My Challenge For The State House

Recently, I decided that the voters in the 183rd District needed a better option, and entered the race as a write-in candidate.  The Democratic candidate, Jason Ruff, was complaining how disengaged the Republican incumbent, Zach Mako, was from Harrisburg.

Ruff himself, and several of his surrogates, have asked questions on my facebook promotions.  I have yet to see an insightful comment or idea from that camp.  He heralds the usual union endorsements, and supports the party positions, which would all require more taxes to implement. Of course, at the same time, he wants property tax reform.

I can assure voters that with Mako or Ruff, there would be no changes coming your way from Harrisburg. They both need the job, and the security that the old incumbent system provides.

While the primary function of a state representative is to make sure that the state returns proportional benefits to those communities within the district,  I have objectives beyond the obvious.  If elected,  I would work to eliminate some representatives,  there are far too many districts in Pennsylvania.  I would work to eliminate pensions for representatives,  there are too many long term incumbents,  preoccupied by being re-elected.  I would work to eliminate most of the commissions, many unnecessary, stuffed with patronage jobs. 

I would vote on each bill with quality government being the only criterion, not a party platform.

I understand that voters are passionate about the national election,  and some think that by voting straight ticket that they're sending more of a message.  If you live in the 183rd, make your message at the top of your ballot, but improve your state government by writing-in my name for State Representative...Michael Molovinsky    

The Corner Market

Although I doubt that there will ever be a show at the Historical Society, or brochures at the Visitors Bureau, perhaps nothing encapsulates the history of Allentown more than the corner grocery stores. Allentown proper, is mostly comprised of rowhouses built between 1870 and 1920, long before the era of automobiles and suburban supermarkets. Most of the corner markets were built as stores, and over the years many were converted into apartments. Up until the late 1940's, there may have been well over a hundred operating in Allentown. Some specialized in ethnic food. The bodega at 9th and Liberty was formally an Italian market. Live and fresh killed chickens were sold at 8th and Linden, currently H & R Block Tax Service. A kosher meat market is now a hair salon on 19th Street. The original era for these markets died with the advent of the supermarket. In the early 50's some corner stores attempted to "brand" themselves as a "chain", as shown in the Economy Store sign above. That market is at 4th and Turner, and has been continually operating since the turn of the last century. Ironically, as the social-economic level of center city has decreased, the corner stores have seen a revival. Most of these new merchants, many Hispanic and some Asian, know little of the former history of their stores, but like their predecessors, work long, hard hours.

ADDENDUM: The first supermarket's in Allentown were the A&P. In addition to occupying a former corner store near 2nd and Hamilton, they operated the super store on 19th St, home later to the Shanty Restaurant.  

ADDENDUM 2: Although there was an attempt to brand the corner stores to appear as a chain, the Economy Stores sign shown, apparently came from an early A&P format in 1912 when they leased small stores. If this particular store was such an A&P, or just dressed later with a reused sign, I have yet to determine.

reprinted from previous years

Growing Up Parkway

I'm a baby boomer. I was born in December of 1946. As soon as my mother climbed out of the hospital bed, another woman climbed in. I grew up in the neighborhood now called Little Lehigh Manor, wedged between Lehigh Street and the top of the ravine above Lehigh Parkway. That's me on our lawn at the intersection of Catalina and Liberator Avenues, named after airplanes made by Vultee Corporation for the War. We had our own elementary school, our own grocery store, and the park to play in. On Saturdays, older kids would take us along on the trolley, and later the bus, over the 8TH Street Bridge to Hamilton Street. There were far too many stores to see everything. After a matinee of cartoons or Flash Gordon, and a banana split at one of the five and dimes, we would take the bus back over the bridge to Lehigh Street.




Not that many people know where Lehigh Parkway Elementary School is. It's tucked up at the back of the development of twin homes on a dead end street, but I won't say exactly where. I do want to talk about the photograph. It's May Day, around 1952-53. May Day was big then, so were the unions; Most of the fathers worked at the Steel, Mack, Black and Decker, and a hundred other factories going full tilt after the war. The houses were about 8 years old, and there were no fences yet. Hundreds of kids would migrate from one yard to another, and every mother would assume some responsibility for the herd when it was in her yard. Laundry was hung out to dry. If you notice, most of the "audience" are mothers, dads mostly were at work. I'm at the front, right of center, with a light shirt and long belt tail. Don't remember the girl, but see the boy in front of me with the big head? His father had the whole basement setup year round with a huge model train layout. There were so many kid's, the school only went up to second grade. We would then be bused to Jefferson School for third through sixth grade. The neighborhood had its own Halloween Parade and Easter egg hunt. We all walked to school, no one being more than four blocks away.

reprinted from June of 2008

When Lehigh County Valued History

Back in the early 1970's, a former teacher in Allentown's West Park neighborhood borrowed my photograph of a grain mill, and championed its preservation to the Lehigh County Commissioners. Her efforts resulted in Haines Mill being preserved. It was a time when the county commissioners understood the concept of history and uniqueness. The county now preserves farmland, with the pollyanna notion that farmers will spout there, wear straw hats, and sell organic vegetables on the weekends. Although 22,000 acres have already been preserved, the county just authorized additional $millions to that end. A comment in the Morning Call said that it will insure that we have food in the future. Amazing how little people know about how food gets to the supermarket in 2016. While there is nothing unique about this farmland, and nothing really guaranteed about the preservation, it seems like progress to the environmentalists. Meanwhile, the commissioners and Historical Society turn a deaf ear to Wehr's Dam and other irreplaceable structures, being needlessly threatened.

