Sal Panto's King

This blogger has taken a number of shots at Sal Panto, especially concerning his Al Bundy Museum of High School Sports. For a wise-guy like me, Panto is the gift that keeps on giving. Last week Sal announced that an African King would be visiting Easton. Panto said that he's "very royal" and that he could go anywhere, but chose Easton. Turns out the kingdom is pretty much limited to inside the guy's head. In the past, Panto has invited me to Easton to discuss, face to face, those things which I criticize, such as the Lanta Terminal. If he's willing to give me the royal treatment, I will come.

Party On The Deck

Tomorrow, from 5 to 8PM Allentown will have it's annual Party On Top of the Former Hess's Parking Deck. The party will alternatively be known as Melt Your Cheerleading Ass as the temperature hovers around 100 degrees. Regular readers on this blog know that such language is not my norm, but neither is the delusion and distortion brought to Allentown by this Administration.

A Road Runs Through It

Once, there was a time when gasoline was twenty five cents a gallon, there was no internet, and a family would go for a drive on Sunday. There was no traffic congestion or road rage. The cars were large, and they all came from Detroit. You could drive through a park, even an amusement park. There was no rush to get back to the television; It was very small, with only a few channels. Life now seems to revolve around small silicon chips, I preferred when it was large engines.

photograph shows the road through Dorney Park
reprinted from December 2010

The Barrooms of Allentown

The Allentown of my youth had bars and working men, and lots of both. After work, the men would sit on the stools at their favorite tavern, and have a few shots and beer. Most of these bars were made from former row houses, and many have reverted back to such; Allentown's organic that way. These barrooms were small, only the length of the former combined living and dining rooms. The customers were all men, and the beer was local. Some of the larger ones were called hotels, and rented rooms above. The current apartment house on the southeast corner of 8th and Liberty Streets was called Ripenstahls, where many men lived and drank over the years. Shots now has a different meaning in Allentown.


photograph by Carl Rubrecht, circa 1970

Fill Wanted

By the late 1950's, residential Allentown was pretty much built up. The remaining lots were of the odd ball topography; Most of which were either significantly above, or below street level. It was common to see signs which said either Fill Wanted, or Free Fill, depending on the odd lots problem. We have an odd lot problem on Hamilton Street, between 7th and 8th. Currently, there is enormous political pressure to make sure that Allentown doesn't remain with a hole downtown. We got this hole because our esteemed political leaders figured that if they could pull off the caper fast enough, there would be no stopping them. That hole should now be filled in, even if the citizens eventually decide that an arena should be built. No project costing a quarter $billion dollars should be built just because we already have the hole.

photo:Harry Fisher/The Morning Call

Celebrate Allentown

This week Allentown City Council will decide if the new Managing Director must live in Allentown; A better question would be if Allentown needs a managing director. This new position was created by Mayor Pawlowski in 2006 to help him manage the city. Depending upon who you ask, anywhere from 30 to 44 new white collar positions have been created by this Administration, while at the same time police officers are retiring in mass, and the streets are strewn with litter. One of the positions the Manager would overseer is the Special Events Manager. Yesterday, Hamilton Street was closed for CELEBRATE ALLENTOWN, nobody came.  Nobody coming was the good news, the bad news was what the street closure cost the merchants. This was the third Saturday that Hamilton Street was recently closed to traffic. Matthew Tuerk told the reporter covering the event he was having a great time. Matt once again forgot to mention he's acting director of the Allentown Economic Development Corporation. In July a private promoter, Alfonso Todd, produced UPWARD BOUND, a Multi-Cultural Celebration on the 600 block of Hamilton Street. That event was reasonably well attended at no cost to the taxpayers. It required no full time director with benefits and pension to manage a full time coordinator with benefits and pension. I suspect the taxpayers could have sent the few people who attended on Saturday to DisneyWorld, for a week, and still saved money.

reprinted from September 2008


UPDATE 2012: It's four years later, the managing director referred to above,  left and returned. The litter remains. The park department is down one third it's former crew. We now have torn down an entire square block to build a $220 million dollar arena, which will use all local and state income tax for the next 30 years.

The Litter of Allentown

On Monday mornings, from the amount of litter on 6th and 7th Street, you would think that there was a parade over the weekend. Back in the day, Allentown was known for it's cleanliness. Women in babushkas would compulsively hunt out any errant scrap of paper, and remove that offense to their pride. Allentown has changed. In 2006, the SWEEP program was put into place to milk center city property owners, fining them for tenants putting the wrong color container on the porch, at the wrong time. In 2011, the program burped $228,000.00 from the hapless owners. Now, with Allentown's Transformational arena coming, Allentown passed an ordinance quadrupling the littering fine from $25 to $100. "It's really difficult to see someone littering and actually catch them in the act," said Ann Saurman, director of recycling. "You see litter on the street, but you don't often see people littering." Actually, you can see them littering. Park near any center city market, and watch the wrappers drop like leaves off a tree in the fall.

photo:Denise Sanchez/The Morning Call

Weigh In On 1948

1948 was a good year for Allentown and the Lehigh Valley. Mack Trucks, Lehigh Structural Steel, General Electric and almost all factories were going full steam. President Truman stopped by to give a speech. The Allentown Cardinals played the first game in their new ballpark, Breadon Field. The baby boom was going full tilt:



The school district unveiled Lehigh Parkway and Midway Manor Elementary Schools and the new professional style football stadium. Donald Hock was Mayor, and although the last beer was being brewed on Lawrence Street at Daeufer Brewery, the Paddock joined many new restaurants opening that year. Photo's from Dorney Park in 1948.

reprinted from July 2009

The NIZ Lawsuits

The article in Saturday's Morning Call seemed to suggest that the lawsuits against the NIZ were a big ado about nothing. Broken down into two columns, the figures showed the tax loss for each municipality for 2012's first quarter. One town, Alburtis, only lost $590 bucks. Why are these mean spirited jealous nay-sayers crippling the Transformation of Allentown over a few dollars? Mayor Pawlowski and State Senator Pat Browne hoped that the townships would come to their senses with the release of these figures. Although the total EIT captured by the NIZ for 2012 will be $2.3 million, that figure doesn't really reveal anything. The whole purpose of the zone, and especially it's size of 130 acres, is to attract businesses to relocate there. The figures presented reflect only existing businesses, in what is pretty much now considered a dead zone. If the NIZ proceeds as currently written, what will the figure be in 2015? How many of those dollars would come from existing businesses now located in Lehigh and Northampton Counties? This blog does not cover surrounding Townships, but would be surprised if the figures released reduces their apprehension.

