The Turning Point At City Council

As a blogger/journalist I'm at a table for one. No one accuses me of having favorite politicans or favorite anything...I can't be counted on to take a predictable viewpoint, so most officials have no use for me. However, I do get contacted by activists now and then, willing to roll the dice that I will see things their way. I think that this post may equally offend all. 

The Discrimination Resolution was never in doubt, because of the math. Hendricks proclaimed before the discussion that he would vote against it, and Affa often shares his sentiments on such things. Even if Napoli joined them, co-sponsors Zucal and Gerlach could count on Santos and Mota. Before the Discrimination Issue reached discussion, Tuerk called on Karen Ocasio from HR to explain procedure on sick days. His introduction of her demonstrated that people of color were in positions of regard within city hall. 

The meeting progressed through the various resolutions on the agenda, leaving the investigation of discrimination until last. When Karen Ocasio stood up again to speak, this time as an employee of color who felt victimized, I think that Hendricks and Tuerk knew that they had no chips left to play. 

Photo shows Ocasio walking past Tuerk after testifying about what she felt as harassment in city hall.

above reprinted from September 8, 2023

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 22, 2023: I've never used such a recent reprint before, but who would imagine Tuerk terminating Karen Ocasio so soon after her accusation of discrimination. The optics look so bad I must believe that Tuerk feels that he can document the justification. However, such a justification is lost on Councilman Ed Zucal, who has called for a vote of no confidence over the situation. Tuerk issued a response Tuesday afternoon that he doesn't participate in retaliatory practices. 

I suspect that Matt and Ed are not sharing a holiday meal this week.

Lunch At Dieruff

When I saw the new principal's picture, bow tie and all, I thought the kids at Dieruff  will eat him for lunch. Then, when I read about his background teaching culture,  I wasn't sure that he would even make into the building.  However, with some more research by the blog staff, we think that Mr. Schmidt may do just fine.

We know that being a principal at a high school in Allentown is no cake walk. His predecessor left under murky circumstances. In addition to the student challenge,  the board and administration don't have a supportive reputation.

An article in the Morning Call mentions that the interim principal at Dieruff is well liked by students and staff alike.  They also mention that there will now be a search for a new principal at William Allen. One wonders why not place Mr Schmidt at Allen, and make the popular interim official principal at Dieruff?

Another alternative for Allen might be myself. I remember in mid-1960's, during my last expulsion, it was said that nobody ever spent more time in the principal's office than me.

Anywho, we wish Mr. Schmidt well in his new pursuit.

Union Street Slowdown

By the early 1960's, things had slowed for Allentown's manufacturing base and the rail freight cars that served them. Train lines had consolidated, and tracks and spurs had been removed. Remaining plants were supplied by trucks, and people traveled by bus and car. The remaining train station would soon close, but the term rustbelt had not yet entered the vocabulary. Western Electric (AT&T) on Union Blvd. was now making transistors, and there was still confidence in the new economy. Allentown was the All American City.

reprinted from July 2011

Allentown's Frankenstein, The Parking Authority

The monster, aka Allentown Parking Authority would be hard pressed to pass a polygraph test. In 2005, the former and current director of the Authority, testified in front of City Council that the majority of the merchants wanted the meter rate increased. They lied*. The Authority has always functioned for the betterment of the BIG BOYS on the backs of the smallest among us. In 1991 the Authority purchased the 13 parking lots owned by the declining Park N Shop for well over market price. Profiting from the buyout was Morning Call owner Donald Miller, Department store heir John Leh, Harvey Farr, and a few other good old boys. Keep in mind Hess's and Leh's department stores had their own parking decks, and the meters penalized the small merchants. Today the monster feeds on Allentown's poorest residents. Meters still extend out to 10th and Chew, 5 blocks well beyond the closest store. Over 100,000 tickets a year are issued to Allentown's poorest, mostly the intercity tenants. Now, 15 years after serving the needs of the BIG BOYS, the Authority again schemes for the connected. Now they give away the lots so that developers can have free to cheap KOZ opportunities. The new housing at 8th and Walnut was at the expense of the existing homeowners who used those lots as off street parking. The protest which came from a neighborhood group out of St. Pauls Church was labeled as naysayers to moving Allentown forward. Years ago the Authority paid millions for the lots, paid for them by aggressively ticketing the poor, and now are giving them back to the rich. The current plan is to "sell" a lot at 7th and Linden, used by the Verizon employees, so a developer can make a few bucks on unneeded townhouses.
Easton is beginning to realize their Parking Authority needs scrutiny. If they thought about it more, they may wonder why a town that size even needs an Authority at all. Please join me this wednesday Feb. 27, 4:00 pm at the Monsters house, 10th and Hamilton Sts., to support the Verizon workers attempt to retain their safe and convenient parking.

* I conducted a survey at that time, 40 out of the 47 merchants were opposed to the meter increase.

reprinted from February of 2008

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 17, 2023:Abuse by the Parking Authority continues to this day. In recent times, the few remaining surface lots went to the few NIZ czars, as if their deals weren't sweet enough already!

Turning Out The Light

The train tower on Union Street was demolished in 1971. It survived years beyond need because the gates were never automated, and the remaining track was used for switching freight cars. The junction yard behind the State Hospital property, near the border with Bethlehem, is still active. The freight trains travel south Allentown toward Emmaus several times a day. In the quiet of early morning, you can still hear that whistle almost everywhere in the city.

photograph by Dave Latshaw is part of the Mark Rabenold Collection

reprinted from July 2011

Allentown's Mutiny

When I observed Pawlowski's corruption trial, sitting in the gallery was Phoebe Harris. She and Jessica Lee Ortiz were staunch Pawlowski supporters. 

