The Cost Of Pawlowski

The caller, owner of a longtime Allentown business, asked me why he must pay to defend Allentown against Pawlowski? He was referring to the announcement by Susan Wild, city solictitor, that she has retained attorney Robert Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, to advise her on the grand jury process and collection of documents.

"I want to see the city come out of this unscathed." Wild said. "I think we have a very clean [contracting] process, and if any one individual deviated from what our process was supposed to be, we want to know this, too. We want to move forward and for people to respect the way the city of Allentown does business,"

The FBI didn't raid city hall because of the process, but because of the way that it was implemented. At the end of the day, the fair implementation of  public policy depends on ethics, which were apparently lacking in Allentown. I'm afraid this is another Billy Joel song, for the City Without Limits.

Public Pawlowski Reaction Disappoints Media

Both the main and alternative stream media were disappointed by the lack of public comment on Pawlowski at last night's council meeting, there was none. Emily Opilo, of The Morning Call, had a special article yesterday announcing that it was the first meeting since the FBI raid, and crowds of protesters were expected. Blogger, and Channel 10 celebrity Bernie O'Hare, came down from Nazareth to cover the meeting. O'Hare phoned me from the meeting, astounded that nobody was speaking. He said that Democracy is dead in Allentown at least 20 times, before I hung up on him. Opilo was tweeting about how few people were there. I'm proud of the usual protesters for not showing.

As someone who has attended hundreds of council meetings over the decades, I can tell you that council doesn't listen, even when topics are on the agenda. Although, I'm also surprised that the public didn't address the issue, they would have been speaking to deaf ears. At most, they would have been told that as of yet there are no specific charges, and that council will therefore not engage in speculation.

I can tell you that the citizens are indeed talking about Pawlowski-Gate. Although, I just coined that phrase, and it will be borrowed by the press. The scandal will play a part in November's election. Candidates, who were joined at the hip with Pswlowski, will be claiming that they were not associated, in any way. Although the incident will affect the election's rhetoric, it won't really affect the ethics. As someone with experience as an independent candidate, I don't see local politics progressing beyond incumbents.

Pawlowski Rains On Butz's Parade

Yesterday was supposed to be a joyful groundbreaking for Butz's NIZ grab. His previous building was under the old KOZ rules, now time to join the Reilly money-train. What should have been a more happy occasion was subdued by news accounts. If that wasn't downbeat enough, Pawlowski arrived, only to be ambushed by Philadelphia TV. Butz junior tried to make lemonade out of the circus, "Obviously, there have been a few distractions recently in the paper. That's unfortunate, but we've come too far to slow things down." Young Butz shouldn't have been dismayed by yesterday's events and news reports, things can always sound worse, like my next paragraphs below.

The groundbreaking was actually somewhat premature. The building is still in the planning stage. What we do know is that it's being wedged onto the current building's parking lot. Butz had previously considered the Parking Authority's lot on 8th, across from the side of the arena. Truth be told, parking lots are the only thing left in the center city NIZ zone, Reilly bought everything else. Bruce Loch is proposing his pencil tower on another small Parking Authority lot.

One thing that was clear from the cloud over yesterday's promotion, is that Pawlowski is now only a distraction from the NIZ business. Before too many questions are raised, and the state program itself is scrutinized, Pawlowski must go.

Allentown, The Appearance Of Impropriety

Supposedly, Ed Pawlowski is walking around town muttering that he doesn't know what he did wrong. Let me explain it to the mayor. Although Pawlowski may have found it frustrating to be cutting the ribbons on a $Billion Dollars of development, while having a $95,000 salary, he should have guarded against any appearance of impropriety. Instead, his very own campaign manager, Mike Fleck, tried to monetize business connections with the city. Although Fleck claimed that there was a firewall between these two different aspects of his business, that assertion now will have to be proved to a judge. In the most innocent scenario, it was very bad judgement on the part of Pawlowski and Fleck. This lack of judgement would be bad enough if it ended with these two gentlemen, but it does not. The Pawlowski/Fleck machine also managed many our state representatives, our city council and school board members, and candidates for those offices. They should all have to walk around with a large scarlet P/F sewed onto their shirts.

NIZ Debate, L to R, Iannelli, Thode, Traub, Molovinsky, Fleck,

Criminality and Immorality Merge In Allentown

One thing is for certain, Allentown's mayor Ed Pawlowski will be resigning, even if he isn't charged with anything. Quite a turn of events for someone, less than two weeks ago, who was touting his role in Allentown's revival as a reason to represent the Lehigh Valley in Washington. Today, the Morning Call wonders if the cloud over Allentown might stymie the fast paced development occurring in Allentown. That cloud hovers above Pawlowski, and the people who are benefiting from the $multi-billion $dollar state tax dollar gift called the NIZ, will make him go away, quickly.  Did this cloud come from out of a clear blue sky?

Those familiar with Pawlowski are less surprised than John Q Public about the allegations. The mayor is known to be a vindictive manager. City employees have toiled under that fear for three terms. Furthermore, those of us engaged in policy disagreement know that he doesn't hesitate to publicly defame his opponents. Combine that deficit of character with the NIZ revitalization, and you have the recipe for unbridled hubris. In less than a week, he has gone from stating the investigation centers on city policy, to hiring an acclaimed defense attorney for himself. I do not know if the mayor has done anything illegal. Apparently, the FBI felt that there was probable cause, and executed search warrants. On the other hand, some things that are legal, have profound moral shortcomings.

I believe that some day business and law students will read a case study about the NIZ, and how it legally stole from the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. Over the decades the state devised tax incentives to revitalize certain sites. These plans became more lucrative, climaxing in the absurd NIZ. Everything about the plan suggests that it received little to no oversight by state representatives, who seem universally incompetent. It blatantly only applied to Allentown, which required an amendment to fix. It blatantly overreached on earned income tax, which required an amendment to fix. Its application in Allentown is highly questionable. One individual was loaned a huge amount of money before any plans were submitted to a supposed oversight committee, which was yet to be formed. That individual now owns most of the real estate in the NIZ zone, including almost a square block across from the arena. More astounding, state income taxes and sale taxes are used to finance his privately owned buildings. Even the state cigarette tax can be used, yielding $millions from tobacco wholesalers he acquired. None of the above is illegal, it conforms with a new law, which received no scrutiny by legislators in Harrisburg. How did this money tree come to be?

