Ain't That Rich

It's politically incorrect to take shots at Alan Jennings. He runs a multi-million dollar organization which supposedly helps low income people. People and companies feel good about themselves when they answer his call for contributions. He has developed into a self righteous ego maniac, who even boasts of having people incarcerated. Although I just took him to task a couple weeks ago, his new hypocrisy needs a mention. Alan's running an entrepreneurial training program for people of low to moderate income who are thinking about starting a business or expanding their current business in the neighborhoods of center city Allentown. The course will be conducted at 702 Hamilton Street. Alan, Alan, Alan, where do I begin! There were such merchants across the street in that now vacant rubble who were displaced while you sat silently by. The merchants which you will train, and bankroll with contributions and taxpayer grants*, will never be allowed to operate on Prime NIZ Hamilton Street. You have been appointed to serve on the new NIZ Authority, and you're conducting your class in J. B. Reilly's building; The biggest private beneficiary of the NIZ, who intends to apply for even more loans. Ain't that rich!

*give them a fish market

Behind the Browne Story

As I shifted through Bernie O'Hare's revelations about Browne's wife being a lobbyist, and the new Morning Call story, a couple layers of this onion need dicing, from the molovinsky on allentown perspective. Once again, I'm struck how the Morning Call lifted a story from a blogger, without proper attribution. I believe, from my own experience, that this policy is dictated by their metro editor, not the reporters. If the reporters are not embarrassed, they should be. Although the blogger readership is a fraction of the papers, it is a who's who of the Lehigh Valley. The second layer pertains to my previous post about Browne's repeated statement; "I'm not sure why anyone is confused. The law is very clear." The newspaper story states that Vaughn Communication hired Pugliese Associates because of the complexities of the law. Vaughn works for the Arena Authority, Pugliese works for the private developers, and Browne's wife works for both companies. The NIZ appears to be a law, that on one hand is so clear that the public didn't deserve clarification, but on which select developers received guidance, so as to take full advantage.

A Question of Priorities

I was surveying and photographing demolished Hamilton Street yesterday. My thinking is that there is less asbestos floating around on the weekend. While I worried about the hypothetical, some Allentonians were devastated by the all too real; But first, The Family Dollar story. In the Allentown of my youth, the building held the McCrory Five and Dime. Considering that history, it wasn't inappropriate to end up a dollar store. The building's landlord just had a lucrative 14 months. Purchased for $325,154.00 in November of 2010, the City ponied up $1,100,000.00 in the beginning of this month. There has been a number of such home runs involving the arena, but not within such a short time frame. Meanwhile, Easton Express Times reporter Colin McEvory was checking out the homeowners displaced by last month's water main break and sinkhole on 10th Street. While the City was prepared to exhume graves in the adjoining cemetery, the homeowners have learned that Allentown will not assist them. We were going to treat the dead better than the living.
Through no fault of their own, they have been made homeless, and in some cases, penniless. While this City can spend $35million to acquire and demolish properties for the arena, we leave the sinkhole victims clinging to the edge of the precipice. Allentown is serviced by water pipes over 100 years old. It is City policy to never admit that a water leak caused a sinkhole. While I won't debate their legal strategy, it's apparent we could do much more for these victims; It's a matter of priorities.

photo: The Express Times

Township Managers Wake Up Shocked!

Township managers are waking up from their nap, shocked! Whose Earned Income Tax did they think was going to be used to pay for this white elephant, the six people who work on Hamilton Street and live in Allentown? The managers have scheduled a meeting with Pat Browne in mid February. At that meeting, Browne will tell them that any left over revenue will come their way. The purpose of this post is to try and restore their dignity, and persuade them to cancel the meeting. Gentleman, there will be nothing left over for the next 30 years. Please understand that the arena will cost at least $160 million dollars. In addition to that, approved private developers, also have $100 million already approved. Pawlowski said recently, while you were napping, that his vision is for $600 million in development. The Earned Income Tax is to be first applied toward the debt service. You're financial managers, how much do you foresee being left over? Also written in the law that nobody read, is the ability to use property taxes, if necessary. This blog maintains that when would be more honest than if. Everyone, everywhere, will be paying for this, but none more than Allentown taxpayers.

Where's the Rent?

Recently, this blog explained the heavy handed way that City Center Investment Corporation had acquired virtually all the buildings across from the arena site. Yesterday, The Morning Call reported the compelling story about how a luncheonette tenant on 7th Street was told to vacate, for being a couple days late with her rent. I was glad the newspaper picked up on the story, but like the rent check, they're a little late. In the article they refer to the displaced merchants of the arena site has having served low-income shoppers. Perhaps the reporters didn't notice, but the luncheonette clientele are not from the west end. It's not the fine dining favored by the Administration. The same reporter, before the eminent domain hearing, referred to the merchants as selling discount clothes and cheap electronics. While it's nice that they're injecting a little humanity into the plight now, the damage has been done. The same reality applies to recent revelations about the Earned Income Tax in the NIZ. As the picture below shows, we no longer have a center city; We have a square block of rubble with the surrounding properties all owned by virtually one person. Welcome to the Transformation.

the rent collector is boxer Abe Simon, training for his heavyweight fight with Joe Louis in 1942; the photographer asked him to look mean. the bottom photograph is by The Morning Call.

Hawking a Newspaper

The full page promotion of The Morning Call by Tony Iannelli, on the back of Tuesday's front section of that newspaper, seemed inappropriate to me. The copy said it was important for Tony to get news from a credible source that he could trust. It identified Tony as President and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Doesn't Tony realize that there are two cities in the Valley with a newspaper? If Iannelli is a spokesman for The Morning Call, can we count on honest reporting about his organization? This blog has previously wondered why the Chamber sponsored Vision Meetings for the merchants of Hamilton Street, while the Administration was starting to think about a bulldozer. The citizens of this city have been under-served by both the Chamber and the paper; where can we find a credible source we can trust?