the Park Department, funded by the Trexler Trust, moves forward with their Path Plan. The money they spend on new, unnecessary macadam paths could restore the irreplaceable WPA icons.

Who Thinks You're Dumber?

According to The Morning Call, Allentown City Hall will now conduct a series of public meetings on the arena. Although all arrangements are a done deal, public comment will be sought. Although the Mayor preferred to first make the presentations to civic groups and other selected voter groups, City Council insisted that John Q get the presentations first; Council wants to credit themselves for insisting on this sequence, for the upcoming meaningless meetings. In truth, a more responsible City Council would have postponed the Administration's request for Eminent Domain, insisting on public input. They would have asserted themselves when it counted. Council members may pose now, in election season, as concerned about public opinion, but in addition to being too little, it's too late. One of them actually said, Better late than never.

Republican Halloween

They say all politics is local. I thought about that last night as I covered a City Republican Halloween Party. While the Republicans fare well in Lehigh County, David Bausch was the last one to win a seat on Allentown City Council, and that was back in 2003. This year, among a good slate of candidates, that Party has put up Eric Weiss for City Council. Weiss spend a career at City Hall, working his way up to head of Code Enforcement and Building Standards. In a city where one of the biggest problems comes from inter-city apartments, his experience should make him a hot ticket.

Light Unto The Nations

While Polish soccer fans taunt a visiting team from Tel Aviv, and a doctor from Bethlehem joins a flotilla to Free Gaza, Israel is releasing over 1000 of it's avowed enemies to free one soldier. The soldier was abducted in Israel in 2006, and dragged into Gaza, while his two comrades were killed. His abductors will also be released, along with dozens of others, who pride themselves on how many Jews they have killed. In that group is a bomber, who alone blew up 30 Jews. Israelis know that some of these terrorists will return to Israel, and kill more Jews. The Israeli soldier was 19 when captured. He has not been seen since 2009. While the Polish fans jeer, and the doctor rants, the light shines.

photo: Israel attempts to rescue besieged Jews in Jerusalem, 1948

Bring Back Falko

Slow learning seems more apparent at the Administration office on Penn Street, than in any particular Allentown School. If I had to choose one blunder of Gerald Zahorchak's scramble of the Allentown School District, removing Keith Falko from Allen High would be it. Everybody agreed; teachers, students and parents, that Falko ran that ship as tight as it could be run. Zahorchak, always chasing grants and the newest concepts, shifted four principals, decimating discipline in the district. Falko was to end up at the 4th & Allen Over-Achiever Academy, which was wisely never instituted. His talent is now squandered down on Penn Street. The grant that Zahorchak chased, never paid off as large as anticipated anyway. Despite statistics being generated by a Director of Unnecessary Information, facts on the ground indicate that commotion is rampant at Allen.* Rumor is that although the new principal and his four assistants are nice guys, they don't command anywhere near the respect that Falko did. Hopefully, acting Superintendent Russ Mayo can see a winning play when it's staring him in the face.

*Steve Esack, The Morning Call, Parent Says Behavior At Allen High Out of Control, October 14, 2011

The Morning Call Delivery

I've been a continuous Morning Call subscriber for 34 years, every day, seven days a week. I think that might well be some sort of record. Even other dinosaurs, occasionally, have let their subscriptions expire, to take advantage of some promotion. Not me, full ticket, paid by the year. The last couple of years, as their delivery system broke down, I have taken to pay semi annually. Quarterly will now be the prudent choice. I no longer attempt to complain about a missing paper. Waiting to speak to somebody in India is detrimental to my blood pressure. molovinsky on allentown opens early, but the paper keeps coming later; Even mcall doesn't refresh itself until about 5:45 a.m. I no longer get the paper in time for my morning coffee, the pot is long empty by the time it arrives. I suppose soon I'll have to get my news from the City Web Site.

UPDATE February 15, 2014.    If you're having a delivery issue,  here is a petition addressing that problem.