In the last general election, seven out of eleven state representative were unopposed. The statehouse has become a closed club, where familiarity breeds complacency. Here in Allentown, Pat Browne wisely included the Morning Call building, although it was outside the NIZ map rectangle. News coverage of the arena and construction resembled promotion from an advertising agency. The attitude is that maybe everything is light on fairness, but Allentown's changing for the better.

Although Pawlowski was used as a prop to cut the ribbons, the NIZ was way above his pay-grade from it's start. He tried to use it as a backdrop to first move on to Harrisburg, and now Washington. He's half right, he will be moving. He now is a negative distraction for the Renaissance. The NIZ Barons will pay for his moving van.

The Renaissance, Drive By Shootings, And Resignation

One wonders if there can be a true renaissance, when drive-by shootings are occurring three blocks away. Although discussions of this sort are referred to as nay-saying in Allentown, that reality is affecting the marketplace. Lehigh Valley Health Network was supposed to put their orthopedic satellite on Hamilton, at the arena. After realizing that patients wouldn't go there, they chose the Westfield Building, out on Tilghman street. To fulfill their obligation to J.B. Reilly, they instead installed a fitness center. However, to induce employees to go down there and use it, they must now hire security personnel to escort the nurses to their cars. Although Pawlowski and his police chief say that crime is down, the nurses know better, they see too many victims. Reilly is succeeding in inducing a critical mass of office workers into the zone. They will need lunch, and there will be a market for restaurants. The success of any shops remains to be seen. How many new apartments can be supported, and who will occupy them, also remains to be seen.

Rumors are starting to circulate that Pawlowski is making plans to resign. Consequently, there are discussions on who council would appoint to replace him. This blog will wait to address that topic when a change occurs. However, the uncertainty doesn't help Reilly's Marketplace.

artwork courtesy of Mark Beyer

The Honeymoon Is Over

In just a few days time the local newspaper has gone from writing puff pieces to stalking the moving truck driver at Mike Fleck's house. Yesterday, somebody asked me if I feel vindicated, because this blog has been questioning the values of this administration since 2007. Understand, that back then, even the other bloggers thought that I had a personal axe to grind. Truth be told, I was offended by the inequitable policies of city hall, and the hubris and arrogance with which they were implemented. I'm offended that the NIZ fronts one man the money to build $half a billion dollars of real estate, then has the taxpayers pay his mortgage. Although the newspaper is now stalking some of the players, don't expect them to scrutinize the NIZ, they're part and parcel of it. I'm offended that although I have been championing for the WPA structures in our park system for years, half of Lehigh Parkway is now essentially closed from neglect. I'm offended that voters in this town accepted a mayor telling them who to vote for on city council and the school board.

Although these are indeed interesting times politically, this blog will go back to championing for the traditional values which make this town great. Contrary to popular hype, those new shiny buildings are not a renaissance for Allentown. They are just a real estate portfolio for a few chosen men. For a true renaissance we need values, which are solely lacking here in Allentown.

The Neuweiler Brewery, A Pawlowski/Fleck Shenanigan

The City of Allentown stole the brewery from the rightful owner. Just as the former merchants of Hamilton Street were never allotted the opportunity to benefit from city arranged grants or the NIZ, the former taxpaying owner of the brewery was never given any assistance. Mayor Pawlowski can't stand private investors: If he didn't give you a grant, you're not worth much.

In the early 70's, the City and Redevelopment Authority gave control of the Neuweiler Brewery to a friend. Under the City's watch, windows were removed and exterior walls broken through to remove the brewing tanks and piping for scrap. All metal, wires and any object of value were crudely ripped out in an orgy of demolition. With a large opening in the back wall smashed out, the basement was used as a free landfill by a roofer.

Still, the building remained iconic, because of it's rich industrial architecture. In 2003, a New Jersey investor bought the building in the condition shown in the photograph. The building has been in that condition since the late 70's. His hope was at some point the City would appreciate the landmark, and cooperate in its revival. He must have found the building citations from the Pawlowski administration mind-numbing; Can you image being held responsible for carnage committed by a previous owner under the City's watch? Mayor Pawlowski, afraid someone might want to invest private money in Allentown and pay real estate taxes, actually had the Neuweiler owner jailed when he came to Allentown to discuss the property. The city, then seized the brewery. The former Neuweiler garages, behind the brewery, had been sold years prior to a roofer. A couple years ago the City purchased the roofer's portion,  reuniting the parcel. In May of 2013,  it was announced that Ruckus Brewing was buying the Neuweiler property from the city, and could indeed use NIZ funds for it's redevelopment.

Ruckus was nothing much more than the hype of a young marketing promoter, represented locally by business consultant Mike Fleck.  It has no actual brewing experience,  no experience operating a brew pub,  no real estate experience,  with a very limited distribution of some small beer labels, brewed by contract  elsewhere.  The business,  a marketing office in New York City, already  featured Neuweiler Brewer's Hill Project on their website, as an accomplishment,  to attract investors.  They were actually seeking outside investors on the web, when given the option by the city in 2013. Given extension after extension by the city, they finally settled on the brewery in 2014.  In February of 2015, they were hooked up with the city commercial and economic development agency,  providing more documentation with which to continue seeking  investors.

Above, I compiled excerpts from my previous posts outlining the City's complicity in distressing a property with a first owner,  then stealing it from a second owner, and finally promoting a third owner, with no capital or relevant experience, but the right connection.   molovinsky on allentown, providing the real story behind local shenanigans.

