A Giant Among Midgets

Here's a story you will not read about on any official City of Allentown website. It's a story of private gumption, instead of the usual public subsidy. It's the late 1990's, and I stop in and visit infamous Allentown landlord Joe Clark. He's sitting at a desk in the middle of a large empty storefront at 7th and Turner, surrounded by landlord supplies and building materials. The phone rings and it's Mayor William Heydt. Heydt just learned that Clark purchased the vacant Eastern Light Building on Hamilton Street, and wants to know Clark's intentions. Clark tells him he's going to build the best nightclub Allentown has ever seen. Heydt doesn't offer any help, but tells him that he'll be under close scrutiny. Clark does go on to build the club, without a nickel of help from Allentown. Years later, when the BrewWorks would open with unlimited city subsidy, a public parking lot on 8th Street was given exclusively to the BrewWorks. A few weeks ago Clark asked if he could rent the Parking Authority lot behind the nightclub; Request Denied. This week, based on ticket sales, Crocodile Rock was rated the 60th most successful nightclub in the world for 2011. The midgets at City Hall pay for consultants, when there's a genius half a block away.

above reprinted from January of 2012

ADDENDUM February 8, 2023:What brings this decade old plus post back today is the news that J.B. Reilly's CityCenter Real Estate will build a band venue within their new projects in the 900 block of Hamilton Street. The Morning Call doesn't mention that Reilly purchased the old Croc Rock building and virtually all of Hamilton Street, except for a few holdouts who wouldn't sell. The Morning Call also doesn't mention that Croc Rock was run by Joe Clark, less, but still infamous. I can't tell you how much the current Call article amused me, but Joe got to laugh all the way to the bank.

ADDENDUM MAY 13, 2025: Joe Clark passed away last week. Recently in Allentown homelessness and affordable housing have been news items. I can tell you that there would have been considerably more homeless in Allentown without Clark...He took chances renting to tenants that other landlords wouldn't touch. Bill Heydt also recently passed away...He was the last Republican mayor in Allentown.

Protecting Who From Whom

When Strata 13 was built on the northeast corner of 7th & Linden, Lanta reconfigured the bus flow to accommodate it.  Actually, Lanta has been accommodating Reilly's NIZ since before the beginning. They started by relocating the bus stops off Hamilton, and herding the sheep to 6th & Linden. Actually, Strata 13 is called the Hive, but I call all Reilly's residential buildings Strata. 

On Friday police raided the Hive, seizing a gun and marijuana. Reilly's City Center Real Estate has it own security force to protect the tenants. That seemed appropriate, especially with the infamous 7/11 across the street. After reading about the police raid, the question now is who is going to protect the street people from Reilly's tenants?

With us taxpayers footing Reilly's debt service, I always figured that Reilly would  keep a unit empty rather than rent to the wrong element.  I suppose with the housing storage, the do-gooders pressure him to make units available. At any rate, it appears as if the Hive is fitting into the neighborhood. 

photocredit:WFMZ

Señor No Credit

Although the Poison Hemlock is already thriving along Cedar Creek, I notice two short strips by the Rose Garden that are being cut for the first time in well over a decade. That would be the narrow area between the bridge and first pond, behind the stone house currently hosting Friends Of The Parks. The second strip, which is very narrow, is after the last pond, before the middle walk bridge. While he who cannot ever be mentioned will receive no credit, subscribers of this blog know that I have been complaining since day one about the weed wall.

Over the years there has been a few other suggestions of mine adopted, such as the three large stone landing, next to the middle walk bridge mentioned above. Among my current campaigns, I hope to see the broken up pieces of concrete removed from around the stone piers of the Robin Hood Bridge. Another high priority item on my list is to see the small walk bridge from the Walnut St. side of Union Terrace replaced. It was removed about five years ago, rather than repaired.

Although I remain he who cannot ever be mentioned, occasionally officials have privately sought my opinion, on one topic or another.

Know Thyself

On yesterday's blog post I commented that I don't like slogans, having placed one myself on a photo of Ed Zucal, which I had cropped and turned from color to BW.   So, I suppose I don't like a slogan unless I wrote it :)

On this know thyself topic, I didn't plan on plugging Zucal until closer to the May 20th primary. However, who knows what news will preoccupy this blog in the meantime. While most of my readers trend conservative and are receptive to Zucal, beating Tuerk will be no cakewalk. Tuerk's a flatter machine, and people eat that up.

Ed Zucal's background as a policeman appeals to those of us who believe that the ship should be run tighter in Allentown, while Tuerk's constituents enjoy the carefree attitude about enforcing quality of life issues.  Of course, in reality, that attitude really benefits no one.

Who Is Repressing Crime Reporting In Allentown?

Mayoral candidate Ed Zucal reported Monday on social media that someone was stabbed on Friday near West Park, and that two cars exchanged gunfire near Hayes Elementary School. As of Tuesday evening, neither incident was reported by the Morning Call or WFMZ.

Being a small town pizza blogger only claiming informed commentary, rather than investigative reporting, I have not checked the police blotter or with those news outlets to analyze the crime repression. However, I do know that both Mayor Tuerk and police chief Roca claim that crime is down. They're not bashful about complimenting themselves when someone is caught, as was the person firing a gun on 2nd St.. From my excursions around Allentown, I can tell you that quality of life is down, and that reality is what affects most of us.

As long as the car stereos vibrate a block away, and people feel free to stop their cars anytime, anywhere, Tuerk and Roca lack credibility with me. Tuerk has been playing his Latino card harder than in his first campaign, but I don't think that compensates with the residents in West Park and other affected neighborhoods.

Pickup Hoops At Jordan Meadows

Subscribers to the blog know that I bill myself as an advocate for the traditional park system and the WPA structures within them. However, since 2005 the Allentown parks and recreation departments have been combined, and I claim no expertise about the recreation programs. On the contrary, I know very little about them.

I do know that the basketball courts at Cedar Beach are heavily used. I do know that the baseball field in Fountain Park is heavily used. I do know that whenever kids are playing sports, it is positive for both them and the city.

With the above disclaimers, allow me to opine that the recreation sector of the park department should refrain from those activities for which there may not be much long term demand, such as was the case with roller hockey in Jordan Meadows. Near the parking lot at Robin Hood in the Parkway, it's painful to see a disk golf tee located at the neglected WPA spring pond, with its quaint miniature bridge. 

Shown above a pickup game of hoops at Jordan Meadow.  The handball court was also in use this past Saturday.