Mayor Tuerk has not inherited that support, on the contrary. There was an incident at Ortiz's Ark Foundation with a supposed racial slur. I say supposed because the word is used differently by different people, and I'm not qualified to judge what someone meant by it. 

One thing is for certain, the Ortiz's didn't appreciate how Tuerk and his administration reacted. The poster shown above was created by Jessica Ortiz. If City Council will override Tuerk's veto of their no tax hike budget version, or reach a compromise, remains to be seen tonight.

A sure bet is that Ortiz and Harris will be there, along with others dissatisfied with this administration.

Lehigh Valley Railroad

The Lehigh Valley Railroad began as an carrier of anthracite coal in 1846. At it's peak, it stretched from the docks of New York harbor to Lake Erie. Although mostly a freight carrier serving the hearths of Bethlehem Steel, it operated a well known passenger line from New York City to Buffalo, The Black Diamond. As a child in the 1950's, I would sit in the car with my father waiting for the long freight trains to cross Union Street. A train watch tower stood over the busy crossing. By 1976, remnants of the railroad were absorbed by Conrail. Shown above, from the late 1930's, is the streamlined engine of the Black Diamond.

reprinted from January 2011

School Board Considers Cutting Off A Funding Hand

Over the years I attended alot of schools, but certainly not because I was a good student. I always marvel at the persistance of alumni organizations. Never contributing doesn't slow down the mailings. I suppose maybe they figure the alumni, or in my case the brief attendee or more accurately the brief non-attendee, might become senile and make a large contribution...And it almost happened! 

This week I received for the first time an issue of the Allentown School District Foundation's annual appeal and report. I was impressed about the good work of the foundation. Since its inception the foundation has raised $8.8 million dollars for the school district. This year $68,000 went to help seventy graduates with their college tuition. Numerous teachers were also given grants to enable special programming.

Lehigh Valley News reports that the foundation has learned through the grapevine that the administration/board is considering cutting ties with the foundation; without, as of yet, providing an explanation... Talk about shutting the stable door on a gift horse. 

There apparently will be some changes in the Foundation's leadership. Perhaps the changes would be more beneficial for the school system if they occurred within the board and administration.

City Council Cancels Christmas

In Allentown's Budget Bout, being fought between Mayor Matt Tuerk and City Council, we learn that both Christmas and July 4th are on the line.

Ortega said if City Council opts to override Tuerk’s veto, the city would be forced to cancel popular city events like Lights in the Parkway and 4th of July fireworks. The city would prioritize “essential city services” if council opts to not increase taxes, she said.

While Tuerk started out asking for a 6.9% tax increase, he is now down to asking for a 2% hike.

As both a local commentator and advocate of the traditional park system,  I know that the park department is always the victim of these skirmishes. 

A local Republican,  a tribe which has almost completely died out in Allentown, complains that Allentown is the victim of a one party system. While all our elected officials might be from the same party, they are not all on the same page.

Although I chose this old coal ad for the post's illustration, there is also a meme circulating with Tuerk as the Grinch stealing Christmas.  Regardless of the budget, I suspect that Lights In The Parkway will be lit once again this year.  What Tuerk and Council have in common is that nobody wants to be the Grinch who downgrades Christmas.

Protest Against Promise Neighborhoods

Hasshan Batts and his Promise Neighborhoods has become the recipient of the establishment's gesture toward mitigating violence in the community.  Hasshan promotes his group as Black led.  The premise is that his trained mentors, themselves previous members of gang life, know how and when to interrupt the violence cycle.

Hasshan's picture has appeared on billboards throughout Allentown, and currently is featured at ABE Airport.  The establishment always looks for a convenient place to throw some money and feel good about the effort... they think it shows that they care💝.  Both Governor Shapiro and Congresswoman Susan Wild brought Batts over a $million each.

However, not everyone is as fond of Batts' show as our elected officials. Local people, also involved in trying to better street life, find Promise a phony.  In their opinion not only doesn't Promise deliver on their mission, but they actually act as a bully themselves against their detractors.

IS ALLENTOWN HUMPTY DUMPTY?

When I read about Billy's Diner replacing Sangria at the Butz Building, my thoughts turned to Humpty. I also thought about the Diner at 9th and Linden. Years ago I posted about all the grants going to the new restaurants, and nada for the existing meat and potato crowd, that has been staying the course, and paying the taxes. I do believe that Billy's has a shot. Is he or Butz getting a little grant incentive, only a forensic accountant could tell. For Butz, going from Sangria to Billy's is a lesson in humility, that normally you have to attend church to learn. Now if some of the clientele from 9th and Linden ends up at 9th and Hamilton, that will be another bible lesson.

reprinted from July 31, 2013 

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 8, 2023:The above post is over ten years old. When Reilly's NIZed Arts Walk came on line he showed Butz what musical chairs really is. Reilly started out with Shula's Steak House, and now a dozen uses later, I don't even know who the current tenant is. I remember back when they arrested a street person for singing on the Arts Walk, thinking that he was degrading the ambience. One would think with the thousand plus Strata apartments there now, that finally there would be some atmosphere... $One Billion Tax $Dollars later spent on Allentown, if you want that called atmosphere, you still have to drive to Bethlehem or Easton.