Schlossberg and Schweyer Should Share Shame

Last evening, Michael Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer appeared on the WFMZ segment about Pawlowski. Both these state representatives agreed with Pawlowski suspending his senate campaign, to concentrate on being mayor. Up until this past weekend, both these boys were supporting Pawlowski's political agenda, including his recommendations about who should sit on the school board and on county board of commissioners. For years, both boys were yes Pawlowski bobbleheads on city council.  Only here, in the valley of political mediocrity, can they get away with such duplicity. School board candidate Charlie Thiel, last week part of Pawlowski's PAC, this week is sharing the scandal stories on his facebook page. These people think that if they change their shirt, they're absolved of any connection with the unfolding drama. With the local conventional media, they are correct about there being no political memory or consequence. However, there also exists an alternative source of scrutiny, thanks for reading molovinsky on allentown.

Morning Call Puppies Waking Up

Readers of this blog know how exasperated I've been by The Morning Call. Although their columnists and reporters had the bully pulpit, they instead wrote one puff piece after another about Allentown's Renaissance. When I complained about the inequities of the NIZ, Bill White actually referred to me as misguided. Today, fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare wrote a laundry list against Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski. Although O'Hare and I differ on our approach, he targets who he perceives as the perpetrator, I attack the flawed policies, many of his examples today linked back to my blog. Today, the Morning Call is finally forced to wake up. Media sources in Philadelphia are reporting the growing scandal which occurred in the Morning Call's back yard, while they reported on puppies and dining choices. This week I will reprint some posts on abuses which should have been noted by the local media.

Removing The Undesirables From Hamilton Street, Circa 2007

In the fall of 2007, Allentown began the systematic removal of the undesirables from Hamilton Street, in cooperation with Lanta. At the time, I championed for the now former merchants and their customers. Among other things, I organized a meeting at a center city church. Below, three posts from that period are reprinted. For a more complete understanding of the bus stop issue, click on 2007, listed on the right side bar, under the archive section.

MEETING AT CHURCH
As the organizer of the forum at Faith Baptist Church on Lanta, I would like to make some speculations on what was not said at the meeting. First and foremost, the meeting was not covered by The Morning Call. I sent the press release to two reporters,plus the local editor. I'd like to note the "Paper" is a "partner" in the new Lanta Terminal. It was built on land they sold to the Parking Authority and they receive free parking at the new deck; Their publisher attended the dedication with the three amigo's.(scroll down to earlier posting). All four democratic candidates for county commissioner were no shows, although one of the candidates, Kevin Easterling, expressed solidarity over the phone; but Kevin was recently hired by Ed Pawlowski as our new Recreation Director. My attempts to connect with Lehigh Carbon Community College in regard to the effect on their students at the Hamilton Street annex were unanswered. I would like to thank all the candidates who did attend, Ellen Millard-Kern from Senator Browne's office and Bernie O'Hare for his coverage of my efforts.
UPDATE: As a result of a inquiry by Ellen Kern, I did finally receive a call from a dean at the Community College. They approve of the bus stop being removed from in front of their facility because it has "reduced the litter". I inquired about the inconvenience for their students who now must walk to the Lanta terminal; they have received "no complaints". As one who tried to contact a dean myself and received no replies, I must question whether that comment has much value. As winter weather approaches, common sense would indicate a bus stop moved from in front of the building to two blocks away, is not student friendly.

 ALLENTOWN CELEBRATES

Allentown's latest Dancing in the Street, Octoberfeast, will have multi-cultural attractions. There will be genuine rickshaw rides, pulled by former Asian merchants who were forced out of business by the City Department of Gentrification. After this weeks party for the Brewpub, the rickshaws will operate on a regular basis between Hamilton Street and our new Lanta Transportation Center.

 SILENCE OF THE LANTA
Hannibal Lecter has been offered parole on the condition he restrict his diet to Hamilton Street bus riders. Once a month he will be permitted an Asian merchant; on thanksgiving he may have a preselected blogger. Mr. Lector will be micro-chipped and given a new Hamilton Street loft apartment. He will be monitored by the new surveillance cameras. Mayor Pawlowski and Armand Greco will provide more details at a press conference early next week at the new Lanta Terminal.

Pawlowski's Comment On Probe

The banner on top of Sunday's Morning Call was as long as Pawlowski's actual comment.  Cornered last night at the fireworks show,  he said only "I'm focused on being mayor and celebrating the Fourth of July." Although we have no more information on the exact nature or subject of the investigation,  even Pawlowski's eleven word comment isn't exactly forthcoming.  He  actually is focused on getting out of Dodge, while running for U.S. Senate.  The other person most mentioned in the articles on the probe is Francis Dougherty,  Pawlowski's managing director.  This was a new position created by Pawlowski when first elected for 2006.  Little did Dougherty know that it would turn into Managing Disaster.

Pawlowski's Poker Face

By now I'm sure everybody knows that federal investigators visited city hall yesterday. This morning I decided not to post on the subject, because the scant facts on the nature of their inquiry were vague. Furthermore, such posts encourage speculative comments. I prefer this blog to host on more factual observations, and informed opinions. However, there is one thing I find fascinating as the day progresses. Ed Pawlowski shares  articles in the Morning Call to his Facebook page, that he finds complimentary to Allentown, and his leadership. Although he has not been available for comment on the federal investigation, he has linked to eight stories today on Facebook, touting the NIZ and one that crime is down in Allentown. Remind me not to play poker with him.

More Mowing In Allentown Parks

I'm sure that the new park director, Lindsay Taylor, was warned about me; The trouble making blogger, who complains about the riparian buffers and neglected WPA structures. However, in addition to my recent letter to the editor, several other letters have appeared, also complaining about the same issues. Truth be told, it offends many people, especially those who remember the parks from years ago. I'm pleased to report that I see a change for the better. The park department is trying a new policy, where sections of the stream banks are being kept rough cut every couple of weeks. Although the grass and growth is still a foot tall, park visitors at least now know that there is a stream there. I would encourage Ms. Taylor to go a step further, and finish cut certain areas, where families traditionally enjoyed the streams. These would include Robin Hood in Lehigh Parkway, and the picnic groves by both Cedar Beach and Honochick Drive. With two swimming pools closed, some grass along the park creeks is indeed in order.

Postcard of Robin Hood, circa 1950. When I was a boy, my father's uncle worked for the park department, mowing Lehigh Parkway.

