What a coincidence that Jarrett Coleman has been pushing for audits of the NIZ, and that the NIZ found some extra moola to give back to Pa. Understand that besides Coleman, there is no pressure on NIZ board, whatsoever. On the contrary, Reilly keeps building and the board keeps approving.
Although no authorization in the original legislation, the board now allots itself close to $800K for operating expenses. In any state except Pennsylvania, the Revenue Department might be keeping tabs, but here the NIZ architect himself is the Revenue Director!?!
The recent dividend from Coleman's tenacity about NIZ audits hopefully is just the beginning. The fact that other state legislators from outside the Lehigh Valley aren't leading this effort is testament to how broken Harrisburg has become. That Josh Shapiro is a party hero, doesn't speak well for the depth of their bench.
As Allentown turns, it was not a great week for Ed Zucal. With legal action perhaps intimidating Candida Affa, she voted with Tuerk ally Santo Napoli to suspend the lawsuit against the Tuerk administration. Fortunately for Zucal, the shift in council dynamics came after his announcement about running for mayor.
I also had a setback this week. As I was interviewed for membership on the Parknership board, I could hear interest in me waning as I explained that the current administration's public park meetings are a political dog and pony show, based on inclusion, rather than real park excellence. I can understand that many people, as relative newcomers to Allentown, don't have my frames of reference. However, they should know that for older residents the parks have seen better days.
This city and administration has enough sycophants. As a park advocate, board membership or not, my mission stays the same.
In those better park days there were numerous picture postcards of the Allentown park system. Shown above is a postcard of Trexler Park.
above reprinted from October of 2009
ADDENDUM DECEMBER 5, 2024: Although I have been actively involved with the parks for decades, I have been passed over for inclusion on the new Parknership.
As an advocate for the traditional park system in Allentown, I was never a fan of Lights In The Parkway. However, after thirty years or so, we now have a second generation being taken on a drive through the park to see the lights.
Allentown just had its first ever Christmas tree lighting in the Rose Garden. Placed in the middle of the garden path, if a Christmas tree can ever be out of place, it must be this one. It clashes with the serenity of the winter garden. The tree was sponsored by Rose Garden Neighborhood Association, which claims to support Allentown's historic Malcolm W. Gross Rose Garden.
I wish that the mayor and park director had enough familiarity with our parks and their history to have politely declined the offer by the adjoining neighborhood group.
ADDENDUM: I've been informed that the Allentown Parknership has decided against my inclusion on their board. Today's post probably reaffirms their decision. Apparently, institutional knowledge of the traditional park system and expertise on the WPA structures have less value than I had hoped.
The eatery on the corner of 7th & Artswalk Alley is closing, I believe it may have been called Shula's #5. When Shula's #1 opened back in 2011, the city police arrested some poor soul singing on the walkway for disturbing the ambience. They should pay to bring him back!
The Morning Call cannot get past its DNA to promote all things NIZ and Reilly. Obviously the restaurant wasn't popular, or it wouldn't be closing. No food vendors survive because the Strata apartments, #1through #13, aren't really full. The NIZ is so lucrative for Reilly that he keeps building them anyway...It's our money, not his.
While the Morning Call has been his press agent, only this blog asked the questions until recently. State Senator Jarrett Coleman has began fighting for NIZ audits...Taxpayers across Pennsylvania owe him a debt of gratitude.
Last Wednesday two shooters were apprehended immediately after shooting their victim with a shotgun from their car. They were apprehended by a high-tech system which combines gunshot detection with license plate cameras...The system is called Flock Safety, and it costs Allentown $1.5mil for a two year lease.
Police chief Roca bragged on Facebook about the quick arrest. Local political kingmaker Jennifer Mann was the first to respond with "Great work." She is Tuerk's mentor and this is an election year.