GO TO THE POLLS AND VOTE

Colored Voters Association was the predecessor to the Bethlehem NAACP. The matchbook dates to the mid 1940's. 

reprinted from August of 2013

The Fountain Of My Youth

Just west of the Robin Hood Bridge is a fountain which quenched the thirst of my summer days. Built during the WPA era, it overlooked the creek. Although the water was turned off years ago, so now is the view. The weeds and assorted invasives growing are not a riparian buffer. Science says that a buffer has to be 25feet wide to be of any value. A reader described this thin strip of wild growth as neglect, masquerading as conservation. All it does is block both the view and access to the waterway. It denies our current citizens the beauty and experience for which the parks were designed. Although the Wildland's Conservancy would like you to believe that the Allentown Parks are there to be wildlands, in reality they were designed by landscape architects, to provide the citizens of Allentown with what Harry Trexler called serenity. He did also appreciate conservation, but for that he created the Trexler Game Preserve, north of Allentown. There are places in the parks which can accommodate the riparian buffer zones, without compromising the intended public experience of waterway view and access. Riparians could be created and maintained in the western side of Lehigh Parkway, between the pedestrian bridge and Bogerts Bridge. In Cedar Park, the riparian section could be in western side, between the last walking bridge and Cedar Crest Blvd. It's time that the parks were given back to the citizens of Allentown. They are not funded, or intended by our tax dollars and the Trexler Trust,  just to be a venue for the Wildland's Conservancy to harvest grants.  Let a child again giggle by the creek's edge. Let us get back our intended park experience.

reprinted from August of 2013

Memories Before The New Dollar General

When people drive by the new Dollar General on Walbert Avenue, few will remember fondly the rather non-descript property that was there before. The previous clapboard house faced sideways, with the front yard extending toward what was later a vehicle storage yard for Supreme Auto Body.  Behind the new store there are houses, which now have been there for many years.

In 1949, Morning Call readers found out about an armed robbery at a private poker game on Walbert Avenue. At the end of the long yard mentioned above, was a separate rumpus room, where my uncle and his associates played cards. The holdup men burst in with shotguns and made off with over $5,000, some serious money back then.

For a boy growing up in a development in South Allentown, my aunt and uncle's property out on Walbert Avenue was almost country. Along the top of the yard, where those houses are now, was a riding ring. Connected to my uncle's rumpus room, were the paddocks. My aunt was my father's oldest sibling, and her children were over 20 years my senior. By the time of my memories as a small boy, both my cousins and the horses were no longer there.

My uncle owned and operated Arlen Vending, which placed pinball machines and jukeboxes throughout the valley. He belonged to the Clover Club, a men's card playing club next to Hotel Traylor.  I know that in this era,  he would be a regular at the casino in Bethlehem.

Shown above in lower left of photo is Arlen Vending, a basement storeroom at 443 Hamilton Street. At any one time he would have 5,000 records for sale from the jukeboxes.

reprinted from June of 2020

Pinsley Sees Another Opportunity For Publicity

Mark Pinsley is suing the local Republican Committee for defamation because they sent out a brochure supposedly describing him as pro-Hamas. As an independent, I did not see the flyer, but I certainly noticed the Morning Call picture of Pinsley at the Gaza rally. 

I remember when Pinsley stood with protestors against the South Whitehall Police Department, after the shooting at Dorney Park, when a man was terrifying drivers on Hamilton Blvd. He was jumping on car roofs and pounding on the windshields of women drivers. The reason I remember the incident so well was that Pinsley was then only recently elected as a South Whitehall Commissioner, and accordingly I thought he was on the wrong side of that line. 

Pinsley claims that the flyer makes him look like a "self hating" Jewish man.  Maybe he could sue himself for being there?

You can always count on Pinsley running for higher office and conducting publicity stunts.

photo/The Morning Call

An Inadvertent Art Dealer

With the untimely passing of Jessica Lenard in 2016, I inadvertently became an art dealer.  Jessica created art for over forty years, both paintings and print making.  While shown locally at Muhlenberg College, most of the shows were in NYC.  Her work is known for its raw and naked emotion. 

Those interested in acquiring a piece can send me a comment with their contact information. Such comments will not be seen by anyone other than myself.  Proceeds are donated to the Shriner's Hospital for Children.

NIZ Money Shuffling

Save for this blog, nobody until recently concerned themselves with the shuffling of our diverted state taxes to the NIZ oligarchy. New State Senator Jarrett Coleman campaigned on scrutinizing the NIZ, but has been stymied by the NIZ shield of privacy rules. While this post is based on a recent Morning Call article,  the paper has unfortunately performed more like a partner in the NIZ, instead of a watchdog.  They actually were dealt into the hand, with their former building being included in the NIZ district map, despite being on the wrong side of the road, or in this case Linden Street.

The latest $75mil bond deal involves, as usual, Reilly's City Center.  While his two Hamilton Street projects will be fronted $33.5mil in construction loans, the remaining major portion, $41.5mil, will go to associated expenses. Those expenses include refinancing existing debt, reserve funds and cost of issuance. I'm no finance man, but it's hard to understand the refinancing of (recent) existing debt. We left a 2% environment and are now three times higher.  Are we providing seed money for projects outside of the NIZ, such as the former State Hospital parcel?

Besides Reilly, what all these transactions have in common are ANIZDA board leaders signing off with their permission. Chairman Seymour Traub is quoted as saying that the two projects will provide "thousands" of construction jobs.  I know that there will be dozens of workers, maybe even a hundred... but can you imagine thousands of workers on a couple three story projects?

I have serious doubts that Jarrett Coleman will be able to shine any light on the NIZ. However, if he even sincerely continues to try, he'll keep my support.

Allentown Flood Of 1936

In 1936, northeast United States was decimated by extensive flooding. While Johnstown, Pa. and Nashua, N.H. made national news, Allentown certainly wasn't spared. While locally flooding of the Lehigh and Delaware received the most attention, the Jordan and Little Lehigh Creeks also caused widespread damage. Shown above is Lehigh Street, in the vicinity of the Acorn Hotel, south of the Little Lehigh. The building on the far left would become the Sherman Hotel, which operated for about twenty years, from 1942 to 1961. None of the buildings pictured still stand.

