An Important Meeting

This evening at 6:00pm, City Council will decide on the fate of the ballot petition submitted by Dan Poresky and other members of his action committee. If council approves the petition, which contains over 4,500 signatures, the scheme to privatize the water will be effectively halted.* It is essential for those who believe that the water system should remain under city operation to attend the meeting. Only your presence will convince City Council that their vote does have political consequences.

photocredit:Colin McEvoy/Express Times

*If Council votes no, or doesn't vote, voters will be asked in May if it should appear on the ballot in November:  By then, the water lease will be a done deal.

Lunch At Allen

Up to the mid 60's, students at Allen High could leave the building for lunch. Scattered in alley's around the the school, garages had been converted into lunch shops and hangouts. The Hutch was in the alley between 17th and West Streets, in the unit block between Hamilton and Linden. Suzy's was behind the Nurse's Dormitory, between Chew and Turner. Another was across Linden from the Annex. They all had the same basic decor, a few pinball machines, a few tables and a small lunch counter. Most of the business was during lunch period, and before and after school. It's my understanding that occasionally a kid or two would skip school and hangout all day. Today these garages, turned into luncheonettes, have long ago reverted back to garages. Most of the current residents of West Park probably don't even know about this commercial history right behind their houses. I missed photo day at Allen for my yearbook, but if anybody has a picture of the gang from the Hutch, I'd appreciate a copy.
reprinted from November 2011

For the remainder of January this blog will reprint some posts which glimpsed back into our past. This nostalgia will be interrupted with current news and commentary as the city turns.

Cloning Yuppies for Allentown

When molovinsky on allentown began almost five years ago, I used to say that It's good to be Butz, I must now add, but it's better to be J.B. Reilly. In today's Morning Call we learn that "under Allentown's arena block master development agreement, if City Center determines a hotel is not feasible, it could build apartments or offices instead."  That is news to me, and as a blogging naysayer I'm more informed than most. All state taxes in the 130 acre NIZ will be going to pay for the arena complex. Reilly will own from the second floor up on two portions of the complex, one on Hamilton Street, the other on 7th Street. Lehigh Valley Hospital will the the tenant on the Hamilton portion, while the 7th Street side may well now be apartments instead of a hotel. Reilly is also building apartments on the other side of 7th Street, at the Linden Street corner. Although I have no background in office development, I do know the apartment market. No upscale apartment development in center-city has ever met it's target demographic without substantial subsidy, and then only with limited units. There are not enough Yuppies in Allentown to occupy the current supply of loft apartments, much less without Reilly's new apartments. Perhaps he can use his influence with Lehigh Valley Hospital for a clandestine Yuppie cloning laboratory.

The Wind At Pawlowski's Back

With the wind of the NIZ at his back, Ed Pawlowski will announce for a third term this week. Do not expect a similar announcement from a Republican. I have written before that Allentown may have well passed the tipping point where anyone could be elected as a Republican. One potential R candidate has apparently decided against the effort. A liberal yuppie told me this week how excited he was about plans for the river front. Another described the arena complex as only a positive for Allentown. When I explained that the arena will be a dormant white elephant during the daytime, and many nights, he said that was better than what was there before. He hopes all the development displaces some of the element that live nearby. In one way or another, Pawlowski seems to have wrapped up segments from all the demographics in town. What sacrificial lamb the Republicans produce remains to be seen.

The Lehigh Valley At War

If you lived in the Lehigh Valley during either World War, you knew that those victories required an enormous amount of equipment. Mack Truck was under control of the War Department during both conflicts, starting in 1915 and then again in 1942. The Queen City Airport on Lehigh Street is a vestige of the second war. Mack Truck and Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft joined forces to produce planes and plane parts. Mack's biggest contribution was it's trucks, establishing their reputation for durability. The naval gun shop at Bethlehem Steel was one of the largest in the world when built. With barrels up to 14 inches, it was capable of providing up to 30 guns a day.

Mack Trucks for War Department 1918

Protect Your Water

By the time this postcard was made in the early 1900's, Allentown was already insuring it's residents of clean water for decades. The water tower shown on the upper left was east of the current YMCA on South 15th Street. If the current Administration has it's way, that responsibility will no longer be a municipal obligation. This evening, Thursday January 3th at 6pm, City Council will conduct a special meeting and decide if they will respect the petition with over 4,500 signatures, and indeed put the issue to the people by ballot referendum. By attending this evening's meeting you can tell Council that you do want to retain ownership of our water, and that you will hold them accountable for their vote.  The citizen action committee, that has worked so hard to protect our water, reminds both us and Council:
  The Council shall protect and promote the rights of the citizens of the City of Allentown to participate in a positive and constructive manner in the government of the City. Any citizen of the City may participate in the government of the City by [among other things] exercising the right of initiative and referendum as provided in this Charter or as otherwise may be provided by law.

  We don't need to privatize the water to solve the city's pension woes. Privatizing Allentown water is the most costly option.

 http://www.facebook.com/SaveAllentownsWater

Petitioners' Committee Contact: Bill Hoffman 484-695-1157 email: wjhoffman10@gmail.com

UPDATE: Suburban Wake Up Call
Residents of municipalities surrounding Allentown, served by the Lehigh County Authority with water, will be affected by the Water Lease Plan soon enough. Today's Morning Call reports that the Authority started using more Allentown water, with plans to increase the amount in coming years. A sale to a private company will eventually adversely effect the cost of that commodity. Suburban leaders saw fit to protect their citizens in regard to the NIZ tax grab last year, they should certainly do no less in regard to their drinking water. The townships mistakenly believe that they're protected by long term contracts, which would be inherited by the new operator. The devil will be in the pass along capital improvement costs. Unlike the NIZ, which only affected their citizens who worked in downtown Allentown, this plan will effect every property owner. Their silence on this matter is incomprehensible.

UPDATE: (9:30 am)   I have just received notice from the City Clerk that the meeting has been rescheduled for January 8th, at 6:00pm

A Different Past For The Baby Boomers

Little Lehigh Manor was built for the returning GI's after the War. It was a self contained development of several hundred brick twin houses, nestled between Lehigh Parkway and Lehigh Street. It had it's own elementary school, and nearby grocery stores. Although this development may have been more idyllic than some older area's in Allentown, it shared it's best feature with the rest of the city; It was a neighborhood. I hear these same memories from people in my generation who grew up on the East Side, across the river in the Ward, or center city at 9th and Chew. Great mentoring occurred at the Boys and Girls Clubs, and another dozen organizations devoted to the community's youth. Although there were economic differences and poverty, they seemed to have less of an effect on quality of life and opportunity than now. Perhaps it was the massive number of children from the Baby Boom that created a communal sense of caring among the parents and organizations, but something special seems missing today.

picture dates from around 1949. An enterprising photographer brought a pony around the neighborhood as an alluring prop.