Although I'm glad the shooters were quickly apprehended, I wish that Allentown hadn't degraded to the point that we need the Flock system, and I wish that we didn't have such people cruising our streets with shotguns. Although I realize that the slope was downhill before Tuerk's term, I have little faith in his ability to improve the situation.
artwork by Mark Beyer
The Brightline private train line has killed 104 Trump supporters since its recent startup. Roaring through sleepy towns at 80 miles an hour, many elderly don't even hear the whistle before they become a roadkill pancake.
In small towns like Palm Bay Florida, the laidback pedestrians were used to slow moving freight trains. All that changed with Brightline's plan to join Miami and Orlando with a speedy connection. While the line invested $millions in new tracks and bridges capable of handling the speed up to 130mph, the human factor got no attention. On the contrary, complaints about the loud whistles will only increase the carnage.
Perhaps the next president could control the border problem with a Brightline Train instead of a wall.
The above post supplied by Rainy Morning Chronicle, a sister publication.
above reprinted from December 27, 2023
While Biden and the new administration are promoting their $Trillion dollar infrastructure program, and an improved Amtrak would supposedly be a benefit, the Republic Of Florida has its own program, with no cost to the taxpayers.
The privately owned high speed train has been operating since 2018 between Miami and West Palm Beach. Richard Branson, who spent this past weekend near outer space, envisioned a high speed Virgin Train brand between Orlando and Miami. While Virgin is no longer involved with the project, the extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando is being built. The Brightline extension requires seventeen new bridges and 170 miles of track. The new track is next to the old existing single track, now in use for freight.
The project is not without controversy. While very few towns would have a station or benefit from the high speed line, the train will be speeding through them. A concern is the danger imposed by such high speed at all the crossings.
The new bridges are a massive undertaking. Shown above is the bridge construction over the Crane Creek in the Space Coast area. A temporary bridge was constructed to hold the massive equipment necessary to build the new bridges.
Florida was developed a century ago by Henry Flagler and his train company. Private enterprise does still exist.
photocredit/molovinsky
My quest to be a senior astronaut is officially over. Although I squeaked through the physical, I didn't do as well on the psychological profile.
Upon then arriving in Tallahassee, I discovered that Governor Ron pulled the plug on my plan B.
I'm on the bus and should arrive back in Allentown around noon today. I gave it my best, but I'm resigned to continue being a blogger.
above reprinted from January 25, 2024
There will be three candidates on the Democratic ballot for mayor this May. Current mayor Matt Tuerk will be the establishment candidate. All his campaigning will be in front of graffiti posing as murals. His speeches will be in both English and Spanish. Cynthia Mota will be the minority majority candidate. She will campaign from the Dominican Republic, exclusively in Spanish. Ed Zucal will be the retro Better/Happy Days candidate, speaking in English from the Ritz and fairgrounds.
Allentown Police will not be enforcing double parking from a new headquarters, wedged between their current headquarters and city hall on the former landing. The plans alone will cost $1.5mil. Their new motto, "The shooting was an isolated incident, and no danger to the public", will be inscribed over the entrance.
molovinsky on allentown is looking for a new office in center city. None of my former haunts, or even the buildings they were in, still exist. I asked J.B. Reilly for space, and he said I should call back after hell freezes over.
postcard from 1962 showing new city hall and police headquarters
By comment, I told some readers on Friday that if they wore a red hat or shirt, or both, and stood in line for twelve hours to see Trump, that they were in a cult. Some found that label offensive, and referred to that behavior as enthusiasm against Democratic endorsed nonsense for the last four years. I agree with them that the political correctness had morphed into the realm of absurdity, and that it in turn ignited a majority of the populace against it. Kamala Harris also did herself no favor by promising grants to buy houses, open businesses and have babies.
Another contentious issue on Friday was Trump's nominations. If the President elect wanted to annoy his detractors, he could have done no better. This blog maintains a focus group, and the Democratic side was fuming. Although their original reaction to the election contained phrases such as democracy, wait and see, benefit of the doubt, the appointees regressed them back into foaming at the mouth.
