A Tale of Two Cities

"We're a medium-size city

with big-city crime."
   -Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Allentown

For those of us who grew up in Allentown, we always considered ourselves a medium-sized city with a small town feel. We were literally designated the All American City. One of the most amazing aspects of this transformation, is that our total population has essentially stayed the same since 1928, when we first achieved 100,000 people. Twenty years ago we lamented the loss of Hess Brothers and other symbols of our prosperity, now we mourn the loss of basic civility and safety.

A Lesson at Bucky Boyle Park

The Community Development Block Grant, as well as the Weed and Seed and all the other expensive programs, address quality of life issues in center city. None of the problems is more apparent, on a daily basis, than littering. On Sunday, Andrew Kleiner taught a dozen kids an appreciation of a litter free environment, at no cost to the tax payer. I know that Andrew would make an excellent teacher, but he better learn about budgets, appropriations, grants, complicating things and wasting money, if he ever wants to be a bureaucrat.

related article: The litter pickup at Bucky Boyle

School Safety Issue Discussion in Comment Section

The Community Development Block Grant

Each year Allentown is awarded a Federal Grant. Allentown allows service organizations to apply for funding, then decides whose been good and whose been bad. Once a town descends to a certain poverty level,and we reached it years ago, the funds can be used for infrastructure.

We must recover from being the victim of Political Correctness . We can no longer tolerate being a poverty magnet. The taxes and grants, both state and federal, must be used as originally intended; for the city’s infrastructure. Our current social programs are morally commendable, but unfair to the taxpayer. Social agencies should receive our gratitude, not our taxes.                                                    Molovinsky for Mayor, 2005

MM,you took a lotta heat for the poverty magnet tag and all of a sudden I now hear others singing the same tune.   Guy William

copies of the approved grant are available at the office of the City Clerk

submit any comments to the previous post,  Poverty Square

Poverty Square

City Council Wednesday evening continued supplying currency to the poverty magnet. If things go according to plan, there will be a new low income tower at center square. The new building would be directly across the street from the existing Pennrose project, another income restricted, tax free project. First let me correct some misconceptions, such as appears on Pam Varkony's blog today. City Council approved the plan 6 to 0, not 5 to 1; had Julio been present, the vote would have been unanimous.(there was an amendment to separate the funding for the Corporate Plaza low income housing project from the other development grants, it failed 5 to 1. In the final vote to approve the overall funding the vote was 6-0) Charlie Versaggi's suggestions, not unlike Michael Schlossberg's sentiments, are the problem, certainly not solutions or" voices in the wilderness." Allentown doesn't need better housing stock for the low income, apparently they find the existing stock attractive enough to keep moving here. I'm glad that the Versaggi's and Varkony's of Allentown are finally realizing that we have too many low income, now let me suggest some solutions. We must stop building shiny new low income projects; "Build it and they will come." City Council felt it had to approve the plan because it was tied to the other Community Development Federal Funds, and how can we, in these tough times, turn down funds? We should turn down these funds because each year the community keeps becoming poorer and poorer with them. Some CDBG, if the community qualifies through an overall poverty level, can be used for infrastructure; we qualify. We should not have built Overlook Park (former Hanover Acres and Riverview Terrace). The current funds are designated to acquire and improve existing housing stock. Federal renovation funds require too many income restrictions for the community's best interest. Even the current Stimulus Money to prevent evictions and homelessness is a problem; too often eviction prevention funds are used as" move in" money for more new arrivals. In 2007 I wrote;

According to The Morning Call, Federal grants for affordable housing are a windfall with no downside; nothing could be further from the truth. In the first place they promote the area's biggest myth, that there is a shortage of low-income housing. The constant migration of poor people to the Valley should convince any objective person that in reality we must have a surplus of cheap housing. What we do have, is highly successful professional advocates for the poor, funded by such grants, who have created a poverty magnet. At some point we must ask ourselves, is it possible to attract more low-income people than we have the capacity to support? Can our economic demographics become so bottom heavy that we decrease the quality of life for the overall community? If we ever truly wish to restore Allentown, the Lehigh Valley must learn to say no thank you to those funds that perpetuate  our demise

Men's Stuff, The Seabees

Armed Forces in WW2 were dependent upon the construction speed and skills of the Navy Seabees to move their efforts forward. In December of 1942, the 35th U.S. Naval Construction Battalion embarked for the South Pacific. They would divide into two teams and build airstrips on Espiritu in the New Hebrides and on Banika in the Russell Islands.









After a rehabilitation leave in New Zealand, the battalion returned to Banika before being reassigned to Manus in the Admiralty Islands. They would arrive on Manus shortly after it's capture from the Japanese, and build ammunition dumps, warehouses and The Naval Headquarters. After 24 months in the South Pacific war zone, they would return to San Francisco on Thanksgiving 1944 for leave.

Pawlowski's Magic Hat

Saturday's Morning Call, presented a story* outling a grant program designed "to help people at least give you a second look", according to Mayor Pawlowski. The truth is Pawlowski uses our money as the gift that keeps on giving. Two of the seven are restaurants which have received substantial aid from other city programs. Three are small startups which occupy space which appears to be owned or handled by the same realtor. One recipient, New York Urban, was a successful clothes retailer who opened a second shop. The city claims if the businesses stay open less than five years, they will try to recoup the money through liens; but only one of the seven is not a tenant, so that claim is baseless. Three of the shops have recently had their facade redone in an identical finish. Did we pay to remodel the building with facade grants and then provide tenants with these business grants? Coincidence or shenanigan? Talking of shenanigans, I must mention Pawlowski's peek-a-boo and hide-a-fund system**. One receiver of these new grants is Johnny Manana's. Yes, it's the same place that has been receiving grants since before Pawlowski was mayor. This joke is located in a KOZ and already pays no taxes. It was given a special low cost city sponsored liquor license. It appears this latest grant, $50,000, was virtually blackmail to open up, so our agency leaders could crow about how wonderful are their accomplishments. Another $50,000 went to the Cosmopolitan, not yet built, but named. The owner received the location for one dollar, the previous building was torn down at our expense, and of course he received the customary city discounted liquor license. I could say a few more things,but I will be polite. Some of the small shops, the ones with the redwood fronts, you better visit quickly. When the grant for their rent is up, so will they.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
Vickey's Sweet Spot 621 Hamilton St. $11,190
New York Urban 740 Hamilton St. $19,366
Total Office Solutions 915 Hamilton St. $20,000
Wireless & Beyond 965 Hamilton St. $20,000
Ileanette's Beauty Salon 913 Hamilton St. $20,000
Johnny Manana's 835 Hamilton St. $50,000
Cosmopolitan 18 N. Sixth St. $50,000

UPDATE:" Pawlowski said some of the remaining money ($155,000) could be used to promote existing restaurants"

*http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_5grants-r.6390799may10,0,6273080.story

**Allentown Economic and Development Corporation,Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority, Allentown Redevelopment Authority

reprinted from May 11, 2008

ADDENDUM: Since I wrote this post two years ago, both Vickey's Sweet Spot and Johnny Manana's have gone out of business. The Morning Call now reports that Pawlowski hopes to set up another recipient, a sports bar, in the Manana spot.