The low lying areas between the Jordan Creek and Lehigh River were flooded.  Numerous people were rescued by rowboat from porch roofs. At that time there was still many houses on the lower section of Hamilton and nearby Streets.

photo courtesy of the Schoenk family.

reprinted from April of 2020

Defending The Parks

This evening at 6:00 p.m., City Council's Park and Recreation Committee will hold a discussion on the dams in Lehigh Parkway. I will be there to defend the dam at the Robin Hood Bridge. Wildlands Conservancy and assorted environmental types will be there to promote their agendas. The magnificent park has been vandalized by special interests for several decades. Three WPA structures have been buried rather than maintained. Christmas lights have been strung to monetize the park during the holiday season. The steel bridge was allowed to rust away, ending 70 years of a beautiful ride through the park. Because of the park's abundantly designed beauty, it still manages to bestow tranquility onto its visitors, but it deserves more respect than now being a workshop for assorted special interests.

photocredit:molovinsky 

above reprinted from August of  2013

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 27, 2023: I lost the battle to save the dam, and the Wildlands demolished it within two days of Council's approval. The salt in the wound was them piling the broken dam debris around the stone bridge piers, despoiling a formerly beautiful vista. Mayor Tuerk has ignored my offer to give a public park tour if the debris is removed. I'm a veteran of being disliked by city administrations, but regardless continue my advocacy for the parks.

Minority Opportunities In The NIZ

When Allentown started acquiring properties for the Arena, I suggested that the displaced Asian merchants could end up with the rickshaw concession on Hamilton Street. Recently, I suggested that as a Community Benefit Agreement, our downtrodden be allowed to sell peanuts at the Arena. Lo and behold, our inspirational leaders did make room outside the new hotel for the underclass, they can operate food carts. "There's a lot of exciting opportunities right now," said Shannon Calluori, operations manager for the city's Department of Community and Economic Development. "Food vending is one of many." Julio Guridy, City Council President added, "It could also be a good opportunity for minority-owned businesses." Who knows, perhaps leather shoes will make a comeback, and the community college could provide training in shoe shining. 

above reprinted from September of 2013

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 26, 2023:Ten years have passed since my politically incorrect post above. Hasshan Batts has learned how to turn his prison past into lemonade -- m-e-n-t-o-r-i-n-g! Mentoring has become the growth industry in Allentown. Mayor Tuerk is looking at how to expand a youth boxing program. Perhaps minor minority gladiators could fight in the underused arena?

The Jews Of Iran

In 539 BC, when the Persian King Cyrus defeated Babylon, the Israelites were free to return to Jerusalem. Many instead ended up in that part of Persia which constitutes modern day Iran. Despite the current political climate between Iran and Israel, over 25,000 Jews still live in Iran. It has remained the largest Jewish population in a Muslim country since the creation of Israel in 1948, and among the most ancient of Jewish communities. Although certainly a minority in what could be perceived as an awkward situation, the community takes great pride in their Iranian history. Shown above is the Tomb of the Prophet Daniel, revered by both Jews and Muslims, in Susa, Iran.

reprinted from March 2011

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 24, 2023:It is now estimated that about 8,300 Jews remain in Iran. Turkey now has the largest remaining Jewish population in the Muslim world, over 14,000.

Allentown On A Tightrope

Forty three years ago Philippe Petit walked above Hamilton Street on a tightrope. Two weeks earlier he had walked between the Twin  World Trade Towers above Manhattan. Back then, you could count on Allentown's retail titan Max Hess to bring the best to town.

Flash ahead over four decades, and now Allentown itself is on the tightrope. Our mayor, who has been alleged corrupt by the FBI, will likely be re-elected by a coalition of minority voters. Aiding in that election result is a city councilman, who will most likely divide the anti-corruption vote, hoping to enter the office through the back door early next year.

The public is distracted by some new buildings which poach tenants from elsewhere in the valley, and the local newspaper was incentivized to under-report that reality by the same real estate deal.

Those who still seek unbiased commentary may well be limited to this blog.

photocredit: The Morning Call/August 1974 

reprinted from September of 2017

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 24, 2023:Six years have passed since the above post. Pawlowski was elected, and then convicted,and is still serving his sentence. Some of the minority/majority people Pawlowski empowered in his last campaign, such as Phoebe Harris, have been the topic of some recent posts. We now have a self proclaimed Latino as mayor. The new construction, fueled by diverted state taxes, has continued at a pace unrelated to any real estate market reality. That real estate deal now even owns the former newspaper building. Those interested in current political analysis of these changes in Allentown are still mostly limited to this blog.

Markets Of Allentown's Past

When I was growing up my parents lived on two ends of Allentown, first the south side and then the west end.  I was fortunate to have experienced two great independent markets of Allentown's past.

The Lehigh Super Market had a great section of small inexpensive toys for a small boy.  An easy walk from Little Lehigh Manor,  I could keep my Hopalong Casidy six shooter in caps, and replace my lost water pistol each summer.  The ice cream fountain featured hand dipped Breyers.  While the kids took a cone, the parents would have a quart or gallon scooped and weighed to take home.

Before  Food Fair was built farther west on Lehigh Street,  my mother would do all her shopping, except for meat,  at Lehigh Market.  Although I didn't pay too much attention, I do remember the cookie selection.

In the late 1950's my parents moved to the west end, and my times at Deiley's West Gate Market began.  Although too old to notice the toy selection,  the soda fountain became a hangout.

In addition to numerous corner markets, every section of Allentown had a popular larger independent, like Lehigh or Deiley's.   A few like Hersh's Market, have survived to this day.

photo of Deiley's Market in 1938

reprinted from April of 2020

Bullying As A Business

I've watched with cynicism as various non-profits has been profiting from violence and bullying reduction programs.  These programs are funded with grants administered through the city and school district. Needless to say, or better perhaps needed to say, these grants are funded with our tax dollars. 

