The Brass Rail

The Brass Rail was a fixture on Hamilton Street for many decades. At one time, to the left of the front door on Hamilton Street, was the women's entrance. A woman could use the special corridor to avoid walking through the bar room, to get to the dining room at the rear of the building. The business owners had all the bases covered. The front grill provided their famous steak sandwiches, for the take out lunch business on busy Hamilton Street. The back parking lot and service window specialized in takeout pizza, long before separate pizza shops become the norm. In the 1950's, pizza was more less limited to the Brass Rail and the Paddock, another long time food tradition. Having gone for the Brass Rail pizza's so often, I easily recognized the back of the Philly's Sport Bar, on the Morning Call shooting video. I patronized the first restauranteur who purchased the former Brass Rail location, Wellington's, but I haven't been there for years. Reading the article yesterday, I felt sorry for the new owner. He is petrified that his Philly's Sport Bar will be classified as a nuisance bar, and shut down. He, as were the owners of other "nuisance" bars and clubs, are also victims; They are the victims of what this town has become, and who the businesses are reduced to dealing with.

Bulldozer Coming to the Parkway

As an defender of the Allentown Park System, Wednesday evening's City Council meeting was profoundly disappointing. As a native, being disappointed by our own Park Director and our own City Council, only adds to the exasperation. Imagine listening to Greg Weiztel, here in town for three years now, tell Council that this plan will improve property values in Allentown. Greg should tell that to the descendent of General Trexler, who lived on Honochick Drive across from Cedar Park. She already sold her house and moved in disgust. Greg, nobody wants to hear that their house will be worth more when a hundred times more strangers bicycle by, except City Council.

As Weitzel, from where-ever, regurgitated that nonsense from the Greenway Trail plan salesman's pitch, (whose based in North Carolina) he found willing ears on Julio Guridy.

''I think our role as council is to leave the city in a better place than we found it, and I think this plan does that,'' said Councilman Julio Guridy.

On Wednesday, in addition to approving the general plan, Council approved the segment in Lehigh Parkway. Weiztel and Guridy are going to make Lehigh Parkway better.

The End Of An Era

Much like this postcard showing Robin Hood in the 50's, the golden era of our park system ended last night. City Council voted 5 to 2 to pass The Trail Network Plan. Although reassurances were given at previous park meetings that all components of the plan would receive public input, last night council also approved two components (Lehigh Parkway and Martin Luther King Drive sections) of the overall plan, putting the proverbial cart in front of the horse, with no public input what so ever. Weitzel and the Administration told Council that the plan would take decades to implement, yet it needed passage immediately last evening? Council Peter Schweyer told new EAC member Andrew Kleiner that any plan could be held up with concerns from him, but after Andrew expressed concerns, Schweyer still voted yes. Council conceded that the Mayor generally keeps them out of the loop regarding the City; that Cedar Creek Plans got away from them, yet voted yes knowing that the paths already implemented at Cedar Park degraded that park. While the no votes came from Donovan and Eichenwald, Schweyer provided both the most hope and disappointment. On the plus side he introduced an amendment which would examine the 20 separate components of the plan in the future. Had they considered rejecting the overall plan and instead treated each component as a separate plan needing approval, they would have achieved the control they lost at Cedar Park. Most disappointing was statements by Schweyer and Guridy that they favor the plan so the park system evolves into something special in the future. Our separate parks are something very special right now. The challenge, especially with this Administration and Park Director, will be preserving what we got.

related articles
O'Hare's Ramblings
Renshaw/The Morning Call
Kleiner's Remember

Whose Parks Are They?

Denise Sanchez/The Morning Call/April 4, 2010

Shown above, Luciana Martucci, with her Barbie fishing pole, teaches her daddy how to fish in an Allentown park. Luciana is concerned that the Trail Network Plan will encourage many additional bicyclists, going much faster, which will make watching her daddy more difficult; He tends to wander when they walk on the paths. She doesn't understand why the paths are going to be dug up and paved to accommodate one particular set of users, at the expense of all others.

The parks are a nationally recognized heritage of all Allentonians, from one generation to the next. No one Administration, or set of Trustee's, is entitled to impose irreversible changes in its design or use.

photocredit:Denise Sanchez/The Morning Call/April 4, 2010

The Pride Of Allentown

After The Morning Call prints one of my articles on the parks, as they did yesterday, the phone always rings. Many of the calls are from older people, who always explain that they don't use a computer, or go to meetings, but appreciate what I'm doing. One of calls yesterday was especially gratifying. Anne Laubach Neitz lived on the second floor of the stone park house at Ott and Parkway Blvd. Her father was George J. Laubach, Superintendent of Allentown Parks. He was a hands on guy who worked in the park system his entire career, becoming Director in the 1950's. He took enormous pride when Look Magazine named Allentown one of the best park systems in the United States. Ann couldn't understand what these new paths were for. I explained that the path was being built to accommodate the LifeTrail Wellness Stations, created by Playworld Systems. It upset her, thinking about the pride her father took in the beauty of the park.

The new paths in Cedar Park demonstrate that constructing paths in either a environmentally, or aesthetically sensitive way, are not criterions of this park administration. Five years ago the Trexler Trust found it necessary to take the City to court, to make sure their funds were being properly used. Now, I believe City Council must likewise use it's NO VOTE, to ensure that our Park System is being properly preserved.

Too Many Improvements

click here> Molovinsky editorial in The Morning Call