UPDATE: An article in today's Morning Call says that the lawsuits will continue, despite release of the EIT figures. The article mentions Walnutport joined the suit, but stands to lose $265 in quarterly EIT collections, and Stockertown's quarterly amount is $370... Jay Finnigan, manager of Hanover Township, Northampton County said "They (Pawlowski and Browne) just don't get it -- it's not a matter of dollars and cents," The Morning Call doesn't get it either.

UPDATE ON UPDATE: In fairness to The  Morning  Call, and reporters Kraus and Assad, on second reading I believe I mischaracterized today's article.  The hard copy edition has Finnigan's quote standing out in a box, and the article is headlined Litigation over arena will continue.

In the Israeli Army

In it's original version this post contained a video showing that all Israelis, including females, are required to serve in the army upon reaching the age of 18. After active duty, they remain reservists, into their 50's. The citizen military commitment is so extensive because Israel is surrounded by hostile neighbors, whose main commonality is their hatred of Israel. Hatred of Israel, and the distortion of it's history and intentions is not limited to the middle east. Those attitudes fester both in Europe and here, in the United States. Many people consider our media pro Israel. Does that mean that they feel that it isn't critical enough toward the Jewish state? As a Jew, and a supporter of Israel, I find the media ranging from fair to hostile, but certainly not pro Israel by any measure. I find Huffington Post anti-Israel and borderline anti=Semitic. What precipitated this post was an article in The Christian Science Monitor on the nuclear tension between Iran and Israel. The bold type sub-title says that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad never said that Israel should be "wiped off the map." As we read on we learn that in Farsi the proper translation might be that Israel "must vanish from the page of time." Only at the end of the section does the reader learn that Ahmadinejad "refused to clarify whether he truly meant that Israel should be wiped off the face of the Earth." Active duty Israeli soldiers will continue to train, and keep their weapon with them, even at the beach.

Panto's Dog and Pony

Last Thursday Sal Panto took the media on an inspection walk. In fairness to Panto, he didn't invent the Mayor's Walk, actually he doesn't invent much. These walks always single out a very small percentage of properties for scrutiny, and scrutiny is expensive for the property owners. A code officer on Panto's publicity stunt estimated that half the properties viewed would be cited. Violations included peeling paint, cracks in the sidewalk, and weeds. Although, now a days, paint starts to peel  ten minutes after it's applied, the cost of application is $thousands of dollars. Sidewalks crack and weeds grow. Although there may be some credence to the Broken Window Theory, there is also the empty taxpayer wallet reality. In Allentown, former Mayor Heydt took walks every summer, but never succeeded in inspecting Quality Of Life into the city. Allentown's program now is amuck, with hundreds of tagged houses actually contributing to the blight. These walks never get out into the more expensive residential areas, where paint also peels and sidewalks crack.
photo:Ed Koskey Jr./The Morning Call/June 8, 2012

A Controversial Editorial

Today, my controversial point of view about keeping the hole on Hamilton Street, made the paper. Although I had expressed the attitude here several times, I wrote the piece in direct response to Bethlehem Mayor Callahan's editorial. He, like several writers before him, said that there was no choice but to proceed with the arena project, even if it was a flawed plan. Official Allentown didn't have much respect for the previous occupants of that parcel. During the WFMZ debate, a speaker from the City's point of view, referred to it as a cancer. Certainly, a level block is no worse than a cancer. Allentown survived when former Mayor Heydt tore down Hess's and left us with a hole. Eventually, a private developer built the PPL Plaza. At that time, private investors could not secure the financing for the minor league hockey team. The risk apparently did not justify private investment. Now, because the project is backed by our local and state income taxes, they want to build an arena which cost ten times more.  

 photo:Donna Fisher/The Morning Call/June 8, 2012

The Transformation of 7th Street

Peter Lewnes is managing to transform 7th Street for about $1 million, while Mayor Pawlowski will spend about $220 million for his transformation. At the end of the projects, 7th Street will be much more successful, in both the number of people attracted, and the total dollars those people spend. To be blunt, which is too easy for me, I think 7th Street would have as many new stores and shoppers without Lewnes' efforts. I think that the Hispanic business district was a natural progression of Allentown's demographic changes. However, considering it's the nature of government to meddle, Lewnes has given us an unusually tremendous return on our investment. He has attractively restored dozens of buildings, created appealing signs, and succeeded in significantly upgrading Allentown's gateway. Yesterday, I visited an independent pharmacy on the 500 Block, located in the former Coleman Electric building. Although not yet enhanced by Lewnes' artistic palette, the pharmacist had four assistants and a delivery driver. Another success on 7th Street.

Allentown WPA Association

I began my effort to preserve our WPA heritage back in September of 2008, posting on this blog about the iconic stairwells and walls at Fountain Park. Posts would follow about the lost treasures of Lehigh Parkway, including the Boat Landing, Island and Spring Pond. Within a year, our work brigade cleared the boat landing, buried for over forty years. Since last fall, our group has surveyed all the WPA projects within the park system, and identified the structures most in need of attention. Hopefully, the press and The City of Allentown will support this most worthwhile project.

Saving The Spring Pond

As a small boy growing up in the twin homes above Lehigh Parkway, I would go down the steep wooded ravine and cross the Robin Hood Bridge. The stone lined spring pond and miniature bridge was just the first in a series of wonderful WPA constructions to explore. Last year, when I organized the reclamation of the Boat Landing, my memory turned to the pond. Although overgrown with several inches of sod, I knew the treasure was still savable.