The Morning Call Forgets The Meat

Despite a large front page story on the Arena and Mr. Reilly's spinoff development, complete with charts and graphs, despite being written by two of it's reporters, where's the beef? Like the famous 1984 commercial, the articles are large buns with small hamburgers. The real story is that none of the merchants were ever told that they could use taxes to purchase a new building, after being displaced by the city. The use of sales tax, 6% of their gross sales, could have been used for debt service on a new Hamilton Street location. To my knowledge, none of the affected merchants, will have a new retail store on Hamilton Street, or will have any benefit from the NIZ. They had asked for a meeting with the city for help, which was attended by The Morning Call, and were never told that the NIZ lever could be used by private property owners. They asked for a meeting with Senator Brown, and were never told about options which could have helped them save their businesses. The explanation by Browne and the Administration that this information was available if they had asked the proper questions, is unacceptable. FACTS ON THE GROUND INDICATE THAT THE LAW WAS APPLIED IN A SELECTIVE FASHION, TO FASHIONABLE PEOPLE. If this post sounds repetitive, that's because it is. There's still no hamburger inside the bun, and still no explanation.

The Historical Record

During the City Council Eminent Domain Hearing, Louie Belletieri came in about halfway during the meeting. I encouraged him to stay and say a few words. Louie stood up at the meeting's end and told City Council that they should pay the shopowners straight up. Although Louie wasn't involved with the issue before, during or after that meeting, his Godfather presentation resonated with the local newspaper reporter. In addition to quoting Louie for the coverage about eminent domain, the paper used it as the Quote Of The Week, in the weekend edition. Fortunately, for the historical record, a local documentary videophotographer was covering the meeting. Sydney "Imantrek" McKenzie captured the soul of the shareowners, the storeowners, whose lives were being bashed by the hockey puck.


In addition to making documentaries, Imantrek also produces music and Grounzero, an internet magazine. He is now lending his talent to the fight to preserve Allentown's WPA icons. Like many true artists before him, he remains an outsider to the newspaper and local art establishment.

Early Morning in Allentown

Sixty years ago the Soldiers Monument stood over 7th and Hamilton, as it still does. While today businesses limit restroom use to patrons, at that time the city provided underground public comfort stations at the square, staffed by full time attendants. The stores attracted so many shoppers, the police needed a tower for crowd overview. While fifty stores lined each block, lawyers, doctors, accountants and tailors occupied the offices above. Times change. If we find that the Monument impedes traffic flow for the new arena, they can move it to a less inconvenient location.

Unhappy Campers

As the countdown to the beginning of Mayor Pawlowski's transformation nears, I thought my camera and I would visit 7th and Hamilton. Uncle Sam and the Wall Street protesters are not the only unhappy campers by that corner.





Once again the rat has been inflated on a union picket line. Preliminary construction on a NIZ site doesn't bode well for the unions in Allentown's transformation.

Of course, the most victimized near that corner are the merchants. Although I'm privilege to their survival plans, it's not my place to reveal them at this time. I will say that they only have 20 days remaining to relocate, and yet still
attempt to make a living while doing so. Moving a few boxes makes me nervous, much less an entire inventory, from over twenty years on Hamilton Street. For a city supposedly improving itself, I certainly saw much pain today near 7th and Hamilton.

Pawlowski Gets Foot Massage

Last night for half an hour, Tony No Shame Iannelli groveled at Ed Pawlowski's feet, while his producer, City Councilman Mike Schlossberg, shined Pawlowski's shoes. Before the first commercial, No Shame said that he's "really beating the Mayor up." By the second commercial, he admitted that the program was softball. Actually, the program was T-Ball. The closest Iannelli got to any evaluation of the Mayor's plans for Hamilton Street, was to call all critics "out of town nay-sayers." Considering that the plan displaces over 34 business owners, and tears the heart out of the historic shopping district, this was a staggering suck-up by the host of Business Matters, and Director of the Chamber of Commerce. They concluded the pathetic program by announcing that Pawlowski has named Iannelli, and Pawlowski's campaign manager, Mal Gross, as Chairmen of Allentown's 250th Anniversary Celebration.

March 27, 1942

Guest Post by Mike Casey
Before 18,220 fans at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 1942, big Abe Simon stepped into the ring for the final fight of his career. Scaling 255 1/4lbs, he was a massive, bear of a man who had once used his considerable size and muscle on the gridiron. Abe outweighed Joe Louis by nearly 48 pounds, but already knew the dangers of duelling with the Brown Bomber. Just a year before at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Joe had decked Simon four times and stopped him in thirteen rounds.Coming back for seconds was never a good idea against the prime Louis. But Abe had heart, pluck and a big punch and everyone knew that anything could happen in heavyweight boxing. Simon had knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott in six rounds, beaten Roscoe Toles and drawn with Turkey Thompson. Abe had also waged a thrilling battle of the giants with Buddy Baer, in which he had beaten Buddy severely in the opening round before being stopped in the third.......Louis finished the fight quickly in the sixth round, sending Abe down and out with a final left-right blast. Perhaps Joe had been riled after first snapping Simon to attention with a quick-fire combination in the second round. Big Abe had laughed at him....
copy courtesy of Mike Casey Archives
photograph(added by molovinsky): Abe Simon in corner after fight, with manager Jimmy Johnston