Some in areas that are still blue on the map think maybe they weren't far enough to the left!?! It's hard for me to even comprehend such a conclusion. Mike Tyson learned Friday night that it's not easy to go back in time. If Trump's cabinet announcements last week are an indicator, I think Democrats already have a platform for the midterms.
On November 5th I did not vote for the top of the ticket. Partisans on both sides said that I should at least vote for the one who I thought would do the least damage...I voted for no damage, for neither.
As Trump began naming his cabinet picks this week, it was apparent that loyalty, rather than expertise, was the criterion. His defenders referred to a President's need for both comfort and confidence in his picks. His pick of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General seems a stretch way too far.
Putting aside any previous accusations against the congressman, his legal background is probably too thin to even get a job with a top law firm. While Trump certainly won a mandate last week, the Senate must still consider their own integrity. It is apparent that Trump doesn't want their advice, but normally he would still need their consent, although he would like them to recess and bypass that check and balance feature of our government. For political cover and electability back home, a recess will probably also be the Senate's preference.
As a conservative independent, perhaps with the exception of Rubio, I do not understand how any Republican can take pride in any of the cabinet nominations.
Trump and Rubio in Allentown, Pa.
The City of Allentown is conducting a series of meetings to find out what the public would like to see and do in the parks. I think I have the bonafides as an advocate for the parks, and what I would like to see is the parks better run and maintained! Here are my suggestions.
Cut the grass to the creeks' edges in the most iconic sections of the system, including Robin Hood of Lehigh Parkway and the Rose Garden area of Cedar Park. Replace dying out Willow Trees with Willow Trees.
Maintain traditional structures such as the wooden picnic shelters at Cedar Park, rather than let them decay until replaced by metal ones. Bogerts Bridge should have been maintained instead of years of neglect.
Fully staff remaining pools and traditional recreation programs.
Repair the landings on the WPA double stairwell in Lehigh Parkway and other WPA structures.
Remove the debris piled around the Robin Hood Bridge stone piers.
I was informed on good source that some gates and other infrastructure were removed in critical places to make the parks more welcoming and inclusive. The iconic Allentown park system is not a workshop for political correctness. Although advocating for the traditional park system and the WPA structures is a passion of mine, I will not be attending these park meetings. The park department is so far behind on so many basic things, they should not be conducting dog and pony shows.
DISCLAIMER: I was born and grew up above Lehigh Parkway, which was my backyard and playground. My father's uncle worked for the park department cutting the grass. I wouldn't have an issue with the meetings if the purpose was just to introduce new residents to the park system and what it offers.
The Morning Call published a release from the NIZ board telling us how wonderful the scheme has been for Allentown. They inform us that there are audits, even if nobody sees them. While some information is confidential, we can be assured that everything is in our best interest.
Since the press release was in response to Jarrett Coleman's effort toward NIZ tax information, I questioned the reporter why Coleman's response didn't appear? He told me that comment from Coleman was requested, and a later edition did contain Coleman's response.
In the early years of the NIZ the Morning Call printed one press release after another for Reilly's City Center RE, and presented it as news. Although this current article also has too much pasted up promotional fluff for my liking, it may be unfair of me to prejudge the current reporter.
I have been involved with photography since the late 1960's. I started blogging in 2007, for me a much newer activity. I've been publicly advocating for the parks and WPA since 2009, although privately much longer. It's not often that I get to combine most of my interests in one image, but that's the case shown above.
The Robin Hood section of Lehigh Parkway is arguably the most iconic of our park system. The bridge over the Little Lehigh was the last WPA project, built in 1941, and ties the park together. The weed wall shown, mostly invasive poison hemlock, put simply is a crime against the city's iconic park system.
I'm hoping that the new Parknership has the fairness to include me on their board.