On May 23, Andrew Kleiner conducted a tour of Lehigh Parkway, there I met Mike Gilbert of the Park Department and pitched the idea of a partial restoration. On May 26th, I posted A Modest Proposal, which outlined my hopes for the pond. On July 24, Kleiner posted Lehigh Parkway:Molovinsky gets his wish. I had no idea my modest proposal was implemented.

Park Director Greg Weitzel has indicated to me that the pond features uncovered will be maintained. Any further clearing will be at the discretion of Mike Gilbert. In our conversation he also stated that there are virtually no funds available for the preservation of the WPA icons.







I will attempt to organize a group and contributions for this most worthy cause. Between the Spring Pond and The Boat Landing there was once a bridge to the island. Wouldn't it be nice if a small boy could go exploring.
reprinted from previous posts

An Important Meeting

The bridge to the island shown above was removed by a park director forty years ago. Although I and several members of my group managed to unearth some of the buried Boat Landing, the portion shown in the lower right of the picture remains covered. Whether you feel that the remaining accomplishments of the WPA must be protected, or are concerned with the environmental consequences of park policy, please join us as we meet this evening. The park department is in a state of flux. In addition to the former director having moved on, several key personnel have retired. Added to the mix, the department has about one third less workers than several years ago. Existing citizen groups, such as Friends of the Parks, either have a political agenda, or appear to be compromised, in one way or another. Although never really interested with the traditional or environmental aspects of the parks, the Administration is currently completely preoccupied with it's center city development. The meeting will take place on the second floor of the Allentown Library this evening, Tuesday June 5, at 7:00.

The Worst of Both Worlds

Recently, I stood on the Ott Street Bridge and watched a mother try to help her two young daughters wrestle through the underbrush at Cedar Park to stream's edge. Although the no-mow zone is too narrow to serve as an effective riparian buffer, it does block view and access to the creek; The worst of both worlds. Whether you support the traditional park system as I do, or think the parks should be in their natural state, all we have now is inconvenience and ticks. Whether you value the view-shed as I do, or favor environmental criterion as Andrew Kleiner, all we have now is mismanagement. Tomorrow evening, Tuesday June 5, I will conduct a meeting* for those concerned with the state of our parks. Although the group was originally started to address the neglected WPA structures, we will expand our mission as a nonpolitical, concerned citizens group, for all park issues. Please join us.
*Meeting at the Allentown Library at 7:00p.m. second floor.

Teflon Don

The article in The Morning Call on May 23 announcing the pending appointment of Don Cunningham as director of LVEDC was pretty amazing. Written by local veteran newsman Scott Kraus, it said that Cunningham served two terms as mayor of Bethlehem. We, who do not think that Cunningham can walk on water, know that he resigned as mayor to take an appointment by Rendell in Harrisburg. He resigned in the same way that he is now resigning to take the Development job.
 In today's article*, Kraus again doesn't mention the Bethlehem resignation, and glosses over the current County Executive walk-a-way. Everyone should run for some office at least once, if only for a close up view of professional pols in action. When I sat next to Cunningham in 2005, I was amazed how Clintonesquely the folksy words rolled off his lips. He introduced his father as an ex-steel worker, and shucks, was just one of us. As Bethlehem Mayor for one and a half terms, he rode to Harrisburg on a series of press conferences about projects for the Bethlehem Steel property, none of which came to fruition. Coming back to run against Jane, 70% tax hike, Erwin, was a cakewalk. Now, after one and a half terms as County Executive, he's off to the proverbial Gracedale of Politics, LVEDC. He promises in today's article to make the agency bigger, hide your wallet.

*The prominent article in the Thursday May 31 hardcopy paper is difficult to find on the website. It can be found  under business articles, under the extended more articles click spot.

Abusing Cedar Park

It's hard to imagine that after $hundreds of thousands of dollars in park plans, $millions in park improvements, we end up inflicting this much abuse on our park. I understand that nature conspired against hope, with three days of continuous rain. But the operative word in MayFair is fair. Put a fair next to a lake in a floodplain, add three days of rain, dozens of trucks, and you produce massive damage. Take a park department down about one third it's staff from just a few years ago, and it will take the rest of the summer just to get the park back to normal. Normal is a relative term. By my standards, we will never return to normal. The new, highly successful destination playground places enormous demands on existing parking, especially with the Cedar Pool season about to begin. Had former park director Weitzel had his way with his proposed Destination Water Park, Cedar Park would be essentially an amusement park, instead of a city park. In terms of protecting one of Allentown's main assets, it's park system, the Pawlowski administration is useless. The organization, Friends of the Parks, is useless. Next Tuesday, June 5, I had scheduled a WPA meeting. We will expand our agenda to protect the park system in general. Please join us 7:00p.m. at the Allentown Library.

TeleCommunications Problems

molovinsky on allentown is experiencing problems with the communication link to the bunker. Our reporters are on duty, and articles are still being written. Publication will be resumed as soon as possible. Our apology for any inconvenience this disruption has caused.

The Mayor's Tool Board

When Mayor Pawlowski chose Andrew Kleiner for Allentown's Environmental Advisory Council, the appointment had to be approved by City Council. I recall Peter Schweyer telling Kleiner that he should let Council know whenever he had any concern about an Allentown policy that adversely affected the environment. Before retiring and dedicating himself to the environment, Dan Poresky had created one of the most successful single store camera businesses in the country; He's a thorough guy. The Advisory members, besides being knowledgeable about the environment, were for the most part, Pawlowski supporters. Poresky recently had an editorial in The Morning Call where he outlined, point by point, the detrimental consequences of the newly approved Trash to Energy plant. He, and numerous environmentalists, spoke out against the project at council, the night it was approved. At a recent Council meeting, the Advisory Council formally stated their opposition to the project."It is the opinion of the EAC that this contract puts Allentown at unnecessary risk for financial losses and environmental damage to the city's air, water, and quality of life while discouraging the adoption of less expensive and environmentally healthier options for its waste." At a previous meeting, Council President Guridy ignored their individual opinions, at this meeting, he told them they were too late. At the next Council meeting, they should tender their resignations, unless they don't mind hanging on the Mayor's pegboard.