Trexler Smiles, Landing Revealed

I believe that today, for the first time in decades, General Trexler had something to smile about. Most people never understood why three steps were near the lower entrance of Lehigh Parkway; they seemed to lead nowhere. This morning eight people joined a grass root effort to unveil, for the first time in decades, the structure I called the Boat Landing.

Buried under the dirt and grass were several more steps leading to a landing. Chris Casey was the first to arrive and cleared these steps and the first landing himself. A second set of steps led from the landing to the main landing on the creek. These second steps had a foot or so of ground and plants.

The quality and condition of the stonework is excellent, as was all our WPA icons. I will be polite and say only that it was a crime to have let this neglect occur. On the main landing the accumulated earth was two and half feet thick. The crew dug out the curving retaining wall several yards in each direction, and cleared off the top of the wall.

Eight people working four hours managed to reveal about one third of the landing at the bottom of the steps. It was a thrill to realize we were standing at creek's edge as the WPA architects had envisioned. I stood there often as a boy. There still remains a large portion of dirt to remove at the steps base, but you can now experience the Boat Landing.

The retaining wall and the landing continue for fifty feet or so in both directions. Unfortunately a huge tree has grown on the landing to the right, but the left appears reclaimable.

We who worked there today, hope to return and clear off the remainder of the dirt at the bottom of the steps.

Perhaps others will be motivated to clear off the remaining portion of the landing to the left. Now that might even be an idea for the City; imagine restoring an irreplaceable icon instead of buying something from a catalogue. I'm most grateful to all those who helped today, and will reveal their names with their permission.

ADDENDUM:Michael –

I just wanted to thank you for organizing today’s cleanup at the “Boat Landing” in the Lehigh Parkway. It’s not often that one gets to help unearth a treasure while barely leaving home, but that’s exactly what happened today.

It was truly impressive what big difference a small group of people can make. I can’t even estimate the amount of dirt that was moved with nothing more than a few shovels and a lot of hard work.

We can only hope that the City and the Trexler Trust will become aware of this location and start giving all the great structures in the Parkway the care they deserve.

However, the best part of the story for me came after we all left. I got home and my daughter Lucy (age 7) wanted to know how things went. We hopped in the car and soon we were walking up to the stairs leading to the landing. The sun was shining, and the sunlight trickled through the trees and onto the freshly-exposed stairway.

Lucy asked if she could go down to the landing by the water and next thing I knew we were both there at the waters edge, standing on what had been buried only a few hours earlier and marveling at the beauty of the location.

We spent a few moments there - a father and daughter both enjoying something completely “new” to us (even though the landing is over 70 years old). We talked briefly about what was – and more importantly what could be again.

Thank you for making that moment possible, and I hope many others take the opportunity to visit the landing in the near future.

Mike Schware

P.S. – After visiting the landing, Lucy and I walked further upstream and saw the remnants of the bridge to the island (near the water fountain). The remaining supports of the bridge confirmed what you had told me earlier about the island being much smaller years ago.

reprinted from March of 2013

ADDENDUM: I organized the cleanup of the Boat Landing in 2009. We did return the next week and clear the remaining portion at the bottom of the steps. Although I have been advocating for the WPA structures for years, the city has yet to spend one cent on maintaining the structures.

Allentown, Not Much For History

Once you go a mile west beyond Bethlehem, there's not much interest in history.  There's also not much interest in art or architecture.  Boast as you will about Allentown's new NIZ buildings, but there won't be any awards given there for architecture.  The new waterfront NIZ district will remove the historic LVRR rail tracks.  The local historical society concentrates on shows about Abraham Lincoln, with no interest in local topics. The Allentown park department actually encourages the disregard to it's original plans and structures.  We're being led by people who seemed more concerned with their own future, be it in real estate or politics.

For years my efforts have concentrated on trying to save those historical structures unique to our area.  Although I may occasionally still succumb to that compulsion in the future,  hopefully, most of my protest will now be limited to posts on this blog.  I pleaded to no avail with too many commissions with predetermined agendas.  Let the less disillusioned plead to the deaf ears behind those dais.

Shown above is the former LVRR railroad station on Hamilton Street, which was demolished in the early 1960's.  The existing train station was the New Jersey Central.  Allentown never met a unique older building that it couldn't wait to tear down.

Wildlands Conservancy's Thrill Of Hypocrisy

Yesterday, was the last day of the Conservancy's Annual Lehigh River Sojourn. The event was well covered by The Morning Call, with both a reporter and photographer on board one of the rafts. The three day event started with a talk by Chris Kocher, President of the Wildlands. The group gets grants during the winter to demolish dams, and grants during the summer to conduct this educational sojourn on the Lehigh river. Last year, Wildlands spend over $250,000 in grant money on just a study, promoting the removal of Wehr's Dam. Their website stated that the Lehigh Sojourn would take place rain or shine, but doesn't explain why. What Chris Kocher and The Morning Call fail to reveal is that their raft adventure is scheduled to coincide with the water release from the Francis E. Walter Dam in White Haven. It is only because of this dam that the Lehigh has a steady flow of water, and that these hypocrites can get their whitewater thrill.

photo of Wildlands Conservancy hypocrites enjoying dam release by Harry Fisher of The Morning Call

A Ghost Town Called Allentown

On Saturday afternoon, albeit in a very light drizzle, I parked at 10th and Hamilton and walked down to center square. On the way back, I stopped at Tony Lukes for takeout. Besides the lonely clerk at the empty steak shop, I didn't encounter one other person. When I participated in the NIZ debate several years ago, Pawlowski's NIZ representative said that they were going to eradicate the cancer. That of course referred to the former merchants and their customers. What they have done is trade what they perceived as low life for no life. The plan now is for Reilly to add people to the mix, by building apartments for the milleniums. Not exactly an organic plan for urban renewal.