Ed Zucal is rolling out his long expected bid for mayor on November 19th at the Allentown Fair Grounds. For the last year there has been no shortage of thorns in Matt Tuerk's side, with councilman Zucal being perhaps the most pointed behind the dais.
In the audience in front of the dais, Tuerk's list of critics is much longer, but with less political potential. Zucal is a retired policeman and veteran of what many believe was Allentown's better days. That is what the All American City logo shown above alludes to.
It is my assumption that Zucal's challenge will come in the Democratic primary. The conventional wisdom is that Allentown is a one party town, with the primary essentially being the election.
We were told that the Puerto Rican community was the local key to the election this week, Matthew Tuerk was even featured in New Yorker Magazine.
However, to inject some reality into the Latino influence, the state house district that was created to represent Allentown's Latino population is held by a whitebread kid born and raised in New Jersey, whose Hispanic culture is limited to have eaten at Taco Bell once. Although Tuerk translates everything into Spanish, and the president of City Council facebooks exclusively in Spanish, they failed to educate their Hispanic constituents on the deceptiveness of the transfer tax referendum. These affordable housing advocates just made housing more expensive.
While the Latino political strength is overestimated, there is no disputing Allentown as a Democratic stronghold. All the city Democratic state representatives ran unopposed on Tuesday.
With Kamala Harris having spoken at Muhlenberg, and its own poll showed her ahead, the college had a big week. Most important, save for this malcontented blogger, the recent shooting there has been forgotten.
I surmise that the shooting occurred by their football field in a game between charter schools. Surmise is the operative word because neither the college, police, city or newspaper has said or written another word about that incident. The Morning Call/Muhlenberg poll had Harris up by two. I surmise any and all polling calls made were from Muhlenberg, because the paper has no building to call from, and can't even be reached for missing newspapers.
If Kamala wins, I suppose those photos of her in Muhlenberg's Memorial Hall will become wall fixtures elsewhere in the college. If Muhlenberg's neighbors are also to win, more information about that shooting will have to be disclosed.
ADDENDUM 6:00AM:.With the decisiveness of Trump's victory, it appears that Kamala's picture won't end up in the library and administration building after all.
The redemption in the Marshall McLuhan sense was Tuerk's photo opt with Candidate Harris, hopefully for him replacing the social media confrontation with the Trump barricade worker. However, the post title is misleading, because the redemption portion of the post is now complete, and fresh criticism follows below.
The screen grab shown above is from the LehighValleyNews.Com coverage of the Rosie Perez stop in Allentown last Friday, campaigning for Kamala. At that event, Tuerk claims that he represents all Allentonians, but he doesn't. He certainly doesn't represent those that are not Democrats. More and more, he is also not representing those who are not Latino.
When you direct your police chief not to enforce quality of life issues such as double parking, you're catering to a laidback attitude, that less of the city may share than he believes. Tilghman Street is not a backroad on a Caribbean Island, where double parking has little consequence. Between people's political correctness and his sycophants, Tuerk may be overestimating both his popularity and effectiveness as mayor.
Who would have thought that Allentown would be visited by both presidential candidates within the week before the election. Such is the case as Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit the Little A today. As a small town pizza blogger, presidential politics are not my usual fare.
To the outside world, Allentown looks like it's booming. How could you possibly explain the NIZ to anybody? Even here few people understand it. Thanks to state senator Jarrett Coleman there will finally be some light cast on that lucrative scheme. I give myself some credit for scrutinizing it on my pizza blog menu since its get-go.
The Supreme Court has affirmed that provisional ballots in Pennsylvania must be counted. Meanwhile, the district attorney is investigating a batch of fraudulent voter registrations. I suspect that Pennsylvania's final tally will be quite a controversial calculation.
The head of the policeman's union has criticized Tuerk for moving protesters closer to Trump supporters than the police wanted.
Tuerk was wearing two hats on Tuesday... One as a leading Democrat in the city, the other as mayor of Allentown. Considering that presidential candidates have been visiting the city since the 1800's, that should not have been that difficult of a situation for him, but apparently it was.