Comments on Blogging

I don't make Pawlowski's day. Probably, at most, I'm a minor thorn in his side. Being an equal opportunity basher, I have also alienated people at The Morning Call; Most of my criticism of Allentown is only read on this blog. Occasionally, Gunther Walsh is kind enough to voice one of my diatribes on WAEB radio. This brings us to the issue of blogging and comments. All bloggers, myself included, prefer more, than less readers. Advice articles on blogging emphasize the importance of comments for increased readership. Allow your readers to interact with your blog. Respond to all their comments. Last night I received the following comment on the Tea Leaves post.

Read the Sunday paper to see what kind of scum bag mayor and city council we are dealing with. With these unethical and amoral idiots at the helm there is little hope for Allentown.
And biblical principles. Pawlowski might think he is the Antichrist but too many people hate him. Wonder why.He and XXXX XXXXX can retire to XXXX and develop their spec properties. Maybe they will take XXXX XXXX XXXXX with them. Another one of their scams.

Even though I am opposed to the Mayor's plans concerning the sports palace complex, and many other programs, and often address City Council, I have never used or felt the above adjectives and adverbs. Although I do not believe that bloggers own, or are responsible for the words in the comments, they can undermine a mission. I see this blog as a tool to help effect some change in Allentown. Consequently, do not expect submitted comments, as above, to appear on this blog. I appreciate your readership, but will not compromise my community efforts for the sake of increased circulation of this blog.

The Great White Hunter

In my Newspaper Safari post I used the phrase Great White Hunter. Although I would not allow my readers go off on a racial dialogue, some explanation is in order. As a six year old boy watching Ramar of the Jungle, the hunters were white, and wore pith helmets. Africa was a tropical jungle, inhabited by blacks,living in huts. Despite the image I show here, the 1953 television show itself was black and white. As an impressionable boy, I do not believe I developed any racial attitudes from the program, but I certainly received some distorted geography. The Tarzan movies continued the myth that Africa was all jungle. Whether in Hollywood with Robert Redford, or in the local paper with some guy from Catasauqua, The Great White Hunter continues on in modern times.

Allentown's Tea Leaves

Some people read tea leaves, I read deed transfers. I can tell you that Pawlowski's Transformation includes 3 square blocks. In addition to the publicly stated 700 block of Hamilton Street, projects will also be built on blocks to the east and north. When completed, downtown will have two separate shopping districts; There will be the low income Hispanic Shopping District on 7th Street, and the hoped for middle class district on Hamilton, west of 8th Street. These two districts will be physically separated by the new projects; hockey arena, event center and hotel(s). In a recent Morning Call article The heart was torn out of the city, Easton's Mayor Sal Panto says that their 1966 renewal project was a total mistake. Panto won't apply the lesson to that city's new plans about a Lanta Terminal and High School Sports Museum. Here in Allentown, Pawlowski wasn't even here for our previous failures. The stark, former bank call center on the Lehigh Street hill, between Martin Luther Drive and Union Street, is testament to Allentown's previous failed attempt at transformation. Although the current Hamilton Street, shown above around 1950, is a shadow of it's former glory, the buildings remained for future renewal. That option will end come November. It is my fear that some mayor will say in 2050, that tearing down those buildings, was a total mistake.

Newspaper Safari

People occasionally contact me when they're exasperated with the city, but a gentleman I spoke with yesterday was fuming at the newspaper. A column on the front page of the sports section glorified shooting a lioness on an African Safari. If that didn't offend this guy enough, the hunter planned to return to Africa, to shoot an elephant. The hunter's only concern was that killing deer in Pennsylvania just wouldn't do it for him any longer. He says that in Africa, if your check book is big enough, you can kill anything. Hope that doesn't include bloggers, but back to the upset newspaper reader. I think he can accept the misguided hunter, but he wonders what processed the columnist and his editor. I should mention that the paper included a photograph of the Great White Hunter and the dead lioness. Perhaps to the reporter, who covers both sports and outdoors, bagging a lion hunter is a bigger catch than the usual teenage boy shoots first deer story. Anyway, for us Babar fans, it was offensive.