UPDATE:  The EAC currently only has three members(Kleiner, Poresky and Thomases), although they're designated for seven.

Syrian Commotion

This weekend there was a disruption in the Syrian community. When the protests first began in Syria, there was a demonstration of support for Assad and the Syrian government here in Allentown. Allentown's Syrian community dates back to the 1900 era, when many families migrated from Amar, in the valley of the Christians. The Syrians, Jews and other ethnic groups lived and worked together in the 6th Ward. Second Street was almost exclusively home to the Jews and Syrians. In 1903 practically every house in the 600 block was Jewish, including my grandparents. Although the Jews migrated up town to 6th Street, there still is a Syrian presence in the Ward. Hafez Assad, father of the current president, supposedly had a Christian nanny, and an affinity for the minority. Ties between Second Street and the homeland have existed for many decades, including Syrian Ambassadors speaking at local events. In more recent years, newer immigrants have a more personal experience with the realities of the current regime. Tensions between the two groups, newer immigrants and the community here for a hundred years, erupted at a protest this weekend in center city. I invite my friends of Syrian descent to elaborate on this post.
reprinted from June 6, 2011


UPDATE: The turmoil in Syria has only greatly increased since this post was written last year. Let us hope for a quick resolution to the tragedies occurring there.

The Synagogues of Jerusalem

Except when barred by one conqueror or another, Jews had lived in Jerusalem since King David. Prior to Jordanian rule in 1948, there was a Jewish majority for 150 years. In 1864, eight thousand of the fifteen thousand population was Jewish. By 1914, two thirds of the sixty five thousand residents were Jewish. In 1948 the United Nations Partition Plan divided the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. Jerusalem was to be initially an international city, with access guaranteed for all. This plan was rejected by the surrounding Arab nations, which attacked Israel in concert immediately upon the UN vote. When the truce was declared, Israel had survived, but East Jerusalem(walled Old City) was in procession of TransJordan. The Jordanians subsequently destroyed over 50 synagogues in the Jewish Quarter, which dated back to the 1400's. For hundreds of years both Christians and Jews were prohibited from building higher than Muslim structures. The few synagogues which survived were the ones built mostly below street level. The oldest surviving synagogue, The Jerusalem Synagogue, was built by the Karaite Jews in around 900. Shown above is the Ben Kakai, a Sephardic Synagogue built in the 16th Century.

Perhaps the most famous synagogue destroyed by the Jordanians was the Ashkenazi Hurva Synagogue built in 1720, it's dome visible in the top center of this photograph from the 1920's. It's replacement has just been completed.

reprinted from April 27, 2010

UPDATE: Israel Unites Jerusalem

The Morning Call Agenda

The article headline yesterday was that so far, Hanover township spent $28,000 on legal fees fighting the arena project. The article did mention that the legal firm is representing nine separate townships and one school district. I suppose a headline of $2,800 each would have been far less dramatic. The paper actually filed a Right To Know request to ascertain that figure. This is the same paper that didn't bat an eye about the AEDC and ACIDA spending $65million dollars to dig a hole, and for Reilly to buy the properties around it. Meanwhile, back at the park system, Allentown spent $80,000 on Weitzel's Water World plan. We also spent big amounts on the Destination Dog World and Peddle Your Fanny Park To Park. Add in the Destination Playground and Paths To Paths At Cedar Park, and you're looking at close to a $half million in blueprints. Where's the article on those expenditures? Where's the Right To Know request?
UPDATE:  The Morning Call's Best of the Blogs Sunday feature showcases Bill White's blog.  He reprimanded Hanover and Bethlehem Township from benefiting from the Casino grants, while opposing the Allentown Arena.  He  equated the casino, built with private money, which shares huge profits with the townships, with the arena. The arena is to be built with public money, and would borrow/use suburban Earned Income Taxes  for 30 years.  Perhaps The Morning Call should look beyond it's own blogs for the Best.

Depot At Overlook Park

Old timers have noticed that the contractor's building on Hanover Avenue transformed into a community center for Overlook Park. But only the oldest, or train buffs, realized that the building was the freight depot and office for the Lehigh & New England Railroad. Lehigh & New England was formed in 1895, primarily as a coal carrier. The line ran from Allentown to Maybrook, New York.

In 1904 it was acquired by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The line ceased operation in 1961. Among it's infrastructure were impressive bridges across both the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, both of which were dismantled. Ironic that a remnant of our industrial era is being utilized by the successor of a public housing project.

reprinted from February 17, 2011

1953 In Allentown

In 1953 you could escape the crowds on Hamilton Street by walking down beyond the third department store, Zollinger Harned, to the 500 Block. The malls in Whitehall were still two decades away, and Hamilton Street was where the Lehigh Valley shopped. Although the photograph above shows a trolley and a bus, the last trolly would run in June of that year. South side Allentown was bustling with Mack Truck and General Electric. The first supermarket, FoodFair, opened that year on Lehigh Street, now the Parkway Shopping center. In addition to the three department stores, downtown Allentown boasted three five and dimes and five movie theaters. Ike was our President, and Brighton Diefenderfer was our mayor. In the scene above, Man In The Dark is playing at the Colonial Theater. In that 3D movie, a criminal gets a second chance if he submits to an operation to excise the criminal portion of his brain. In 2012, could we give our elected officials that option?

The Legend Begins

On July 4th, 1934 Joe louis made his debut as a professional fighter. Thirteen months and nineteen straight victories later, most by knockout, 62,000 fight fans would jam Yankee Stadium to watch the new sensation fight the giant, Primo Carnera.

New York, New York - Primo Carnera, giant Italian boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world, and Joe Louis, hard-hitting negro heavyweight from Detroit, Michigan, weighed-in this afternoon at the offices of the New York State Boxing Commission for their fifteen round bout tonight at the Yankee Stadium. - 6.25.1935

Although badly battered from the first round, Carnera would gamely stay in the fight till it was stopped in round six. The legend of the Brown Bomber was clearly established.

photo of Primo Carnera
As a pardon from local politics, this blog presents boxing from the Joe Louis era, local Allentown history, and posts on the Holy Land. The above post is reprinted from August 20, 2010.