I understand that as a Latino he was riled up about the distasteful comments at Madison Square Garden. However, any solidarity with those protesting against Trump should have been more thoughtfully demonstrated. Instead, Tuerk wore it like a banner, on both news and social media. YouTubes of him wanting to open up center square for voters early Tuesday morning, if a political shenanigan or not, demonstrated poor judgement. Certainly there was no way to accommodate both voters and arena attendees at the same time in the same square.
Allentown may be majority Hispanic and majority Democratic, but everybody living here pays taxes and is supposed to be represented by city hall. There are some traffic adjustments Tuerk could make. He might instruct his police chief to enforce the law against double parkers, especially on Tilghman and Linden Street.
This blogger has always complained about how underused the arena is, but nobody can level that complaint about this past Tuesday night. Because it was a week before what might be the most polarized election ever, and the Trump camp just insulted Allentown's largest demographic a few nights before, Allentown was in the brightest spotlight since Billy Joel's song.
Trump, needing to make amends to the Puerto Rican community, had a bevy of Hispanic surrogates warming up the crowd, who itself spoke very little Spanish.
Local Republicans, like taxpayer's champion Jarrett Coleman was on hand, along with nationally knowns, such as Marco Rubio. Local Democratic mayor Matt Tuerk appeared with the organized counter effort, which included Martin Sheen. Although a video emerged on social media with him questioning a Trump worker about barricades, it appears as if the city ended up cooperating fully with the Trump rally.
Although the comedian's regrettable line at Madison Square Garden ended up dominating the national coverage of the rally, it didn't appear to diminish the enthusiasm of those attending the event.
At the last Allentown school board meeting, Leslie Franklin, head of the teacher's union, gave a scathing report of conditions in the system.She went to say that the staff lacks basics, like pencils and toilet paper. Reports indicate that the school superintendent, Carol Birks, was let go from her former district for similar complaints. However, Miss Birks looks like the school board, even if she less resembles the students themselves. Looking like the district, meaning being a minority was paramount to this board. Ms. Birk's contract was bought out by her previous employer, New Haven School District, although some on that board though she should have been simply fired. Complaints included unnecessary outside consultants, not unlike the diversity analysis she had recently commissioned for the Allentown School District. If all that isn't enough, our school board started her salary off at $250,000 a year plus increases.“We hear the educational jargon being used, promises being made and the glamor being touted, yet for the last few years, we have lost so many of our faculty members in our district buildings due to a disconnect in expectations,”
Anybody who has driven up Linden Street at around 5:00PM knows that the decks are emptying out with the poached NIZ workers. So much so that the APD directs traffic free for Reilly. Tonight at 7:00PM Trump is having a rally at the PPL Center. Those coming for that event won't be from Democratic center city. They will be driving in from the boonies beyond, and the Allentown Parking Authority will be waiting for them.
If all the above isn't commotion enough, our mayor has suggested that people come downtown to protest against Trump. Now I understand that Tuerk has convinced himself that he is Hispanic, and that he found some statements made in Madison Square Garden offensive, but he is the mayor of Allentown. As such, he should know that the Allentown Police will already have their hands full, without their own commander and chief inciting more crowding to control.
I do not have a candidate for the top of the ticket next Tuesday. However, unless this mayor drastically refocuses his priorities this coming year, I know who I won't be voting for in the next local election.
On Sunday the Morning Call reported that there was a shooting near Birney Crum Stadium, Muhlenberg College Stadium and 24th & Liberty. Those of us more familiar with Allentown know that the Crum Stadium and the Muhlenberg field are not that close to each other, so we're left with 24th & Liberty. The Campus Shop is actually at 23rd St., and hasn't had that name for decades. But, when it did have that name a shooting in that neighborhood was unheard of. Police chief Roca, as usual, tells us that the incident doesn't present any threat to the public. That implies it was one thug shooting another thug. Then much later we always learn that the victim was the one who was turning his life around.