These non-profits are manned and womaned by former perpetuators, who now are paid to mentor youngsters away from their former bad ways.

Currently a member of the school board, Phoebe Harris, claims that she was a victim of intended intimidation by one of these non-profits, who in turn accuses her of being non-professional. Imagine the unconventional accusing someone of being unconventional!

We live in an era of wokeness. Our White local media treads lightly with Black and Brown orange shirt issues. Everybody fears being labeled with the dreaded scarlet R

Mayor For A Block

Although I've titled this image Mayor For A Block, I could have just as easily called it The Future Mayor. When the Budweiser Wagon left the staging area on 10th Street, and rounded the corner down Hamilton, Julio Guridy had the seat of honor. Although I do not believe that Pawlowski will succeed in his try for the governorship, we now know that his ambitions extend beyond Allentown. When he does leave City Hall, Julio is the likely successor. Regardless, I have enjoyed using the Budweiser Wagon as a vehicle for my photography.

photocredit:michael molovinsky

Click on photograph to enlarge.

reprinted from September of 2013

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 19, 2023: In May of 2021, Julio would lose to Matt Tuerk in a very close primary election for mayor.

The People's Candidate

In the late 1970's, neighbors would gather in the market on 9th Street to complain and receive consolation from the woman behind the cash register. Emma was a neighborhood institution. A native Allentonian, she had gone through school with Mayor For Life Joe Dadonna, and knew everybody at City Hall. More important, she wasn't shy about speaking out. What concerned the long time neighbors back then was a plan to create a Historical District, by a few newcomers.

What concerned Emma wasn't so much the concept, but the proposed size of the district, sixteen square blocks. The planners unfortunately all wanted their homes included, and they lived in an area spread out from Hall Street to 12th, Linden to Liberty.* Shoving property restrictions down the throats of thousands of people who lived in the neighborhood for generations didn't seem right to Emma. As the battle to establish the district became more pitched, Emma began referring to it as the Hysterical District.
Emma eventually lost the battle, but won the hearts of thousands of Allentonians. Emma Tropiano would be elected to City Council beginning in 1986, and would serve four terms. In 1993 she lost the Democratic Primary for Mayor by ONE (1) vote.

Her common sense votes and positions became easy fodder for ridicule. Bashed for opposing fluoridation, our clean water advocates now question the wisdom of that additive. Although every founding member of the Historical District moved away over the years, Emma continued to live on 9th Street, one block up from the store. In the mid 1990's, disgusted by the deterioration of the streetscape, she proposed banning household furniture from front porches. Her proposal was labeled as racist against those who could not afford proper lawn furniture. Today, SWEEP officers issue tickets for sofas on the porch.

Being blunt in the era of political correctness cost Emma. Although a tireless advocate for thousands of Allentown residents of all color, many people who never knew her, now read that she was a bigot. They don't know who called on her for help. They don't know who knocked on her door everyday for assistance. They don't know who approached her at diners and luncheonettes all over Allentown for decades. We who knew her remember, and we remember the truth about a caring woman.

* Because the designated Historical District was so large, it has struggled to create the atmosphere envisioned by the long gone founders. Perhaps had they listened to, instead of ridiculing, the plain spoken shopkeeper, they would have created a smaller critical mass of like thinking homeowners.

reprinted yearly since 2010

Lehigh Valley Railroad Piers

In this era of class warfare, while we worry that the rich are only paying 35% income tax, instead of 39%, let us be grateful that once upon a time we had the Robber Barons. In this era when we have to give a grant for some woman to open a small cookie shop on Hamilton Street, let us be grateful that men built railroads with private money. Let us be grateful that incredible feats of private enterprise built piers, bridges and trestles. Trains allowed us to move vast amounts of raw and finished materials across America. This network allowed us to protect ourselves during two World Wars, and provided the prosperity upon which we now rest.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks extended from their piers in New Jersey to the shores of Lake Erie. The Mile Long Pier in Jersey City was the scene of German sabotage in 1916. A train full of munitions, awaiting shipment to Europe, was blown up on July 30th of that year. In 1914, the railroad built the longest ore pier in the world, in Bayonne. The ore would come from Chile, through the new Panama Canal, for shipment to Bethlehem.

reprinted from February 2011

New Fight For MsPhoebe

Hasshan Batts has become the darling of the establishment. Money flows his way from the city, state and Washington. They take his Promise Neighborhoods as a legitimate solution to local violence, despite record homicides continuing....never let reality interfere with political correctness.

The local media has been featuring Batts in their essays on solitary confinement.  They omit mention of why he was in prison, or why he was given solitary while there. He is the poster boy for the progressive establishment, but more literally the billboard face.

Phoebe Harris isn't a shy woman. Originally empowered by an appointment to the city Human Relations Board by Pawlowski, she has parlayed that appointment to being on the Allentown School Board and a position with the local NAACP.

Harris is now claiming that she was bullied by a Promise official, and Promise has now set their sights on her...they want her removed from the School Board.  I have no knowledge of what actually occurred between Harris and the Promise person, but I've known Phoebe Harris long enough to know that she doesn't stand down.

image from Harris facebook page

Too Many Community Services

There has been recent speculation that this year's[record] homicide rate in Allentown reflects a lack of community services. That school of thought believes that we need to invest more in the smorgasbord of non-profits, which supposedly intercede with these bad inclinations in our society. 

It appears to this long time observer of Allentown that our real problem may be just the opposite: too many services, creating too much dependence. 