A Rejected Letter

The Morning Call has declined to print my reply to Vincent Stravino's letter about Israel. I was invited to address their concerns, and resubmit the piece. In my opinion Stravino uses what I consider propaganda techniques in his letters. He takes the Methodist resolution and attempts to give it divine authority by mentioning Bishop Tutu and the Presbyterian Church. Although I would have preferred the much larger Morning Call audience to read my reply, I present both Stravino's published letter and my rejected reply.

  The United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant church in America, has recently considered the ongoing Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Land. The Methodist General Conference approved a resolution urging the U.S. government to end all military aid to the region, called on all nations to prohibit any financial support for the construction and maintenance of settlements and called on all nations to prohibit the import of products made by companies in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Church did not endorse divestment of their pension funds from three American military contractors who sell offensive weapons to Israel as part of $3 billion of U.S. aid yearly. The Methodist vote followed intense lobbying from rabbis on both sides of the issue. In a letter of support, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa characterized Israeli treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. The Presbyterian Church in the United States will vote soon on these same issues. The United Methodist Church has bravely moved from sympathetic words to tangible action against injustice. Let's all stop our taxpayer dollars from being used to fund settlements and violence against innocent Palestinians. Today America needs the money far more than Israel. Tell Congress. Vincent Stravino 

Vincent Stravino and I have been dueling about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for over a year here on the Letters To The Editor page. We also have conducted a private correspondence. Although Stravino is currently in Israel and the West Bank with the Inter-Faith Peace Builders, on Tuesday his letter was published citing positions by the Methodist Church against Israel. I suspect that Stravino is not a Methodist, and know that he is not authorized to be their spokesman. I have received an email from Stravino and his group from Israel; In it they note the "Nakba (Catastrophe) and the birth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The "catastrophe" refers to the creation of Israel in 1948. Any person who questions the legitimacy of Israel, whether a Palestinian in the West Bank, or a peace activist from the Lehigh Valley, is hardly an honest broker for a just solution. Michael Molovinsky

Hybrid News

My post on Monday, Ethics and Editorials,   discussed how The Morning Call seemed to be blurring the news and their opinions. Yesterday, as if to prove my point, we saw a hybrid headline. Inserted into the headline article by reporter Matt Assad, was a box listing their second article, by columnist Bill White. White was offended by the smugness and coldness of Bethlehem township concerning the catastrophic hole in Allentown. He should have watched a former merchant literally cry in front of City Council last spring. Today, the paper continues the news/opinion casserole. Their formally dormant blog, Valley 610, has an inane poll comparing the casino and arena. Never mind that the casino was build by private money, and gives money back to the region. The Arena would be built by taxes, and take money from the area.

Pawlowski's Poor Priorities

The former Barber Quarry rail spur is no secret. The line ran along the Little Lehigh, under both the 8th Street and 15th Street Bridges, ending up near the present day Hamilton Family Diner. I have posted about it often; The Train of Lehigh Parkway, also The Train of Union Terrace and The Junkyard Train. It has played a role in several City plans. It's former railbed would be incorporated into the Trail Network Plan, and the AEDC received a grant to perhaps reinstate the rail line. Both these projects have been covered here at molovinsky on allentown. Today we are told that construction of the 15th Street Bridge replacement will be delayed because of arsenic found by the former railbed. Arsenic, and other pesticides were previously used to make railroad ties. This also is no secret. We are a city which can work with the state government to fast track development for political and private benefit, but are content to have the entire southside isolated. When construction finally does begin, it was suppose to start last November, the bridge will be closed in both directions for over a year. Schreiber's Bridge, the 184 year old stone structure a quarter mile west, has been taking a pounding.*  In 1957 the 15th Street Bridge opened, finally providing a good connection between South Allentown and the remainder of the city. Because Pennsylvania was considering it's replacement, Community Development Director Pawlowski, under Afflerbach, didn't have it's metal beam structure painted. Because Mayor Pawlowski has been consumed with Transforming Allentown, no haste has been applied to the bridge project. While the politicians and press lament about the Hole at 8th and Hamilton, I'm concerned about the quality of life issues; That bridge is one of them.

*This blog has noted the on going damage to Schreiber's Bridge from heavy use with just one lane of 15th Street Bridge currently closed.  This blogger personally informed Mayor Pawlowski of the damage. 

Ethics and Editorials

The Ethics Debate at DeSales University was cancelled because of ethics. Originally scheduled for last week, Sy Traub and R.B. Reilly were to represent the NIZ against Steve Thode, Lehigh Professor and opponent. The proponents supposedly had to drop out because of pending litigation. I had questioned Sy Traub at the WFMZ Debate for the same reason; Why he could participate, but Sara Hailstone couldn't? This evening Bethlehem Township Commissioners will discuss the Arena issue, despite having filed a lawsuit, despite being involved in litigation.

 Several years ago The Morning Call ceased printing in house Editorials, instead expanding the Your View space, opinion pieces from their readers. When they had editorials, supposedly there was a firewall between them and the news. This past week, I wrote about the push poll conducted by Muhlenberg and the paper. It clearly seemed a vehicle intended to promote the arena, an editorial dressed as the news. They had to put the financial issue aside to conduct the poll. That's like putting aside the shooting and asking Mrs. Lincoln how was the play? The Morning Call continued the editorial in yesterday's paper, using the article, and a quote from Alan Jennings about kicking Allentown when it's down, in the week's roundup section.