The Thin Veneer Of Allentown's NIZ

In the 1930's, wooden buildings would be covered with shingle that looked like brick, it was called tinselbrick. The thin masonry facade of the NIZ buildings is certainly a higher grade imitation, but an imitation never the less. Among all the promotion and ballyhoo, occasionally we get a glimpse of truth from the local media. They wonder if there really is enough tenants for all the new offices? They occasionally wonder if there is enough patrons for all the new restaurants? They reveal that Starbucks itself really didn't come to Allentown, but rather J.B. Reilly leased a franchise for Reilly Center, and is running it himself. In a day or two the paper goes back, and refers to the Starbucks opening as a symbol of the NIZ's success. The hospital was going to open their orthopedic center at 7th and Hamilton. Thinking better of that idea, instead they located it at the Westfield building in South Whitehall. Their arena location instead became their fitness center. We now learn that their employees are demanding increased security before they will use the facility. The arena was supposed to have 126 events a year. This year they will be about 100 short. Although the paper refers to the restaurants and shops, there are no shops. People are wondering if they want to pay $2 an hour to park while picking up their cheesesteak, or drink a beer. Reilly can induce the businesses to relocate for the virtual free rent. The unique NIZ tax arrangement has Pennsylvania taxpayers paying for this business illusion. Enjoy the show, you're paying for it.

WPA Walls, The Problem and Parkway Solution

To propose a solution to the WPA walls and structures, today the blog moves to Union Terrace, now named Joseph Daddona Terrace and Lake. Union Terrace was the last large scale WPA project in Allentown. The double stairwell shown above leads down from St. Elmo Street. A similar, but larger version graces Lehigh Parkway, just beyond where the wall there recently collapsed. We see that the top of the staircase wall at Union Terrace is missing numerous stones and mortar. This condition allows rain and snow to steep down inside the

wall, and force out the wall stones during the winter freeze cycles. I'm sorry to report that this condition has existed now for four years, and my reports to the previous park directors fell on deaf ears. This is the same condition which caused the failure of the parkway wall. It is imperative that the top surfaces of these walls and structures are maintained. The vertical planes of the walls are much more forgiving, if the tops are kept sealed. I've chosen Union Terrace for this post because of the new retaining wall built there last year, as part of the Union Street bridge replacement. In building the new bridge, it was necessary to remove the previous retaining wall along Union Street. The new wall, shown below, is actually a concrete wall, which was faced with actual stone retained from the previous WPA wall. The top of the new wall was then capped with flagstone like cement pieces, hiding the concrete and making many fewer mortar joints. If this wall method was employed in Lehigh Parkway, the replacement wall section would meet today's construction standards, and blend well with the remaining WPA wall.

Allentown Park And Pawlowski Nonsense

Yesterday, joining Pawlowski and Allentown City Council, bureaucrats and elected officials from all over Pennsylvania erected some playground equipment in Jordan Park. The event was planned over several years, and involved three Allentown Park Directors; The former, the acting and the new. Pawlowski boasted that it gave him an opportunity to showcase Allentown. If he was more accountable and introspective, he would have taken them to Lehigh Parkway, and showed them the legacy lost for future generations. He would have showed them how Allentown mistakenly allowed it's beautiful WPA heritage to literally crumble, while it concentrated on fads and public relations. Yesterday, proved that anybody can assemble a piece of playground equipment from a catalog in less than a day. I wonder if Pawlowski and the other officials, wearing their matching feel good tee-shirts, could have built one of our irreplaceable stone structures. I never expected an elected official to have that skill, but I do expect them to make sure the icons of this city are maintained.

photo by Emily Paine/The Morning Call

Allentown's Sad Excuse On It's Park Neglect

Allentown's managing director, Francis Dougherty, told the Morning Call that

"This is not an issue of neglect by this administration, the structures have been neglected for decades."

Mr. Dougherty is wrong on both accounts. Both the Daddona and Heydt Administrations responded to my requests for stone pointing on the WPA structures, and it is very much a case of neglect by the Pawlowski Administration. The city has also conceded that it knew that the Parkway wall needed work for at least the last six years. All of this is the good news. The wall was not simply a barrier for the road, rather it was a retaining wall, holding the road up. The wall was constructed when the road was cut down the side of the Little Lehigh ravine, and supports the roadway. I doubt if the roadway can be reopened before the wall is rebuilt. However, the consequences of the neglect and wall failure get even worse. When Don Cunningham was Lehigh County Executive, rather than properly replace the metal bridge by the police academy, he used a pedestrian only bridge. This means that vehicles cannot reach most of the park from the 24th Street entrance. With numerous runs and events still scheduled this summer, participants will have to enter on the narrow twisty single lane road off Vultee Street. Last summer, the traffic was routed several times on the path to Lehigh Parkway North, near Regency Tower. This is not a proper roadway, but rather just a macadamed bridle path, which goes very close to the 1858 historic triple lime kiln. Hopefully, Pawlowski will not further endanger that sensitive area with vehicles.

panoramic photograph from 1936 shows construction of wall and roadway

Allentown's Lehigh Parkway Pays Price Of Neglect

Early Saturday morning a section of Lehigh Parkway's entrance wall collapsed onto the bridle path below. This was a result of long time, gross neglect. As an advocate for the WPA, I know more about this catastrophe than others. Today and tomorrow, I will chronicle how this happened, and propose a solution to save Allentown's incredible park legacy.

 In 1928, Harry Trexler commissioned a leading American park architect to design Allentown's park system. When Roosevelt announced the WPA as part of the New Deal, Allentown was shovel ready with those plans. Four thousand men labored throughout the citys' parks, mainly between 1935-37, creating the stone icons which made the parks literally a picture postcard.

Since the early 2000's, when Ed Pawlowski first worked as Afflerbach's Community Development Director, not one nickel, nor one moment, has been spent on the WPA structures. Cracks on the top surfaces of the walls were not kept sealed, allowing water and the winter's freeze cycles to loosen the stones. The Park and Recreation Departments were combined, and a series of new directors, with their background in recreation, were preoccupied with playgrounds.

In addition to the administrators, all originally from out of town with no personal history or feeling for the parks, City Council never asserted themselves on this problem. Understand, that I have lobbied and informed everybody on the WPA neglect for the last decade.