There was a time when people focused on improving their lot, and rested between those efforts. [Now the streets are teeming at 2:00AM, with subsidized people looking for recreation in a less than wholesome late night culture.] We fitted out these intervention organizations with large budgets and staffs to no avail. The hope and promise of these mentor groups have produced no dividends to public safety. 

If I had a say with my taxes, they would go to more police and consequences for bad actions. The notion that one more grant may make a difference has no credibility with me.

Michael Molovinsky

The above appeared as a recent letter to the editor in the Morning Call. The bracketed word and sentence did not make it into their published version.

Moshe Dyan

Moshe Dayan on born on a kibbutz near the Sea of Galilee in 1915. When he was 14, he joined the outlawed Haganah, an underground defense force to protect Jewish settlements from Arab attacks. Although caught and imprisoned by the British for two years, he would fight for them in Lebanon during WWII, losing his eye. In the 1948 War of Independence, he fought on all the fronts, defending Israel; by 1953 he was Chief of Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces. In 1956 he led the Suez Campaign.

In 1967 he was Defense Minister for the Six Day War. He remained in that position through the War of 1973. Although a genuine hero in every sense of the word, he was held responsible for the initial success of Egyptian forces in the surprise attack on Yom Kippur (1973), and would resign from his position.

Israel is too small of a country, and its enemies too numerous, for any miscalculations regarding its security.

reprinted from April 2010 

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 12, 2023: Fifty years later and again another former Israeli hero, Benjamin Netanyahu, would underestimate an enemy. He did however correctly predict earlier this week that as Israel confronted Hamas for their murderous attack, world opinion would shift against Israel. Going after embedded Hamas in populated Gaza City is messy, but there is no other way to confront that enemy.

The Wailing Wall

Israel had hoped that Jordan would not join the Arab forces against them in 1967. It was not to be; their artillery opened fire on Israel. Israeli paratroopers fought with small arms in the Old City. They were ordered to use no artilley, which could damage Holy Shrines.

Although Israeli Jews and Christians were barred from both the Wall and Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the twenty years of Jordanian rule, Israel immediately opened access to all. Administrative control of the Temple Mount, upon which sits the Al-Aqsa Mosque, were immediately given to the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic Trust).

The Wailing Wall is the Western Wall of the Mount, which is considered the closest and only remnant of the Second Jewish Temple, and is the holiest site in Judaism. No matter where in the world, all Jews have always prayed facing Jerusalem and the Wall.

reprinted from April 2010 

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 11, 2023:The Mosque on the Temple Mount has become a flashpoint and rallying cry for Palestinians. Although Muslims do have control and access to the shrine, they can't abide Jerusalem in Israeli control. Furthermore, they can't abide Israel. 

There is much speculation on Israel's failure to guard the border and Hamas's success with the infiltration. Speculation extends to Iran, and even American aid to Iran. Partisan agendas are in full uniform. My interest and prayers only concern the hostages.

Capernaum By The Sea

Matthew 4:13: And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum,...

Capernaum, the city of Jesus, is on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The foundation of the Synagogue of Jesus, is beneath the ornate 4th century synagogue, partially restored by the Franciscans in the early 1900's.

Mark 1:21: he entered into the synagogue and taught

Nearby, the modern Church of St. Peter's House was built by the Franciscans in 1990. It's glass floor reveals the lower walls of the 5th century octagon church, which was built around the walls of St. Peter's House. Also there, shown in the photograph, is the Greek Orthodox Church of the Twelve Apostles. It was built in 1931, during the British Mandate period (1917-1948).

reprinted from November of 2010

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 10, 2023:Over the years I have written numerous posts about the Holy Land.  While most concern sites from the Old Testament, some, such as this, dwell on the Christian period. 

My intention yesterday and today was to provide a venue where people might express themselves about current events in Israel/Gaza. When the left mentions occupation, they are referring to Israeli settlements on the West Bank. The problem for Israel is that when Palestinians use the term, they are referring to the east bank, or Israel itself. For Israel it is an issue of survival.

Zeppelin Over Jerusalem

The German airship LZ127 Graf Zeppelin was in service from 1928 to 1937. Two of it's 590 flights were over Jerusalem. The first occurred on March 26, 1929. It was a night flight, during which they dropped mail into the German colony at Jaffa. The second flight, pictured above, was from Cairo on April 11, 1931. The ship hovered above the Church of Holy Sepulchre for several minutes.

reprinted from May 2011 

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 2023: Clouds over Jerusalem.

Allentown's Orange Car

While the Orange Car, on Union St. near the Lehigh River, went out of business over twenty years ago, the building sat there vacant, fading away.  Although recently demolished, there's a story behind the slow demise.

When the Lehigh Valley Railroad went bankrupt in 1976, its rolling stock and track went to Conrail. However its other assets, such as real estate, were tied up in bankruptcy.  The Orange Car building was owned by LVRR.  Many years ago there was a small six track rail yard between the Orange Car and the meat packing business to its east.  Carloads of fresh citrus fruit would arrive weekly from Florida. After the rail service ended, the lessee continued operating the fruit stand for another twenty years. 