 No reflection on the individuals invited, but perhaps a discussion on Ethics and the NIZ was an oxymoron from the get go. Perhaps The Morning Call should print an editorial supporting the Arena project, and stop compromising the objectivity of their news articles.

related post at O'Hare's Ramblings

The Bricks of Allentown

When Mildred Gehman* portrayed the house on the southeast corner of 12th and Walnut Streets in 1950, it was already about 60 years old. Another 60 years have passed, and the house still looks the same today. The bricks of Allentown hold up well. Yesterday, as I passed the corner of Madison and Chew Streets, I noticed three buildings in a row wearing a new orange tag, Unfit for Human Habitation. I have seen many clusters of these orange tags. They are generally handed out to one unfortunate owner or another, by one inspector. Recently, I received a phone call from such a hapless owner. His two buildings were tagged for some superficial reason, such as peeling paint. Everybody knows who has painted, or paid to have his house painted, that the stuff starts peeling off in short order, since the lead and other emulsions have been removed. Back to hapless owner. Because his buildings were tagged, the tenants were forced to move. In addition to the disruption in the tenants lives, the owner was denied the income stream to meet his debt service. Upon completion of the work on the list, the inspector then created a new list upon re-inspection. The re-inspections required scheduling specific inspectors, such as plumbing and electric, and dragged out the time frame. The primary inspector then inflicted a third list on the owner. Over a year has passed, his two buildings remain vacant, and the owner is out over $Thirty thousand dollars. Buildings on 12th Street, just north of Chew, have been tagged so long that the orange is fading on the notices. The city can mistreat rental operators because the public has little to no sympathy for that class of ownership. Several years ago, Allentown passed a Point Of Sale inspection law, which requires inspections of all private houses for sale. Welcome to the bureaucracy. To post a comment pertaining to a specific property, owner or inspector, you must must use your name.

 *Mildred Gehman,1908-2006, starting teaching at the Baum Art School in 1946. At that time, Baum was on the southwest corner of 12th and Walnut Streets, across the street from the house shown above.

17 Minutes of Repetition

Pawlowski's interview on WFMZ is 17 minutes of repetition. He says over and over again that the city's proposal addresses all the concerns that the townships had in regard to the EIT. When the interviewer directly asks Pawlowski if he made any mistakes in implementing the plan, he glosses over the question, and again repeats himself about the EIT concessions. His premise that this was the most evaluated plan in the valley's history is completely erroneous. Although the legislation may have existed from 2009, nobody, including the legislators, knew anything about it. All news reports on the topic have been after the fact. Pawlowski considers those dog and pony show presentations about the arena, after the demolition began, to be public input. I do not believe he swayed any township officials with the interview. Watch it here.

City Without Spending Limits

The Destination Dog Park plans are elaborate. Although the pony for each pooch is an exaggeration on my part, the plans are elaborate, never the less. The park would cost close to $One Million dollars when completed. Our former park director got to include the plan on his resume, even if pooch doesn't get to play there. Seems that the designers probably never actually walked around the area, by Dixon and Mack Blvd. If they had, they would have realized that the ground feels like a sponge; it is a wetland. Well, the important thing is de plane, the plan. The plan was paid for by the Trexler Trust, trust in Weitzel. The Forest Stewardship Plan was created after yours truly, this blogger, leaked that the Administration was planning on logging South Mountain. After The Morning Call appropriated the tip without attribution, Weitzel covered for Pawlowski, and we now have a stewardship plan. I also take credit for having the light posts removed from the Cedar Park paths plan; I suggested that they should be careful when changing the light bulbs in the flood plain.* Weitzel and his expensive plans are gone. In a recent letter to the editor, Friends Of The Parks President Karen El-Chaar, lamented his departure as the loss of a visionary.

* My archivist reminds me that Weitzel denied that lights were planned for the path on the west side of Ott St.  What was planned, and discarded partly because of my efforts,  was the plan to turn the stone house by the rose gardens into a cafe,  and built a wedding pavilion across the creek from the rose garden.

Arena Push Poll

Muhlenberg College and The Morning Call have collaborated on another one of their famous polls, famous for wrong conclusions. In 2005, they had Heydt ahead of Pawlowski by 7 points. Pawlowski won by 20 points. Were they 27 points off, or worse, were they trying to effect the election? Was their intent to keep the Republicans content and at home? These polls are conducted by Chris Borick, Muhlenberg's political science professor. During a Presidential election, the Morning Call photographed a group of people whom Borick claimed were undecided, and analyzed their responses to the debate questions. By coincidence, I knew half of the people. Although they may like to proclaim themselves independent and undecided, they were committed Democrats.
 Their newest mistake is that valley residents look forward to the Allentown Hockey Arena, and think that it's a good idea, because 58% of respondents felt the arena would have a positive impact on Allentown.

"Politics aside, financing fight aside, Lehigh Valley residents see this as important to Allentown," Borick said. "Despite all the negative news, the public is fairly positive about what this can do for the city — and that includes people from inside and outside the city."

 Although  the pollster himself concluded in 2009 that the public doesn't appreciate their taxes used for such projects, the poll   ignored how people feel about the misappropriation of their taxes for this particular  boondoggle.    Why this push poll now?  It appears to be a response to the  the current  controversy to add support for the arena project.  Pawlowski should buy him lunch.     The Molovinsky Survey of Allentonian Opinion, conducted early morning in diners throughout Allentown, thinks the arena is in the wrong place, and they probably will not go there. I would have more respect for their poll, had they done it before they dug the hole.

It's de Plane, It's a Plan

Believe it or not, Pawlowski's Plane, I mean plan, for Allentown in 2005 was Weed and Seed, a stock federal government plan that produces little to no results. In 2005, when I called Pawlowski's plan crabgrass, he replied, At least it's a strategy! His plans have grown more ambitious. By 2006, he outgrew Weed and Seed and was counting on townhouses to revitalize Allentown. We gave the neighborhood parking lot near 8th and Walnut, along with KOZ designation, to Nic Zawarski to build townhouses. The last ones were just sold at auction, for 50cents on the dollar. The Fegley family formed a real estate LLC and purchased them. Decades ago, a controversial City Councilman proposed that we drop a bomb on Allentown and start over. Ironically, the city was in much better shape then. Although Pawlowski didn't drop a bomb, it looks like we did. We now have a Transformational square block hole, and every township in Pennsylvania suing us. Pawlowski even wants to close the airport where de plane lands.
The plane arrives