The Trexler Trust also has not exerted themselves on this subject, although they are a major contributor to the park department budget. I was informed that they do not specify how their contribution is spent, but we know that they do have influence.
The Morning Call
The media, specifically the Morning Call, has been a mixed bag. Former columnist Paul Carpenter did  a column on my efforts. Former Opinion Page Editor Glenn Kranzley  featured several of my WPA pieces. However, the paper did not publicize or report on my Parkway WPA tours the last couple of summers.

The section of the wall which fell on Saturday was supposed to be repaired four years ago. Funds were already budgeted for that purpose twice already. The original drainage swale, built as part of the wall, was macadamed over years ago. An overflowing storm sewer, which pushes tons of water against the wall, has never been addressed. The wall had endured decades of neglect. It's a testament to it's builders that it defied so much abuse. While I care about replacing the fallen section, my real concern is maintaining the remaining walls. They need some long overdue attention.

ADDENDUM:  Francis Dougherty, the city's managing director, said that the city has been criticized repeatedly for the deterioration of the structures.

"This is not an issue of neglect by this administration," Dougherty said. 
"[The structures} have been neglected for decades."
 From the Morning Call

Mr. Dougherty, the structures have not been neglected for decades,
but what is your point beyond admitting that the Pawlowski 
Administration has done nothing in it's three terms?

Molovinsky Called It Years Ago

In his post today, LVCI credits my long-standing concern about the Parkway wall and other WPA structures. The wall collapse this morning was catastrophic. A full post to follow on Monday.

Racism In The Allentown School District

I've posted before about the local Power Northeast group, which has been demonstrating against what they claim is institutional racism in the Allentown School System. At public school meetings they have worn surgical masks, and turned their back on the board members. Recently, at POWER'S request, four board members met with the group. While those members may have attended the meeting as a responsive and conciliatory gesture towards the groups' concerns, Scott Armstrong is upset that in doing so, they have validated a very negative agenda. We all know that racism is all too real. The horrific shootings in Charleston this week remind us that racial sickness abounds. It is, however, necessary for students to know that their teachers and school support their success. The meeting produced a document which states that systemic racism must be addressed in the school district. It goes further, and states that this racism is the cause of low test scores and the high drop out rates. I don't believe that this is true, but worse, it discourages, rather than encourages, the students. Many of the students live in poverty, and some come from dysfunctional families. These are difficult circumstances for any student to overcome. But, to convey the message that the deck is stacked against them, even in the sanctuary of their school, is a disservice.

They Shoot Landlords, Don't They

When I ran as a long-shot independent for mayor in 2005, against Ed Pawlowski and Bill Heydt,  the first thing I did was take The  Morning Call reporter on a tour of the properties that I managed.  As an intercity landlord, operating apartments between 4th and 12th, Walnut and Tilghman Streets,  I knew that the rentals would become  Allentown's biggest problem.  After the WW2,  it became fashionable to live in a twin or small ranch, and Allentown's row houses began being divided into apartments.  Those apartments were mostly occupied by singles or childless couples, and helped keep downtown and Hamilton Street vital, long past many of it's sister cities.  In the 1960's, despite the thousands of converted apartments,  center city was clean, and Allentown was the All American City.  Both the tenants and landlords were hard working and conscientious.  As the urban poor from New York and New Jersey discovered the clean streets of Allentown, and it's moderately priced apartments,  a steady influx of new residents arrived daily.  These changes were not encouraged by the landlords.  Nobody ever purchased a building hoping to replace their conscientious middle class occupants, with a poorer, more problematic tenant base.  Various social agencies staked many of these newcomers to the first month rent and security deposits.  Although politically incorrect, I said at the time that Allentown was creating a poverty magnet.  My phrase and analysis back then is now recognized as an unintended consequence of such programs.  During Heydt's administration, Allentown passed a Rental Inspection Law.  Some viewed  this as the solution to the rental problem, I didn't fully agree;  You cannot legislate pride of ownership. Bad operators could, and easily did, cross the T's and dot the i's.  Pawlowski's solution has been to tag buildings as unfit for habitation, so many,  that the process itself has created blight.  Halls of Shame, either by the city or private groups, only stigmatize both the property and owner, but don't produce a solution.  The programs in place, if applied with more flexibility, can work.  The school district is starting to show concern about the consequences of more apartments and students.  Recent zoning changes allowing the conversion of commercial space by right, rather than by variance, could well add to the problem.  At the end of the day,  all landlords want to see their investment appreciate.  The city must learn to work with that basic incentive as a vehicle for change.

UPDATE:  The post above is reprinted from my archives.  I believe that my background enabled me to write a  concise, accurate synopsis of Allentown's downtown housing situation. Today, we learn that Reilly's City Center and other employers and stakeholders in the NIZ are offering $10,000 incentives for their employees to buy houses in center city. I believe that if the plan is properly administered, it can be a useful tool for Allentown.

Reillytown Reinvents The NIZ

Today's Morning Call is dominated by Reilly's plan to own the entire 700 square block of Hamilton Street. Buried within the article are new interpretations of the NIZ, which has always been nothing but a pliable work of opportunity for Reilly. Conveniently placed after the jump to the paper's last page, we learn that Reilly is increasing his NIZ backed credit line from $185 million to $320 million. We also learn that this new project will be built on taxpayer backed speculation. The paper once again presents his press releases as facts. The apartment portion of the project has been moved from Walnut Street to 8th and Hamilton, supposedly to avoid infringing on the residential neighborhood south of Walnut. Let me translate; The apartments have been moved to avoid and segregate the new sought yuppies from the existing low income population. Let me clarify that I don't think that these projects are bad for Allentown. There clearly has been a stagnation in center city for many years. However, as a long time independent observer of Allentown, no person or project deserves wholesale promotion, with no scrutiny.

