When Republicans Ruled Allentown

I remember 1955 pretty well. I was nine years old, and Hurricane Diane roared through Allentown.  I remember the sound of the metal trash cans blowing around the neighborhood, hitting houses and cars. Living in Little Lehigh Manor, my neighbor's large willow tree blew over. The creek was way over its banks. My father had spent the night moving meat from the first floor cooler to a second floor cooler, with his market being next to the Lehigh River. What I don't remember is that Republicans ruled the city back then.

But I do remember the prosperity of Allentown. The factories were going full tilt, some with two and three shifts. More mothers were staying home, with the father's union wages being enough to support the family.  The southside was booming, with new factories between Lehigh Street and Emmaus Ave. Mack 5C was putting out an endless line of truck cabs.

I was about fifty years away from thinking about local politics. I couldn't tell you who the mayor was until Joe Daddona in the late 70's. We're learning that Ed Zucal is asking Republicans to write him in on May 20th, and that Matt Tuerk and Dems are in a huff about it. 

Although conservative, I'm a true independent. By that I mean that I vote for people, not a party. There hasn't been a Republican voted to any Allentown office this century, but a shakeup sure wouldn't hurt the town. When nobody from the Baum Art School, which just started building a new addition, doesn't complain about the Museum moving away to 10th Street, we have become mired in go along to get along. It is my contempt for that attitude which fuels this blog.

Allentown Has No Shame

As a long time critic of the NIZ, the newest article by the Morning Call is right up there as an infomercial. It involves placing an arch over the street by Reilly's new buildings, and installing a statue of, no less, a Greek g-d. The icing on the cake is that it is being promoted by none other than Pat Browne, patron saint of Reilly's good fortune.

The new Morning Call reporters are following a tradition at the Morning Call, writing good news about the NIZ, and skipping any unpleasant realities, like the 7th Street drug and gun bust at Strata #5, aka The Hive. The paper has also taken to using stories from former editors and reporters, who now have news letters and blogs.

I keep resolving to be nicer, but I just can't find any justification for it. Meanwhile, back at the upcoming election, Tuerk is claiming that Zucal lies!!!! That he can't be both a Democrat and Republican! Of course Zucal is entitled to ask Republicans to write him in on May 20th, and Allentonians are entitled to vote as they see fit come November.

shown above WW1 Victory Parade arch in 1919, 500 block of Hamilton St.

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.