Better Shoes By Farr

The For Rent banner hangs on the side of the building facing 8th Street, the other side faces Pawlowski's Hole. It's been a rough year for The Farr Lofts, with another one in store. Prior to the unilateral decision by the Arena Cabal, the loft residents lived next to the Rite Aid Drug Store, and always had the prospect of more interesting and changing stores on their block. Now, after gagging through no less than two years of construction, they will be next to a traffic jam called the Hockey Arena. Surviving merchants have just received their first fine, for not completing the additional NIZ tax forms on time. Welcome to the Hole. Unlike most of you, I will have an opportunity to publicly complain about these outrages today. Any message I can convey for you?

Invite Molovinsky

When Bernie O'Hare posted the other day that Some Businesses Matter was looking for someone to join Steve Thode to debate Hailstone and Fleck on the NIZ, I almost raised my hand. There was a time when Michael Schlossberg used to ask me to come on the show. I always said no; Truth is, I'd rather sit here, and opine on my schedule. Since Iannelli is essentially the third person on the pro side, it is not inappropriate to add a third chair for the side against.* Anyway, if they want to balance out the show with someone who was party to the displaced merchant's point of view, I will rent a tie and jacket.

*Bernie O'Hare will be on opposing side with Steve Thode

UPDATE:  I have been invited by Business Matters to take Bernie O'Hare's place.   Michael Fleck, representing the NIZ with Sara Hailstone, refused to appear with Bernie.

UPDATE:  I have been informed that Sara Hailstone will NOT attend, and is being replaced by Jeff Barber, local mortgage broker and NIZ supporter.

The Gems of Allentown

The press release announcing Weitzel's departure, describes the combining of Allentown's Park and Recreation Departments as an accomplishment; It was of course a disaster. Weitzel, with a background in recreation, turned some of the parks into an overused playground, while completely ignoring others. The combining of the positions, while sacrificing the historical park system, saved the city no money;Pawlowski meanwhile created a host of new positions at the top level of his administration. Unfortunately, the traditional guardian and benefactor of the park system, the Trexler Trust, became dominated by Pawlowski sycophants. The current major plan for the park system's future centers on cycling, creating a network of interlinking paths between the parks. With the exception of myself and a few others, there are no defenders for the historical system, what were the Gems of Allentown. Pawlowski has politicized the parks, like everything else. The Friends of the Parks, are in reality, friends of Pawlowski. When I, with appreciated help, dug up the buried Boat Landing  in the Parkway, neither Pawlowski or Weitzel had known it ever existed, nor did they care. The Morning Call never ran a story on the subject; A WPA built structure buried for over 40 years by a former Park Director. Let us hope that Pawlowski now hires someone with some appreciation of our classic park system.

Doomed For Failure

The Allentown Hockey Arena is doomed to fail. With only 40 home games, 325 nights is too many to fill. The Sands Casino has already sucked the air of the local concert market, with one name act after another being announced. The Sands can well afford to use their concert venue as a lost leader for their casino. Ironically, while the price tag for Allentown's white elephant is now $220million, the Sands Concert space only cost $12million. While wide eyed Pawlowski and the profiting minions envision a hotel, no minor league hockey fan has ever stayed in a hotel. I have coined the phrase Hockeygate for this misstep in Allentown redevelopment. While the main victim of this fiasco will be the taxpayers of Allentown, other victims and scapegoats will be sacrificed. I would imagine that Scott Fainor, CEO of the main lending bank, KNBT, has been having some sleepless nights. Assuming the minions get pass the lawsuits, the bonds will be a hard sell, requiring that higher interest be returned to the risk takers. After about five years of underperforming, the city will announce a new manager for the arena. Ten years after that, a new mayor will suggest it's demolition. I recall when the canopy was supposed to save downtown Allentown; We know how that turned out. This post adds a few thoughts to my former post, Pawlowski's Expensive Hole.
photo credit:The Morning Call/Harry Fisher

Consigliere's Marathon

The photo shown here is one year old. Last year at this time, O'Hare and I were engaged in a Blog War, passionately taking opposite sides on the Gracedale issue. Because Bernie has the expertise to file lawsuits, I actually cropped off his stomach in the photo, as not to enrage him. I labeled the photo The Consigliere. I reprint it now because yesterday Bernie ran and completed a half marathon. Anybody who can lose that much weight and prepare to run 13 miles in less than a year is probably nuts, just the same, congratulations.

Park Director Departing

molovinsky on allentown has learned that park and recreation director Greg Weitzel is planning to move on to new pastures. Although only here for five years, the scar he leaves on the parks will last for decades. Trained as a recreation specialist, he had no feel for what was the gem of Allentown, our park system. Obsessed with cycling, he paved all the paths in CedarPark, and added an additional path across the previous open space. He then purchased exercise stations and other novelties for his newly paved roads. Meanwhile, the irreplaceable features of the park system were allowed to deteriorate; The WPA stone structures are in a perilous condition. These assaults against our heritage were enabled from the politicization of the Trexler Trust, the main benefactor of the park system. The Trust is dominated by Pawlowski confidant Malcolm Gross. Although not a dollar was spent on the WPA structures, the Malcolm Gross Memorial Rose Garden, named after his grandfather, was completely renovated. When Pawlowski departs Allentown, we will be encumbered with the arena, a $200million dollar white elephant. Weitzel is leaving us with crumbling infrastructure in the parks, but a grand cycling network, inter-connecting all the neglect in our parks. Pawlowski, preoccupied and consumed with the arena project, and opposition to it, might appoint park superintendent Rick Holtzman as Weitzel's replacement. Expect The Morning Call to verify this story by Wednesday, but once again fail to credit this blog.
UPDATE:  Both Devon Lash of The Morning Call and Colin McEvoy of the Express Times reported  Monday afternoon, at the exact same time, 2:53pm,  that Weitzel is resigning.
Official Allentown Announcement