I labeled this post Allentown's Orange Car, because there was an identical looking sister store in Reading.  That location also had a major event in 1976,  a flood from which it never recovered. 

above reprinted from April of 2021 

2nd & Hamilton

Up to the mid 1960's,  before Allentown started tinkering with urban redevelopment, lower Hamilton Street still teemed with businesses. The City had grown from the river west,  and lower Hamilton Street was a vibrant area.  Two train stations and several rail lines crossed the busy thoroughfare.  Front, Ridge and Second were major streets in the first half of the twentieth century.  My grandparents settled on the 600 block of 2nd Street in 1895, along with other Jewish immigrants from Russia and Lithuania.  As a boy, I worked at my father's meat market on Union Street.  I would have lunch at a diner, just out of view in the photo above.  The diner was across from the A&P,  set back from the people shown on the corner.  A&P featured bags of ground to order 8 O'Clock coffee, the Starbucks of its day.

please click on photo

photocredit:Ed Miller, 1953

reprinted from 2011

The Trexler Greenhouse

The former greenhouse at the current Trexler Park was the pride of Harry and Mary Trexler. The General was very specific in his will about its future;

I, Harry C. Trexler declare this to be my last Will and Testament: ......into the Treasury of the City of Allentown, for the perpetual maintenance of said Park, (Trexler) as well as the Greenhouse thereon located. This bequest shall include all the plants and other contents of said Greenhouse (1929)

Although nobody in charge of Allentown remembers, the greenhouse was a thing of wonder... Full of banana trees and other tropical plants, it was a true escape from winter for all visitors. The park director at the time touted all the money in maintenance to be saved if it was demolished. A couple years later the same director replanted the creek banks by the intersection of Cedar Crest Blvd. and Cetronia Rd.. That planting cost $750,000. I recall the price, because Longwood Gardens built a new greenhouse for that same amount, we had just lost our greenhouse, and only had a new creek weedwall to show in its place.  

Several years ago Allentown Park Department cut down all those plantings, and we now have nothing to show for our loss of the greenhouse. Even back then, I was an advocate for the traditional park system. Current visitors to Trexler Park don't notice that the weed wall has been cut down, and certainly don't know that they lost a beautiful greenhouse in the backstory.

reprinted from 2014. Postcard of Trexler duckpond from the glory days of the Allentown Park System

The Magic Of Allentown

We who grew up in Allentown during the 50's know that Hess's was a magical place, but did you know that Hess's actually sold magic. The advertisement shown above is from 1941.

By 1915, Allentown sported the Willard Magic Shop on Allen Street. In the 1940's Allentown's own Houdini, Harry Beehrle, started his shop on Hamilton near 4th. Later, after a wave of urban renewal, he would move to 9th and Linden Streets.

I remember Arthur Neimeyer's Fun shop on 9th Street. It was on the corner, below ground level. As I got older, into jr. high school, I rarely went to Neimeyer's, because he really didn't carry club or stage props, no apparatus actually, just the little S.S. Adams & the Robbins' E-Z Magic line, of basically packet magic and/or gag items. So, for magic, there was only one shop at that time (the 1950's) and that was Harry Beehrle's Magic shop, downtown on Hamilton, just up from the train station....... Harry was a gruff curmudgeon type, not kid friendly at all. In his youth he had been an escape artist, Allentown's "Houdini" and there were photos in the shop of him as a young man hanging upside down doing the straitjacket escape, etc., etc. That was where I purchased all my U.F. Grant magic and such. By the time I was in high school, Harry was either ill or had died, ........ I can't remember which, and his daughter was running the shop. notes from a former Allentonian and magician.

In the mid 80's Jim Karol sold magic from his home on Front Street. Years later, Ed White would continue the tradition from his home shop.

reprinted from March of 2020

Ring 32

When I was growing up in the mid-50's, stage magic was still popular. Famous magicians of the day would occasionally appear at the Lyric Theater (Symphony Hall). Local magicians were popular for entertainment at parties. Allentown always had at least one magic shop, back then Beehrle's on N. 9th St. was the local favorite. The valley chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Ring 32, dates back to the early 1930's. The Brotherhood now numbers over 300 chapters worldwide. Up till about 15 years ago, the local chapter would have a show and dealer convention each year in May. As special effects in movies and television evolved, the wonder of performing illusions, and it's popularity diminished; For a while, until Las Vegas once again put magic center stage. I've always been in awe of the performer posters from the early 1920's, lithography at it's best. They were meant to be exotic, to mystify, to be magic.

reprinted from December of 2008

A Cookie For Old Allentown

About once a year, Mayor Pawlowski gives the boys and girls of the Old Allentown Preservation Association a cookie. Last year, he gave them new historic street signs. Unfortunately, they didn't have much structural integrity, and within 3 hours every one of them was bent. This year we're dressing up the corner where the Association has its office. Brick crosswalks will be added to 10th and Turner, and the the stoplight and other utility poles will be painted a more historic color. The boys and girls have been good. There hasn't been one peep from them about the demolition of the historic mercantile district, and the construction of the Great White Elephant. More important, they're behaving about the traffic cluster that the arena will bring their way, when all the patrons exit at the same time. I see more cookies in their future.

above reprinted from October of 2013

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 29, 2023: The boys and girls of the Preservation Association still behave themselves. In current time they have turned a blind eye to both the sale of Zion Church/Liberty Bell Museum and the decaying WPA/art deco post office. Add the Art Museum and Historical Society to the list of deaf and blind. Enjoy your wine and cheese.

Using A Bad Lesson Well Taught In Philadelphia

Back on May 4th, before the death in police custody in Minneapolis, I wrote about Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.  She instructed the police force not to arrest for minor infractions, like theft and prostitution, during the virus crisis. Large groups of young people were running amok in center city Philadelphia convenience stores,  scooping up everything their backpacks could hold. Meanwhile at City Hall, woke mayor Jim Kenney stayed silent about this decline in civilization. Only after a couple weeks, after a merchant and citizen backlash, did Outlaw and Kenney finally reverse policy.

Philadelphia inner city kids were taught a bad lesson by their police commissioner and mayor. 

Perhaps with that lesson fresh in their mind, some of them may have graduated to the looting this past weekend.

My first reaction to the looting on Walnut and Chestnut Streets was that the police must have stood down. How could looters smash windows and enter a Wells Fargo Bank without being stopped? How could all that theft and destruction only result in 13 arrests Saturday night?