I have purposely not linked to the article, nor will I host comments mentioning the hunter by name

Connecting the Neglect

Although this blog has documented the deterioration of the iconic WPA Structures throughout the park system, the City goes forward with new park projects without addressing problems with existing features; We will now connect the neglect. The Morning Call this past weekend distributed the Fall and Winter Directory to Parks and Recreation. The cost of the slick magazine could have in itself repaired one set of steps at Irving Park. The City is going ahead with it's plans and paid consultants for the Network of Bicycle and Pedestrian Trails. The next meeting for that project will be October 26, at the Library. I attended the previous meeting last April. The theme is Connecting our Community. Park Director Weitzel and the paid consultant spoke about connecting the children of Allentown with the park system. Although they had a professionally produced large illustration of the Fountain Park area, the Lawrence Street WPA Steps were not included. In reality, that magnificent structure was built exactly for that purpose in 1936. It now stands neglected, with numerous missing steps, as a monument to this Park Department's misplaced priorities.

This evening the WPA Support Group will meet once again at the Library. Park Director Weitzel has asked to attend to present the achievements of his department. I told him he was welcome to make a short presentation. A few members of our group will also make short presentations on the current condition of the iconic WPA structures, which had made our park system famous. The meeting is this evening, in the lower level of the Allentown Library, at 7:00p.m. Members of the public, press and Trexler Trust are invited to attend.

Korean on Mayor's Menu

Last week blogger Bernie O'Hare reported on the Lehigh Valley Mayor's Dinner. Although he presented a glimpse of statements made, he neglected to report on the food served, Korean. I don't mean Asian style rice and pork, but they ate actual Koreans, former Allentown merchants. These unusual victuals were arranged by Sara Hailstone, Allentown's Community Development Director.

Although the above is satire, now some ugly truths. Although Hailstone promised the merchants assistance in relocating, in reality, obstacles were put in their place. In one instance, a long standing displaced merchant was told by a landlord in another location that he wouldn't rent to him, because of his merchandize and clientele. The landlord said that the City wanted a new look, and he didn't want to jeopardize his hopes for a future grant. Another merchant was denied relocation funds previously promised. Although I attended the meeting between Hailstone and the merchants, and heard the promises, I will provide no details about the identity of the merchants. These unfortunate victims of Allentown's progress still hope to make a living here, despite the city.

Holmes vs. Panto

Sal Panto does pretty good in the local blogosphere. He's in Bernie O'Hare's Walk on Water Club. The ReNew Yuppies like him because of the his position on trains, planes, and buses. About the only blogger not impressed is me. I've seen him back things to a fault, like the parking deck behind the Wolfe School. Although his supporters keep saying that Easton is different than Allentown, I know that the Lanta Terminal and the Al Bundy Museum of High School Jocks are canned mediocrity. Apparently, Larry Holmes is also less than impressed with Panto's plans. The Morning Call reported that Holmes will move his nightclub rather than pay more taxes for the Improvement District . Reinforcing my opinion of Panto, his best argument to Holmes is that his proposals, (Panto's) haven't passed yet. While other mayor's made light of themselves, Panto hurt his arm patting himself on his own back at the Mayor's dinner. Panto may well induce Holmes to stay put with one incentive or another, but it sure won't be because of enthusiasm for Panto's plans.

Holmes tutors Ray Mercer, 1992

A Failure by Dieruff High

This week I decided to go back to school, at least to hang outside of Dieruff. Upon re-evaluation, I must give my previous report on the WPA steps at Irving Park a failing grade. Besides myself, also failing would be Mayor Pawlowski, Park Director Weitzel and City Council President Michael D'Amore. Any lessons given about the WPA Steps at Irving Park better be given in the next couple years; after that they will be gone. We are soon approaching the point where the City will declare the cost of repair is cost prohibitive; Unless that is their current plan! As reported in the previous post's comments, one set of steps has already been removed by the City. All the remaining steps are in a state of disrepair. Shown above are the steps on Washington Street, between Jerome and Irving Streets. WPA Support Group member Mark Thomas prepared comprehensive documentation on the remaining masonry structures at Irving Park.
UPDATE: Mark Thomas raises the question as to whether these steps are indeed WPA. They appear to be the same vintage and colorization of the pool bathhouse, dated 1941. In any regard, the steps are clearly historic, and this group will campaign for their preservation.
please click on photo