In the short term we usually don't hear much more about these weekend shootings. Everybody moves on except the blogger that the Morning Call once described as dour and misguided... they were referring to me, thank you. We have a city administration that wallows in DEI instead of public safety. We have school system which wallows in DEI instead of education. Hopefully the college isn't mired in that nonsense.
Although it may not mean much to the Morning Call or Roca, a shooting at 24th & Liberty is costly. It costs the peace of mind for the college students and their parents. It's also very mentality expensive for residents of a once safe neighborhood.
I did not straighten out the postcard of Muhlenberg shown above, because unless the college pushes back hard against the forces connected with this shooting, it will go downhill quickly.
The condition of Fairview Cemetery has been in decline for decades. It first caught my attention in 1997, when I began hunting for the grave of a young woman who died in 1918.
By 1900, Fairview was Lehigh Valley's most prestigious cemetery. It would become the final resting place of Allentown's most prominent citizens, including Harry Trexler, John Leh, Jack Mack and numerous others. Despite my status as a dissident chronicler of local government and a critic of the local press, my postings caught the attention of a previous editor at the Morning Call, whose own grandmother is buried at Fairview. While the paper did a story on my efforts in 2008, and I did manage to coordinate a meeting between management and some concerned citizens, any benefit to the cemetery's condition was short lived.
Internet search engines have long arms. In the following years I would receive messages from various people upset about conditions at the cemetery. A few years ago, Tyler Fatzinger became interested in the cemetery, and took it upon himself to start cleaning up certain areas. I suggested to Taylor that he start a facebook page, so that concerned citizens and distressed relatives might connect. Once again the situation caught the paper's attention, and another story appeared in 2019. Tyler Fatzinger was recently informed by the cemetery operator that he was trespassing, and must cease from his efforts to improve the cemetery.
Why would both the cemetery and city establishments reject help, and discourage shining a light on this situation? Orphan cemeteries are a problem across the country. An orphan cemetery is an old cemetery no longer affiliated with an active congregation or a funded organization. These cemeteries are often large, with no concerned descendants or remaining funds. While perpetual care may have been paid by family decades earlier, those funds in current dollars are woefully short.
In Fairview's case, the current management operates a crematorium and also conducts new burials on the grounds. Funds from the previous management were supposedly not passed forward. While the Trexler Trust maintains Harry Trexler's grave, and a few other plots are privately maintained, there understandably is no desire to take responsibility for the entire sixty acre cemetery. The current operator provides minimal care to the cemetery, with even less for those sections toward the back. While the cemetery grass may only be cut twice a season, that's still more care than a true "orphan cemetery" would receive. Some of the new burials appear to be on old plots, owned by other families, but unused for many, many decades, and on former areas designated as pathways between those plots. There seems to be no regulatory oversight. Recently, both state senator Pat Browne and the Orloski Law firm have acted in behalf of the cemetery operator.
While family members may be exasperated by the neglect, local government does not seem eager to adopt either the problem or the expense of Fairview Cemetery.
reprinted from June of 2021
A number of years ago I visited Charleston, a tourist mecca for its historic charm. A local explained to me that it was all an accident. After the Civil War, the city stayed so poor for so long that nobody could afford to remodel or replace their buildings.
I have written in the past how Easton has profited from its historic charm, while Allentown will demolish anything anytime. Easton and its mayor for life Sal Panto are now demolishing a cornerstone of their charming square, the Jacob Meyer Building. Panto and company apparently are too dense to realize what they had.
Sal only needed to visit Allentown's 7th & Hamilton to learn how dead new construction and a hotel can be.
postcard above of the Jacob Meyer Building, now being demolished
The Tuerk Administration has announced a series of meetings where the public can say what they would like to see and do in the parks. As an advocate for the traditional park system, I am not impressed. Needless to say what they should be doing is taking better care of the parks, rather than using them as an inclusion ploy.