I realize that there are a limited number of police and that Philadelphia is a large city. While I can't pass judgement on the police response, I will on the looters shown above. I do not believe that their thinking centered on George Floyd and institutional racism, but rather about what they could steal.

Here in the Lehigh Valley, the mayors and police chiefs conveyed their commitment to social justice.  But more importantly,  the local protestors expressed their hopes and solidarity in a lawful manner.

photocredit:Steven Falk/Philadelphia Inquirer

above reprinted from January of 2020

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 28, 2023:On Tuesday night looters once again had their way in several areas of Philadelphia. In large cities throughout America retailers are closing shop because of everyday shoplifting.

Shootings In What's Not Paradise

Last week on this blog I wrote that it's time to raise the flag for homelessness, since flag raising seems to be a big part of this administration.  Here I am less than a week later correcting myself...IT'S TIME TO RAISE THE FLAG ON PUBLIC SAFETY, THAT IS AGAINST SHOOTINGS AND STABBINGS. I don't literally need to see such a flag flying, but let's not delude ourselves anymore that hope and promise organizations are any solution. WE NEED MORE POLICING.  We need to protect life and limb.  

Instead of the police car passing the double parker, let's start by checking them out. We already know that such citizens don't have much regard for public safety, and probably not much for laws either. Don't worry about culture or offending anybody. If Charles Roca is not up to the task, a new chief may be in order. If Matt Tuerk isn't up to the mission, maybe a new mayor will also be necessary.

illustration by Mark Beyer

The Mad Men Of Allentown

Back in the day, the titans of Allentown would fill the five barberchairs of the Colonial Barbershop, 538 Hamilton Street. That was when the town had three department stores. That was when Wetherhold and Metzger had two shoe stores on Hamilton Street. That was when Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Livingston Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. By 1995 all that was gone, but Frank Gallucci, 82, would still give some old timers a trim. The Colonial Barbershop property, closed for many years, has been purchased by J.B. Reilly. It is my pleasure to present this previously unseen portrait of Gallucci, toward the end of his career.

photocredit:molovinsky

reprinted since 2013

Jews In 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 was completed in 2010.

This post was first printed in April of 2010, and titled The Synagogues of Jerusalem

Time For The Homeless Flag Raising

Allentown activist Lewis Shupe took the photo above, and wonders aloud how we can have homelessness surrounded by a $Billion dollars of new development?  While mental illness is certainly an explanation, it doesn't make the sidewalk any softer or warmer for the poor person shown.

We have raised the flag for numerous republics in the Caribbean, perhaps it's time to raise one for the homeless? While such an effort to help done quietly would be more dignified, if political fanfare gets the job done, raise a flag and give a speech!

I do acknowledge that local efforts to help homelessness have occurred. Both the Fountain Park pool house and the YMCA have recently operated shelters.

Allentown is concerned with its image.  Both 7th and Hamilton Street gateways get dress-up grants...That's nice, but it's time to concern ourselves with the people sleeping on those new sidewalks.

photocredit: Lewis Shupe

Saving The Bridge

Allentown and Lehigh County aren't much for history. Last year Allentown celebrated it's 250th anniversary by having someone rewrite the lyrics to the Billy Joel song. The County actually commissioned a whole music program for their 200th, also last year. Believing our history should be more than a tune and a speech, I've been using this blog to advocate for the preservation of our historic structures. During the County Commissioner committee meeting last night, the project manager said that if the bridge is repaired instead of replaced, it might last two months, or it might last six months. Considering that the bridge has endured everything that has come it's way for 189 years, that statement clearly demonstrated that he was never a fair broker for options concerning the bridge. Recently, the Commissioners expressed support for preserving the King George Inn, but noted that they had no say in it's fate. Last night, I pointed out the durability of the bridge, and reminded the Commissioners that they do have the say concerning the bridge's fate. By a 7 to 2 vote, the Commissioners decided that the historic Reading Road Bridge should continue to provide passage over the Cedar Creek, by Union Terrace. 

reprinted from October of 2013

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 21, 2023:Saving the Reading Road Bridge in 2013 took me two weeks, two blog posts and attending two meetings.Saving Wehr's Dam took nine years, twenty meetings and fifteen blog posts. I'm hoping that someone will come forward to campaign for the iconic WPA/Art Deco post office. Already two irreplacable light fixtures have disappeared. For a city with a $Billion dollars worth of new crass construction, the languishing post office is a crime.

Cannibal Valley

During the summer of 1952, Lehigh Valley Transit rode and pulled its trolley stock over to Bethlehem Steel, to be chopped up and fed to the blast furnaces. The furnaces themselves ceased operation in 1995, and are now a visual backdrop for young artists, most of whom never saw those flames that lit up that skyline. Allentown will now salvage some architectural items documented on this blog, and begin tearing down its shopping district, which was serviced by those trolleys. As young toothless athletes from Canada, entertain people from Catasauqua, on the ice maintained by a Philadelphia company, Allentown begins another chapter in it's history of cannibalism.

photo from August 1952, showing last run on St. John Street to Bethlehem Steel

reprinted from November 2011 

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 20, 2023:When I wrote the above post twelve years ago, I didn't expect the NIZ to bulldoze practically every building on Hamilton Street. Worse, the new buildings are devoid of any architectual merit. The tenants in the new Strata apartment buildings are seldom seen, and appear to bestow very little economic benefit to the few new businesses. Why anyone would want to live in the new monstrosity at 7th and Linden, between the hapless bus passengers and the infamous 7/11, is beyond my comprehension. Needless to say my opinions or frankness on these topics is not very appreciated by the powers that be. If you need some smoke blown your way, buy the local paper, don't read this blog.