illustration from The Morning Call

Allentown's WPA Bounty

When the WPA started in 1935, Allentown was in a unique position to benefit. In 1929 the city decided to expand it's park system, and acquired hundreds of acres for that purpose. We had both the space and the unemployed needing the work. A project was built in almost every park in Allentown; Cedar, Irving, Union Terrace, Lehigh Parkway, Jordan, and of course, Fountain Park. The stairwells leading from Lawrence Street (now Martin Luther King Drive) up to Union Street (Junction Street) and next up to Spring Garden Street became essential several years later. Hundreds of men would use them every day as Mack Truck turned their production to the War effort. As well built as the stone structures were, they are now over 75 years old. Steps are missing on the Grand Stairway, columns are being undermined at Union Terrace, and these monuments of our past need attention. Although they are beautiful, irreplaceable, and the icons of our parks, they are not a priority for the current Administration and Park Department.

reprinted from February of 2012

Allentown Crime Down, So Is Credibility

According to Pawlowski and his chief, crime is down in Allentown. If you have any doubts, they produced a 53 page report, complete with statistics and graphs. The report will be an annual production. I do remember the other week when the chief's son was on trial, there was at least four shootings. The report doesn't lower Pawlowski's and Fitzgerald's credibility with me, they didn't have that much. But, the media seems to have some doubts. The Morning Call placed the story on page 7, and writes according to the mayor and police chief. To me, according reflects doubt. That's the very word I used to start this post. Someone should tell Pawlowski and Fitzgerald that there just has been way too many shootings and stabbings for their first annual report to have any meaning.

Allentown's Lyme Disease Party For Children

Allentown's new park director, following the lead of her predecessors, is closing rather than repairing swimming pools. Worse yet, she is allowing the Wildlands Conservancy to again dictate stream bank policy. Once again, the streams will be blocked from view and access by a uncut swath of weeds and underbrush. Apparently, she took the Wildlands Orientation Course, because this year the barrier is wider than ever. In reality, this is a terrible attractive nuisance for children and pets. They want to see and experience the stream, and will navigate their way through the tick infested mess. In the past, we could count on the Trexler Trust and city fathers to safeguard the traditions of the park system. Those values, like Fountain Park and Cedar Beach Pools, are closed for the season.

O'Hare To Be Flogged

Taking a lead from Saudi Arabia, Northampton County Executive is planning on having Blogger Bernard O'Hare publicly flogged in Nazareth. Preliminary reports indicate that the local police chief has volunteered to administer the lashes. Full details to follow as they become available.

The Butchers Of Allentown

Those coming here today looking for a story about sloppy civic leadership will be disappointed. This post is literally about butchers, more specifically, some butchers at Allentown Meat Packing Company. A few days ago, while at the Fairground's Farmers Market, I learned that Bobby had passed away. Bobby was the "kid" who worked at my father's meat market on Union Street. Bobby grew up in an orphanage, a hardship which my father respected. One meat cutter that I knew nothing about was Lamont, other than he lived at the WestEnd Hotel. He was a bear of a man, who could carry a beef quarter from the cooler with no effort. I never saw Lamont in the market portion of the shop, he always remained in the back, either in the large cooler or the adjoining cutting room. While my father insisted that people working on the counter change their meat coat and apron several times during the day, no such rule was imposed upon Lamont. Although he would look over the trays of meat before being taken out to the display cases, he never spoke. Last time I spoke to Bobby, he told me that he appreciated that my father had taught him a trade, which he used throughout his life.

reprinted from February of 2014

Jordan Heights

In 1903, the 600 block of 2nd Street housed one Russian Jewish family after another. They built a small synagogue there, which was kept open till about ten years ago. My grandfather, who then worked at a cigar factory, had just saved enough to bring his parents over from the old country. They lived in an old house at 617 N. 2nd. The current house at that location was built in 1920. By the time my father was born in 1917, the youngest of five children, they had moved to the suburbs just across the Jordan Creek.

My grandfather lived on the corner of Chew and Jordan Streets. He butchered in a barn behind the house. The house is still there, 301 Jordan, the barn is gone. He would deliver the meat with a horse and wagon. On the weekends, when the family wanted to visit friends, the horse insisted on doing the meat market route first. Only after he stopped in front of the last market on the route, would he permit my grandfather to direct him. excerpt from My grandfather's Horse, May 13, 2008

Allentown has just designated the neighborhood west of the Jordan to 7th Street, and between Linden and Tilghman Streets, as Jordan Heights. The area encompasses the Old Fairgrounds Historic District. Allentown's old fairground, in the years between 1852-1888, was in the vicinity of 6th and Liberty. It was an open space, as is the current fairground at 17th and Chew Streets. When my grandparents moved to Jordan Street it was a modern house, just built in 1895. Many of the Jewish families moved to the suburbs between Jordan and 7th. The Jewish Community Center was built on the corner of 6th and Chew, today known as Alliance Hall.
I wish the Jordan Heights initiative well. There's a lot of history in those 24 square blocks, and hopefully much future.

reprinted from June of 2010

Allentown Rubber Stamping Even Stuns Local Newspaper

Nobody has ever accused The Morning Call of being analytical about the NIZ. To the contrary, I've accused them of blind cheerleading and outright promotion in their articles about the Renaissance. However, even they found the recent Allentown Planning Commission meeting lacking in scrutiny. The meeting pertained to maintaining a warehouse on the waterfront parcel, to take advantage of the  cigarette tax loophole.

Planning commissioners asked developers almost no questions before unanimously approving the proposal, but Chairman Oldrich Foucek III questioned whether the operation, which would have one to two tractor trailer deliveries daily, would have any impact on the health and safety of the community.

Jaindl's attorney answered "No, it won't adversely effect anybody's health or safety, and here's a puppy biscuit for your good question."

Fading Park Postcards Of Allentown

While Allentown continues it's efforts to establish a dog park, the parks themselves are going to the dogs. Take an aging park system, combine it with an administration composed of people from out of town with no institutional memory of the city, and the the famous images of Allentown are disappearing . This year the dogs got more time in Cedar Beach Pool than the residents. Cedar Beach is closed for the season; Of course, that's what they said when Fountain Pool first closed. The stone stairwell, going down into Union Terrace off St. Elmo Street, is crumbling. The park is now called Joseph S. Daddona Lake and Terrace. With Cedar Pool closed, Irving Park, with the first pool in the city, will be renamed Andre Reed Park. One stone staircase in that park was removed several years ago, rather than repaired. It won't be too long before people look at an old park postcard, and wonder where that picture was taken.