While the WPA structures for the most part crumble, and the creek banks remain feral, we're spending another half $mil on enlarging the skateboard park. Tuerk is claiming that these meetings will help form a new masterplan for the park system. He and his park director remain misguided thinking that the direction of the iconic Allentown Park System should be subject to public whims.
Talking of election ploys and popularity contests, I'm also tired of our Harrisburg incumbents for life using the parks as a photo opt for just bringing our tax money back to where it belongs.
picture postcard of Robin Hood, Lehigh Parkway, 1956
I recently went to Dorney Park for the first time in almost forty years. Although I could recognize a few rides from the past at the bottom of the slope, it certainly was a different experience...and not one for my aesthetics.
I did go on a ride, the old train. When I factor in the cost of parking and admission, the ride cost more than it did last time I was on a real train, not that long ago. The conductor, in addition to providing some history of the train, referred to a widowed swan in the creek. Twice he mentioned that "the swan reminds us that life is short." I don't think that message resonated with too many of the kids on board.
Although Six Flags Entertainment has spent $millions at Dorney on new rides, my other takeaway was the paint on the old rollercoaster, now called Thunderhawk. While not peeling, it wasn't fresh. That dirty, fading paint would have never greeted the guests back in the day when admission was free.
In Ed Pawlowski's commutation request, he uses the word corrupt only in regard to his campaign manager, not to himself. Rather, he describes himself as naive and too eager to serve the public.
As someone who started scrutinizing Pawlowski a decade before his conviction, I can tell you that he was anything but naive. On the contrary, he played the public as well as he played those bidding for city contracts. For his last campaign he assembled and empowered sycophants from Allentown's various demographics, to ensure victory in the Democratic primary. He succeeded, and those people are still in positions of power in this city.
These people that he empowered have been tireless in their effort to get him freed. While they view their loyalty as a virtue, they too don't question their own integrity...That is a character flaw they share with Pawlowski. While the campaign to free him may succeed, I'm afraid that there will be no community lesson.
Although the ASD has a black superintendent and a school board of color with one exception, they hired a minority company to analyze and conclude that the district is not committed enough to equality and social justice.
To us laymen it appears that they are consumed with such issues, and the only real question is their commitment to education. While the study wasted $90K, it did once again point out the preoccupation of this school administration with racial identity.
We have to prepare the students for life and employment in an increasingly competitive world. That should be the district's obsession.
Jessica Lenard lived and painted in Allentown in the 1970's and 80's. Her striking artwork can be described as oozing emotionality and honesty. Jessica passed away in 2016, making me an accidental curator and art dealer. I feel that I can best serve her legacy by finding as many different homes as possible for her work. I have been spotty in that effort at best. I have established a Facebook page titled Jessica Lenard Art. I ask those interested in acquiring a piece to contact me by messenger on my personal Michael Molovinsky facebook page.
For a more comprehensive picture of Lenard's work, view the website she created in 2014.
In the beginning of the 20th Century, a large Syrian population settled in the 6th Ward, between the Lehigh River and Jordan Creek. While the Ward is mostly no longer the residential home to that demographic, there remain purveyors of their ethnic food.
While Elias Market at Front and Tilghman is not exclusively Middle Eastern, they carry a large selection of those foodstuffs. At 2nd and Liberty, Damascus Restaurant has been serving delicious food for decades. Aladdin Restaurant, which also started on 2nd Street, is just across the Tilghman Street Bridge on Union Blvd. Another source of delicious food is the ACI Turkish Restaurant & Market, shown above at 2nd and Linden Streets.
This short post is not inclusive of all available options, but rather some of those in the 6th Ward. Likewise, I have no expertise on the differences between Syrian, Lebanese and Turkish food, but I can strongly recommend all the establishments mentioned above.