That former teacher just passed away at 98 years of age. I still take photographs and champion for places that will never be again, but the current board of commissioners does not have the sense of history and esthetics of their predecessors.

reprinted from July of 2016

The Allentown Parking Authority Monster

Although the shopping district in Allentown has shrunk down to only Hamilton and 7th Streets, the meter district remains as it did during the heydays of the 1950's. The meters extend from Walnut to Chew, from 5th to 10th, well over 1000 meters in 20 sq. blocks. Parking meters extend out to 10th and Chew Sts, three full blocks beyond the closest store.* These meters are a defacto penalty for the residents, mostly tenants. In essence, it is a back door tax on Allentown's poorest citizens. The apologists claim the tenants can purchase a resident meter pass, however their friends and visitors cannot. To add insult to injury, in 2005, to help finance a new parking deck for the arts district, the Parking Authority doubled the meter rate and fines. Testimony to City Council permitting the rate increase indicated it was favored by the merchants. At that time I documented to the Council that in fact the merchants were not informed, much less in favor. The vote was 5 to 2, with Hershman and Hoover dissenting
* I used the above copy on my posting of October 3, 2007. In the past several weeks the Parking Authority finally removed the meters in the 900 block of Chew St, 50 years beyond their legitimate need.

UPDATE: The post above is reprinted from September 2009. I have published dozens of posts on the Parking Authority. In 2005, I conducted two press conferences on their abuses; One conference was at 10th and Chew Streets, and concerned the oversized meter zone. The second conference, directly in front of their office, concerned the fabricated merchant survey that they  presented to City Council. Old tricks die hard. Forward ahead to 2015, and the Parking Authority will once again penalize both existing merchants and residents.  The new plan is to double the meter parking rate from $1 an hour, to $2, and extend the metering time to 10:00pm.  They claim that the merchants are in favor of this plan. Although I will not conduct my own survey, as I did 2005,  their survey defies logic.  Why would any of the few surviving merchants want their customers submitted to a destination city parking rates in Allentown? Despite the hype,  Allentown is not Miami Beach or N.Y.C.. In reality, just as the taxpayers are subsidizing the arena zone,  now the merchants and residents will be subsidizing the arena plan through punitive parking rates.

UPDATE Memorial Day Weekend 2015: I did end up asking several merchants, and no, they were not surveyed. Eight years from the original date of this post, and the Authority is still up to the same shenanigans.   Reilly's City Center tenants, merchants and customers will get a free pass for the Authority's inconvenient parking lots. Other existing tenants in the NIZ, such as the south side of the 900 block of Walnut Street, will not be eligible for residential parking permits.  If you have a problem with any of this, remember, you must now put money in the meter at night, before  complaining to City Council.

UPDATE MARCH 20, 2020:  As of noon yesterday, the Parking Authority suspended tickets in the residential permit zones.  However, normal parking meter tickets will continue.  This would have of course punish merchants still open for business during this virus crisis. However, while there are virtually no merchants left on Hamilton Street since the NIZ revitalization, the punishment would have mostly affect the minority merchants on 7th Street....or in other words, life as usual in Allentown. Governor Wolf has declared that all non-essential businesses must close. Will the monster also now stand down?

UPDATE OCTOBER 20, 2020: Numerous voters trying to drop off their ballots at Government Center at 7th and Hamilton, report that the monster has awoken, and is giving out tickets. 

Disgrace On Front Street

Students of this blog know that I'm not a big fan of the Allentown Economic Development Corporation.  Under the Pawlowski regime, they adopted his practice of fluff and puff, devoid of much substance.  Up until now my biggest complaint was their ridiculous plan on restoring the Barber Quarry branch rail line to S. 10 Street.  Although I always oppose removing existing tracks,  there is absolutely no reason to restore now missing tracks on speculation.  The probability of them attracting an industry heavy enough to need rail service is no better than zero.  So far, in about 15 years,  all they managed to do is put a go-kart track in a former Mack factory.  Although they have a $multi-$million $dollar budget, I know landlords who better manage more properties with a pickup truck and cellphone.

But today's post is about the former Neuweiler Brewery.  Mike Fleck, Pawlowski's former indicted campaign/business manager,  hooked up Ruckus Brewing with the AEDC,  which gave them the Neuweiler property.  Although Ruckus is primarily a couple young marketing guys with no actual brewing or property development experience,  they were given several extensions on their Neuweiler option.  They are now allowed to harvest income from renting storage space in the former distribution portion of the brewery, but have made no repairs to the brewery portion itself.  Understand that Pawlowski had the former owner actually jailed for conditions at the property, which is in much worse shape now.

The current condition brings us to a new chapter. Despite its imposing industrial architecture, the building may be beyond feasible saving at this point.  Now anything can be saved, but at what cost? The building is under the public expense program called NIZ.  The NIZ is a unique program, which uses public tax dollars for private ownership.  I would prefer that my state tax dollars not be diverted to save this wreck,  only to enrich some NYC owners.

Now for a reality check.  Only this blog (later joined by LV Ramblings) sounded the whistle on Pawlowski's Allentown.  Only this blog chronicled the situation down at the former brewery. Bureaucrats are always reluctant to cut bait on their previous poor decisions.

above reprinted from 2018

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 19, 2020: Although I have been waging a write-in campaign for State Representative in the 183rd District, the Morning Call hasn't reported my candidacy to their readers in those communities,  which  they purport to serve. Furthermore, they know that unlike many candidates, I do not need the job or career, and that I have been an activist about government for decades. 

Those seeking better representation, and better use of their tax dollars, should network my write-in candidacy to their friends in the district.