Allentown's Success Based On Smoke And Dummies

J.B. Reilly and Joe Topper have purchased a cigarette distributorship and moved the business address to their 702 Hamilton Street address. This maneuver allows their company, City Center Own Allentown, to use the $1.60 per pack Pennsylvania cigarette tax toward the debt service on their growing empire. Perhaps this was the conflict of interest which propelled Reilly to resign his position on the hospital board. One would like to think that tobacco taxes are used for health care, not private enrichment.

UPDATE: The above is reprinted from February of 2012. The cigarette loophole proved enormously lucrative.  Instead of relying on employee taxes poached from other places in Lehigh Valley, the NIZ barons could now build more and more buildings, funded by smokers everywhere.  While originally building just for the poached businesses, it allowed the barons to start building on speculation.  The Jaindl Company,  now following that successful game plan, is also purchasing a cigarette wholesaler.  This means that instead of tenants waiting for completion,  we will have new empty buildings waiting for tenants.  It gets much worse if we use a moral compass.  The cigarette taxes had been used to fund CHIP,  children's health insurance, and other health related programs. A large portion of those funds now go to finance these privately owned real estate empires.  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? In the last election for state representatives, seven of the eleven incumbents were unopposed.  They are, to a person, inept and complacent.  Of course, the dirt dumb voters also deserve credit.

Blogging Lite

I saw this picture this morning on the page of a facebook friend. In real life we don't even know each other. The strawberries were meant to be nothing more than strawberries. Another friend asked where he got them, and the poster gave the address of the fruit stand. I thought how much more relaxing that would be, instead of writing that the mayor should fire the police chief, for being involved in unnecessary tension between different police agencies. I also think that it would be more relaxing to just give directions to farm stands, rather than receiving antagonistic anonymous comments all day. I probably won't turn into a food or puff blogger, it's not my nature, but here's one portion anyway.

Pawlowski Double Downs On Fitzgerald

Pawlowski has put on the happy face by linking on facebook to articles proclaiming Junior Fitzgeralds' not guilty decision, but he knows the situation is far from innocent. Even the most avid supporters I know were disappointed when they found out that the Fitzgerald family turned down the ARD offered by Martin. They believed that the family was defending Juniors' future, so he would  be able to follow his parents footsteps in law enforcement. The Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program would have allowed that, by expunging the arrest record. The Fitzgeralds declined, because Junior would have to admit that he pointed a gun and apologize to the detectives. Supposedly, he was a model suspect because he did apologize while in custody. Handcuffed to a wall in the Whitehall Township police station, Christopher Fitzgerald apologized for pulling a gun on two detectives and insisted he only did so because he was scared. The Morning Call, May 29, 2015. Another condition of the ARD was that their attorney, Jack McMahon, would have to retract his assertion of racial profiling. Even though McMahon was willing to do that, and recommended accepting the ARD program, the Fitzgeralds declined on principle. So, the chief and his family had an opportunity to avoid the trial, avoid the insinuation of racial profiling, and most importantly, avoid the tension with fellow law enforcement, but chose not to. Pawlowski can double down with facebook, but lets hope he's not really proud. The credibility of law enforcement was eroded by a man that we brought here, and are paying to defend it. Although those who defended the Fitgeralds,  before knowledge of the ARD offer became public, are privately disappointed, you won't hear them admit it. It's too politically incorrect, they would rather double down.

Stairway To Shame

In the mid 1930's, Allentown, and especially it's park system, was endowed with magnificent stone edifices, courtesy of the WPA; Works Progress Administration. This was a New Deal program designed to provide employment during the aftermath of the depression. Stone masons from all over the country converged on this city and built structures which are irreplaceable. The walls and step structures in Lehigh Parkway, as the Union Terrace amphitheater, are legacies which must be protected. Pictured above is the grand stairway from Lawrence Street (Martin Luther King Drive) up to Union Street, built in 1936. The steps are in a state of disrepair. They lead to the great Union Street Retaining Wall, twenty five feet high and two blocks long, which was completed in 1937. I call upon the Trexler Trust and Allentonians of memory, to insist that these steps are re-pointed and preserved. The current Administration knows nothing of our past, and really has no commitment to our future. Save the things in Allentown that matter.
reprinted from September 2008

UPDATE JUNE 2015:It's seven years later, and I'd like to say there has been some progress, but it hasn't happen. While Pawlowski is on his third term as mayor, we're on our third park director, and not one $dollar has been spent on one WPA project, in all these years. Actually, the state of our historic structures has significantly declined. An indifferent administration allowed The Wildlands Conservancy to demolish the scenic Robin Hood Dam, which was only ten inches high, and was the companion piece to the Robin Hood Bridge. Built in 1941, it was the last WPA structure completed in Allentown. Union Terrace, which was the last large scale WPA project, built in 1937, is rapidly deteriorating. While the park department concentrates on playgrounds and parking lots, it's losing the stone structures which make the park system iconic. They will never be able to be replaced.

Model Suspect Exonerated

Up to last week, I had never heard the term model used for a suspect. But model suspect was the term a Whitehall police officer used to describe Christopher Fitzgerald, because he was polite, compliant and even cried. His high priced, melodramatic defense attorney, also put on a first rate performance. In a passionate — and loud — crescendo to his closing speech, he implored the jury to find Fitzgerald not guilty, so that he could continue his career path of becoming a police officer like both his parents."Do not put an end to the dreams of this young man today,"  So, young Fitzgerald joins the OJ Club.

If you're ever behind someone who stops his car and jumps out with a Glock, fear not, that's a model suspect. In a few years, if you're stopped by a cop,  who is holding a Glock and crying, fear not.

ADDENDUM: Ed Pawlowski had doubled down on his support for police chief Fritgerald by posting the Morning Call article link on his facebook page. Ed, junior wasn't innocent, he just wasn't convicted.