Rusting Away By Union Terrace

In 2010, I learned that Lehigh County had fast track plans to demolish the 1824 stone arch bridge by Union Terrace. Several decades earlier in 1980, Mayor Joe Daddona had the accompanying pedestrian bridge built, to insure the safety of both Union Terrace and Raub students.

Back in 2010, when I successfully defended the old Reading Road stone bridge, the steel on the pedestrian bridge was already rusty. Here we are over a decade later, and the city still hasn't painted it !!!

I was just watching a video of the mayor congratulating himself and the city workers on his victory. He said that they accomplished a lot, but there's still more to do. Mr. Mayor, may I suggest that the city spend a couple $thousand now and paint the steel beams? Or, you could wait until the steel needs replacing, spend $millions, but have a ribbon cutting.

Another Crime By Allentown Park Department

While Mayor Tuerk and his park department brag and cut ribbons for a new gimmicks in the parks, they allow irreplaceable historic icons to deteriorate. Recently they demolished the large cherished picnic pavilion in Cedar Park, after submitting it to a decade of benign neglect. Likewise, they're submitting the historic barn to their neglect schedule.

The barn and current park office was the A.H. Balliet Pastime farm, predating most of Allentown's west end. The trolley to Dorney Park ran along the creek.Through the vision of Harry Trexler and others, the city acquired the farm in 1929.

Vines are extremely destructive to structures, both to the masonry and wood components. We need park leadership and personnel who have some understanding of infrastructure.

Pandering On Hamilton

In a wholesale vote pandering extravaganza, Allentown held a Latino Festival two days before the primary election. Tuerk stood on the stage speaking Spanish and waving Caribbean flags at Fiesta On Hamilton.

What this event costs the taxpayers, we'll probably never know. How many police officers were there on overtime, and how many street department workers to set up and clean up?  Yesterday, Promise Neighborhoods held an open house. Again, just a coincidence, I assure you.

The picture above I grabbed off of the mayor's Facebook page, although this blog probably wasn't the intended audience.

Allentown Comes To Macungie

When the shots rang out last week in Macungie, welcome to Allentown. Chief Roca just released neighborhood crime statistics, but who cares about them with the music blaring? 

The question in tomorrow's election is, will Tuerk's pandering pay him a dividend? Will all those flag raisings buy him another term?  Unfortunately for Tuerk, he probably won't know the answer until November. Even if he wins the primary tomorrow, he may still face Zucal in the general election, if Zucal gets enough Republican write-in votes.

Tuerk says that Zucal can't have it both ways, he can't be both a Democrat and a Republican. Zucal says he is an Allentonian, first and foremost. Allentown's minority-majority communities are maturing. They're less faltered by the pandering and more concerned with the quality of their lives. Nobody is fooled by these new initiatives just announced last week by the Tuerk administration.

SPECIAL EDITION, TUERK OBSCURES THE TRUTH

Matt Tuerk sent a mailer claiming that there was no tax increase under his administration. His opponent, Ed Zucal, took him to task for that distortion.

 "Most people received a mailer from Matt Tuerk claiming to have not raised taxes during his first term as Mayor. What he forgot to tell you is he wanted to raise taxes 5.4% in 2023. Remember when he threatened to take away Lights in the Parkway if he didn't get his way. Council shot his 5.4% down. Then he came back with a 2% raise. Council shot that down to. So the real truth is Mayor Tuerk would have raised your taxes. If you also remember Council had a vote of "No Confidence" as a direct result of this caous. Thank Council for no tax increases not Matt Tuerk."

As we approach Tuesday's election, my support goes to Ed Zucal. I believe that an emphasis on public safety and quality of life issues will benefit all our citizens, more than raising flags and having festivals.

ADDENDUM: Zucal press release Friday Evening 

                  Mayor Matt sends in the Machine ALLENTOWN — 

In the final days of Allentown’s mayoral primary, the Ed Zucal campaign is responding to a wave of anonymous attack ads with a warning: voters are witnessing a coordinated, last-ditch effort by entrenched political insiders to prop up Mayor Matt Tuerk and silence opposition. As reported by the Morning Call, the ads in question are funded by shadowy PACs, including the Civic Growth Initiative, a group tied to former mayoral candidate Charlie Thiel—a longtime ally of the political class surrounding Mayor Tuerk. The group has ads attacking Zucal and other candidates while boosting allies of the current administration. “Despite trying to hide his involvement, it’s clear that Tuerk is behind these shady efforts, ” said Zucal. “The individual who has attached his name to this effort —Ray Lahoud— has also donated thousands of dollars to Tuerk. He wants voters distracted from the outsiders and special interests that are bankrolling his campaign. ” “Voters will see through Matt’s dirty tricks and dark money. On May 20th, they will vote for truth and transparency.

A Personal Memoir

I'm not sure memoir is a good title, rather than facts and records, I have hazy recollections. Assuming my memory will not improve at this stage of the game, let me put to print that which I can still recall. In about 1958 my father built Flaggs Drive-In. McDonalds had opened on Lehigh Street, and pretty much proved that people were willing to sit in their cars and eat fast food at bargain prices. For my father, who was in the meat business, this seemed a natural. As a rehearsal he rented space at the Allentown Fair for a food stand, and learned you cannot sell hotdogs near Yocco's. He purchased some land across from a corn field on Hamilton Blvd. and built the fast food stand. In addition to hamburgers, he decided to sell fried chicken. The chicken was cooked in a high pressure fryer called a broaster, which looked somewhat like the Russian satellite Sputnik. The stand did alright, but the business was not to my father's liking, seems he didn't have the personality to smile at the customers. He sold the business several years later to a family which enlarged and enclosed the walk up window. Subsequent owners further enlarged the location several times. The corn field later turned into a Water Park, and you know Flaggs as Ice Cream World.

I'm grateful to a kind reader who sent me this picture of Flaggs

reprinted from March 12, 2009