Ignoring The Blueprint

Back in the early 2000's, when Ed Pawlowski was Community Development Director for Mayor Roy Afflerbach, Trexler Trust suspended it's support for the Allentown park system. The yearly park grant was put into an escrow account. It had been discovered that the Trexler park grants were being diverted, and used for the general fund of city operation. To prevent that sort of misuse in the future, the Trexler Trust in 2005 commissioned a master plan for the park system, suggesting what sort of projects would be an appropriate use of their funds. The comprehensive plan, from a Philadelphia land use planner, took inventory of the entire park system, making recommendations for each separate park. It concluded that Cedar Park was being overused, loved to death. In the meantime, back at Tammany Hall, Ed Pawlowski ran for Mayor in 2005, with some of his closest advisors being Trexler Trustees. The Park and Recreation posts were combined, and a new director was hired. Greg Weitzel, with a graduate degree in recreation, was fresh from building a destination playground in Lewisburg. With Pawlowski and Company distracted with their Transformation Schemes, Weitzel commissioned more Destination plans, ignoring the expensive Trexler blueprint. When Weitzel, like Elvis, left the arena last week, he took with him plans for a destination water park at CedarBeach.  Had he stayed, we would be competing with Dorney Park.  The Trexler Trust remains under Pawlowski's influence, ignoring their own mandates.

Allentown Becomes Reillytown

molovinsky on allentown exclusive*
Just as William Penn gave this town to William Allen two hundred and fifty years ago, Pat Brown, Jennifer Mann and Ed Pawlowski have now given the town to J.B. Reilly. Actually, Reilly's getting a better deal than Allen, because the existing taxpayers will underwrite all his new acquisitions. This blogger has learned that with three exceptions, Reilly has purchased the square block across from the arena; that would be from 7th to 8th, and Hamilton to Walnut. The exceptions are the LCCC Portland Place building, and two adjoining store fronts. All other properties are either under an agreement of sale, or have one pending. One of the sellers claim that they were initially approached by a strawbuyer, who used language of eminent domain, similar to the tactics employed on the arena side. Although the offers appear fair to generous, several of the sellers supposedly felt they had little to no option. Although I initially thought that the threat of domain was an idle threat, perhaps it is possible. City Council really doesn't know what authority they gave the City and it's agents, when they signed that dotted line. One council member hoped it wouldn't result in just some rich white guys getting richer; Guess what? Just as the general public was not aware that the NIZ taxing mechanism could be used by approved private parties, few people understand that property taxes** will be used if the earned income and sales tax fall short. In addition to the block outlined above, Reilly's City Center Investment Corp., funded by an initial $20million from the City Authority, and a yet disclosed second amount, is buying up both sides of Hamilton, from 5th to 10th Street. Additionally, he is purchasing the property north of Linden Street, to Turner Street. Several displaced former merchants who owned property on Hamilton, will now be tenants in Reilly buildings.

City Center Investment Corp. is a visionary real estate development and management company....We look forward to welcoming many tenants to live, work and play in what will be an inviting, accessible urban community.

Considering that Reilly hasn't been given the keys to the city, but rather the city itself, let us hope he succeeds.

*When The Morning Call reads this post, and produces their own longer version, with charts and maps, will they give this blog appropriate credit?
**Our trusted elected officials insist that property taxes cannot be used.(May14,2012)
Reprinted from January 9, 2012, as a companion piece to the Reillyville Video at LV Ramblings

Great Balls of Fire

The Morning Call doesn't refer to me as disdainful, misguided and dour for nothing; I take them to task. No doubt they considered Sunday's piece on the arena epic. Although I have already criticized it for verboseness and style, allow me to redress some errors of substance. The largest area ever submitted to a redevelopment bulldozer was the Lehigh Street hill, near South 6th Street and the now closed racquet ball club. Three square blocks were then leveled. Like the arena project, the displaced were a minority, who received little consolation for their ordeal. This morning's article continues to minimize the abuse recently suffered by the displaced merchants. Last summer, the newspaper dismissed the merchants as selling discount clothes and cheap electronics. Today, one very short paragraph was used to dismiss their twenty years on Hamilton Street. They're conveniently dispatched by saying that they were overpaid for their property. They could have written how the day care center never reopened, or one merchant  ended up on Hanover Avenue, with no foot traffic or business. The laborious article is written with a wildfire theme. The reporters marvel themselves with the imagery; Inferno,firestorm,burning, extinguishing the flare-up,spark,etc, etc, WE GET IT. The article minimizes the City's arrogance and secrecy, instead, elaborating on accusations that the townships are being punitive toward Allentown. While they briefly gloss over the insider deals,  they write that municipalities and developers have been colluding on the lawsuits. They quote Alan Jennings defending Allentown and the project, but omit that as an advocate for the poor, he's on the wrong side of the issue. The article concludes with an insider explaining what a catastrophe it would be for Allentown, and the Lehigh Valley, if the arena isn't built. Although it would be a catastrophic for Pawlowski and Reilly, the rest is meant as an ultimatum. The article ends with threats about a wildfire and scorched earth.

The Wages of Greed

Shown above are former customers with a former merchant, in a former store, in a former building on Hamilton Street. They are all gone now, replaced by a hole and lawsuits. When I first starting blogging about the arena, over a year ago, there wasn't too much interest. I wrote about fairness, level playing fields and the years those merchants had invested in Hamilton Street. They pleaded to no avail with the Administration and City Council; They even had a meeting with Pat Browne. They are an industrious people, and landed on their feet. I cannot say the same for Allentown. If it was greed or arrogance, apparently the Reilly/Pawlowski/Browne cartel reached for a little too much. Townships have joined townships defending their tax-base against the EIT grab. Developers outside of the NIZ will now also legally assert themselves to remain competitive. As Pennsylvania cuts back on services, local representatives will have to explain their vote for HOCKEY-GATE. As the bonds are delayed, if not cancelled, a local banker and bank will have to hope for repayment. J.B. Reilly is now sitting on a square block of inter-city apartments, not the clientele he envisioned. One thing is for certain, if the project gets back on track, the pot will not be as sweet as the big boys hoped, nor should it.
I usually age a post at least a year before I would reprint it. The above post is less than a month old, from April 20th. Things have not been going well for Pawlowski's hole. The municipal lawsuit has been enjoined by more townships, and the state wide township association might well join the fray. It appears now that we might be aging the hole. I have added a list of links to the April 20th edition of this post. Those links outline the history of the arena from inception, through November 2011.