King of the Gypsies

According to my mother, a Gypsy king was buried in Allentown in around 1960, she knew about such things. She was born in Galgo, Hungary, an area of Transylvania, now part of Romania, near present day Gilgau. In Galgo, the Jews and Gypsies lived on the edge of town. In the early 20's, my grandparents, along with their Gypsy neighbors, came to Bethlehem to work at the Steel. On weekends, to make extra money, my grandparents would open their house and show Hungarian movies. None of their relatives, Jew or Gypsy, save one cousin, survived the nazi's; even the cemeteries were desecrated. As you can see from the document above, my grandfather earned his citizenship the hard way.

reprinted from Sept. 7, 2009

Israel's Self Defense

Vincent Stravino portrayed himself as an honest broker for peace in his September 24th Your View column. He visited the Holocaust Museum in Israel, and "understands the fear" Jews have for their survival. What Stravino doesn't understand is that the Israelis are not afraid of Nazi ghosts from 70 years ago, they are afraid of the real Arab hatred for them in 2011. He writes about various Israelis who are sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, but he doesn't write a word about Palestinians sensitive to Israeli concerns, they would be hard to find. He writes about "widespread violence" by Israeli settlers, but doesn't mention the family massacred this past summer. I don't know exactly what Stravino means by "violence", but I know that no Palestinian family had their throats slit, including an infant, as did a Jewish family. He feels the Israeli reprisal against the crude rockets fired from Gaza was disproportionate. Although thousands of rockets were fired over five years, not that many Israelis died. Stravino doesn't mention the recent anti-tank missile intentionally fired at a yellow school bus. Lastly, Vincent Stravino is concerned that United States support of Israel is misused to finance aggression against innocent people. Since when is the right to self defense aggression?
Michael Molovinsky
the above piece appeared today as a letter to the editor in The Morning Call

The Island of Lehigh Parkway

The scene above shows the island in the Little Lehigh, with the boatlanding in the background. Please note the bridge leading to the island. The island, bridge and landing were created by the WPA. Although the island still remains, as does it's stone piers, the bridge is long gone. The boatlanding, although buried, was partially recovered last year by myself and a number of volunteers. The island, as remaining, has lost it's shape and has been enlarged from deposits carried by the Little Lehigh. The island was created by the WPA in the mid 1930's, by excavating a channel on it's south side. It is the intention of the park department to eventually allow mother nature to fill in the channel. Park philosophy has changed from manicured to al natural. It is my hope that the excavated portion of the boatlanding will be retained. In regard to yesterday's post on Irving Park, I have confirmed that one of the WPA stone stairwells was indeed removed this year by the city. I hope that is not their version of a fix. It clearly indicates the need for the WPA Support Group. Click photo to enlarge.

The above photograph courtesy of Frank Whelan

Lesson at Dieruff

A Dieruff High School social studies teacher would not have to take his class very far for a lesson in Allentown's history. Although never elected, East Side activist Dennis Pearson has been complaining for thirty years that the East Side always get short changed in Public Works. Such was the case in the mid 1930's, during the WPA work in Allentown. Roosevelt's New Deal program built the elaborate walls in the south side's Lehigh Parkway. Central Allentown received the magnificent Lawrence Street stairwell. The culturally elite of west Allentown received the Union Terrace Amphitheater, envisioned for Shakespeare. Pearson's east side got a few scattered steps to nowhere. The steps remained, and thirty years later Allentown built Dieruff High School. With expansions and renovations, some of the steps now adjoin the school. Flash ahead to the summers of 2009 and 2010.




I lobbied Allentown City Council members to appropriate some of the $millions of dollars in Cedar Park plans to begin preserving the irreplaceable WPA structures, starting to crumble throughout our park system. East Side elected councilman, Michael D'Amore, assured me that he only signed off on the Administrations plan, with the stipulation that the steps in Irving Park-Dieruff area would be restored at the same time. The work in Cedar Park was completed last year, including $millions of dollars with of recreation equipment from catalogs. The deterioration of the steps around Dieruff continues. Now there's a lesson in government!
photos courtesy of Mark Thomas