UPDATE: Sunday's Morning Call has a feature story on the arena. In four pages and six thousand words, they cover the paragraph above. The article concludes with the notion that it would be a tragedy if Allentown is left with the hole, I'm not so sure. The expensive $35million dollar hole would have the potential to eventually attract market demand uses. That may well serve the taxpayers better than a $600 million dollar failure, which enriches the few, and burdens the community for the next century.

Discovering Pawlowski's Hole

Bill White and Paul Carpenter took a walk together about two weeks ago, something they hadn't done in years. Walking west, up Linden Street from The Morning Call, they discovered Pawlowski's hole.

 "Holy Cow, what's that?" asked Carpenter.

 "I bet it's for that arena," replied White.  "I'll do some research."

 Bill emailed Paul later in the day. I was right, the hole is for the arena.

  Arena for what? 

  Hockey.

 Carpenter reply.  I love hockey, I'll do a column about that.

 Since that walk, Bill attended the Great NIZ Debate at WFMZ, and pumped out two columns. Paul had his first one today.

photocredit:Harry Fisher/ The Morning Call

Guarding The Parks

I never imagined that as a boy growing up in Lehigh Parkway, that 60 years later, I would have to spend my time defending the parks. Especially defending them against the Park Director and The Trexler Trust. Weitzel thanked the Trexler Trust in his departing statement last week. He left town for a new job, with his resume enhanced by all the plans we paid for. Pardon me, but I have been saying for years that he was building a resume at the expense of our treasured park system. His Water Park plan was so over the top, that even City Council asserted themselves, an exercise they hadn't performed in years. Supposedly, Trexler Trust, still subservient to Pawlowski, was prepared to fund this absurdity. How sad that Fountain Park Pool has been closed for several years over $160,000 worth of repairs, when we just spend $80,000 for the Swimming Toward The Future Presentation. That study claims that it will cost $4 million to renovate our existing pool system. I believe that they exaggerated that figure, to justify their proposed $11 million Water Kingdom. I have learned that Allentown is conducting a nationwide search for a new park director. We would be better served by someone already working in, and familiar with our park system. We had enough grandiose plans and projects in the last five years to last us for many decades to come.

Misguided, But Not Demeaned

Bill White usually doesn't concern himself with politics. Over the years, like a teacher with decades of lesson plans, Bill has a file of themes to fill the space. By the time the last Christmas light column appears, it's almost time for Eating his way through Musikfest. Before judging the cakes at the fair, he has his Hall of Fame. He claims it's intend is not to ridicule, and cites the Cipko brothers as proof, because they were philanthropists. White omits that he portrayed them as buffoons with oversized toupees. For those who think I'm being harsh on Bill, let me quote him from May 22, 2008. I’ve milked the Hall of Fame for all I can this year, as is my wont, but there’s one more bit of unfinished business. Bill wrote his second column on the Great NIZ Debate and described me as misguided, once again. Apparently, Bill has gotten emails criticizing his first column, with one claiming he demeaned me. I didn't "demean" the blogger on the program, project opponent Michael Molovinsky. I summarized his views and said I felt he is misguided. There's nothing demeaning about that. The problem of course is that he summarized my views incorrectly. He mischaracterized my comments as being preoccupied with the former merchants, and ignored all my points about the Arena and NIZ in general. But I'm starting to repeat myself, and I don't want to sound like a paid columnist.

 I'm being rough on Bill. Although he did get two columns from the debate, this is my second blog post about his columns. I probably have some jealously. He gets paid to mostly ignore Allentown politics and write three columns a week. I write six posts a week on local politics, for free, and get called dour and misguided for my effort.

Weitzel's Water World

Although other accounts of last nights meeting may indicate that the Swimming Toward The Future plan was drowned by City Council, it's DNA lives in the new resolution.  Council thinks that somehow, they must get something from the $80,000 study.  It was not done in vain; Weitzel used it as part of his resume to secure his new job in Idaho.  Mike Schlossberg wisely pointed out that a future Council may misconstrue the passing of even a  revised resolution as essentially approving the contents of the plan. The Council will be changing dramatically. Schlossberg will be going to Harrisburg, with Schweyer not far behind. Julio Guridy, and his protege Cynthia Mota, indicated pleasure with Weitzel's Water World.   Francis Dougherty is the mad scientist who will nurture the DNA, until which time the monster can be resurrected. Dougherty is both the former and current Managing Director of Allentown. During his first term, he is the one who brought Weitzel to Allentown.

The politicized Trexler Trust is still on board with Water World. Weitzel's plan was his most ambitious to date. The destination water park would fill the entire section of the park near the Ott and Hamilton Street intersection. That plan should be formally rejected.  A new plan should be created which simply indicates that Allentown will conform with ADA regulations, and strive to open and operate our five swimming pools in a clean and safe fashion.

both pictures from Swimming Towards The Future presentation

Swimming Toward The Future

This evening, City Council's Park and Recreation Committee will consider outgoing Park Director Greg Weitzel's plan for our swimming pools. The plan has a name, Swimming Toward The Future. Weitzel is racing toward his future, leaving the city in three days, for a new position in Idaho. Although I'm glad he can add this proposal to his resume, hopefully Allentown will not add the plan to our debt service. Weitzel spared no expense on his resume; The plan costs over $80,000 to present, prepared by a consultant from Indianapolis. It would cost close to $12million to implement. Among other things, it involves moving CedarBeach Pool up the slope, and adding a destination WaterPark. Tonight, the committee will be submitted to this Administration's usual push and pull politics. They will be told of a poll indicating the public wants this plan. They will be told that the Federal Government will fine us if it isn't implemented. The photograph above shows the dedication of the Irving Pool in 1941. Weitzel's plan includes closing that pool, the only one on the east side. Allentown should continue the tradition of providing it's children with clean, safe pools, in each section of the city. The meeting is at 6:00 p.m.