Allentown Tenant Association

The Tenant Association was started and is run by two well intentioned young men, Julian Kern and Ken Heffentrager. They believe that there are far too many problem landlords in Allentown, and that the city is lax in dealing with the situation. They routinely display photographs of buildings they consider deficient on their facebook page. They have become regulars at Allentown City Council, where they present their documentation. They are now asking the city to establish a tenant/landlord court, because they believe that the district court system is too lenient on landlords.

Before I was a blogger, and before I was an advocate for the Park System and WPA, I was a landlord. A couple of years ago I explained to Julian and Ken that I don't believe that anybody buys a building with the intention of depreciating their asset. Generally speaking, the current available tenant pool in center city isn't an easy one to deal with. Although, I'm not known to shy away from controversy, I have remained somewhere between neutral and supportive of their efforts. However, I believe now something needs to be addressed, and that is simply that overstated blight designations can actually cause more blight.

Looking at the map above, who would want to invest in that neighborhood? A tenant moves out, leaves an apartment full of furniture and trash. The landlord can't really clean and paint without putting it somewhere, usually outside. The city garbage carrier will only take away a few bags at a time, and only a couple pieces of furniture on a designated night. It's easy to take an unflattering photograph of a property, but is it indicative of its normal condition?

Despite the paint commercials on television, I can tell you that paint now a days starts to fade and peel about ten minutes after it's applied. Nothing in this post is meant to imply that there is no basis to the good work that Julian and Ken are doing. There are certainly deficient landlords and properties, however, there's far too many flags on that map to be in the city's best interest.

ADDENDUM: The Tenant Association,  in addition to calling for a Housing Court,  would also like to see Allentown enforce more state statutes on blight. They apparently don't have the historical perspective to realize that in the recent past Allentown has used blight designations as a backdoor to eminent domain.  The designation was used against the 5th Street residents for the benefit of Sacred Heart Hospital's expansion.  It was used to take the Neuweiler Brewery, although the city has done nothing responsible with the property since.  It was also even used against the former property owners of the arena block.  Any expansion of law requires an ethical government for fair implementation.  The current ethics of city hall are too questionable to encourage them with more legalized weapons.

Pawlowski's Magic Hat

Saturday's Morning Call, presented a story* outling a grant program designed "to help people at least give you a second look", according to Mayor Pawlowski. The truth is Pawlowski uses our money as the gift that keeps on giving. Two of the seven are restaurants which have received substantial aid from other city programs. Three are small startups which occupy space which appears to be owned or handled by the same realtor. One recipient, New York Urban, was a successful clothes retailer who opened a second shop. The city claims if the businesses stay open less than five years, they will try to recoup the money through liens; but only one of the seven is not a tenant, so that claim is baseless. Three of the shops have recently had their facade redone in an identical finish. Did we pay to remodel the building with facade grants and then provide tenants with these business grants? Coincidence or shenanigan? Talking of shenanigans, I must mention Pawlowski's peek-a-boo and hide-a-fund system**. One receiver of these new grants is Johnny Manana's. Yes, it's the same place that has been receiving grants since before Pawlowski was mayor. This joke is located in a KOZ and already pays no taxes. It was given a special low cost city sponsored liquor license. It appears this latest grant, $50,000, was virtually blackmail to open up, so our agency leaders could crow about how wonderful are their accomplishments. Another $50,000 went to the Cosmopolitan, not yet built, but named. The owner received the location for one dollar, the previous building was torn down at our expense, and of course he received the customary city discounted liquor license. I could say a few more things,but I will be polite. Some of the small shops, the ones with the redwood fronts, you better visit quickly. When the grant for their rent is up, so will they.
GRANT RECIPIENTS
Vickey's Sweet Spot 621 Hamilton St. $11,190
New York Urban 740 Hamilton St. $19,366
Total Office Solutions 915 Hamilton St. $20,000
Wireless & Beyond 965 Hamilton St. $20,000
Ileanette's Beauty Salon 913 Hamilton St. $20,000
Johnny Manana's 835 Hamilton St. $50,000
Cosmopolitan 18 N. Sixth St. $50,000

UPDATE:" Pawlowski said some of the remaining money ($155,000) could be used to promote existing restaurants"

*http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_5grants-r.6390799may10,0,6273080.story

**Allentown Economic and Development Corporation,Allentown Commercial and Industrial Development Authority, Allentown Redevelopment Authority

reprinted from May 11, 2008

ADDENDUM 2010: Since I wrote this post two years ago, both Vickey's Sweet Spot and Johnny Manana's have gone out of business. The Morning Call now reports that Pawlowski hopes to set up another recipient, a sports bar, in the Manana spot.

ADDENDUM 2016: Photograph and post originally published in 2008, and then reprinted in 2010. Now in 2016, apparently the NIZ isn't enough for Mayor In Limbo Pawlowski, who is still spending tax dollars to provide chosen property owners with commercial tenants, via the Retail Mosaic program.

The Apologists of Allentown

I've been sparring on and off with a young apologist for the administration and the NIZ at facebook. While he's been active in some civic activities for a few months, he actually asked me what I have done for Allentown? Yesterday morning, another facebook friend relayed the tale of an 82 year old woman working at a local dollar store to make ends meet. The young apologist suggested that she should apply for one the small business grants being touted in a shark tank type contest by the administration, called Retail Mosaic. This program is in lieu of meaningful community benefit from the NIZ, but being partially financed by the ones who have profited the most, such as City Center Development and National Penn Bankshares.  It should be called what the sponsors really think of it; Crumbs For The Little Bums, and those involved should be ashamed of themselves.  The Retail Mosaic article mentions ready available  storefronts.  I should trust that they're not going to steer the Little Bums into certain storefronts for the advantage of certain property owners, but there is a basis for such speculation.  In a previous grant program run by the Pawlowski Administration, all the grants seemed to go businesses operating out of storefronts operated by one local real estate partnership.

Other readers informed the young apologist that at 82,  the elderly woman should be at home on a porch, watching her grandchildren play. The apologists are in a rough position. Although they defend the NIZ, they must restrain themselves from demonstrative support of Pawlowski, in order to maintain some credibility. However, at the same time, the Mayor In Limbo continues to wield power and make appointments.

Social Security Disability, Allentown's Growth Industry

Yesterday I went to the Social Security Office, across from the prison, to discuss my retirement options. I was given number 199. In addition to retirement, Social Security also dispenses money for disability. I would say from the gray hair, there were about three of us contemplating retirement, all the others were for disability. A few middle age men were carrying their fake canes. The canes aren't fake, it's the disabilities. I saw one such gentleman walk in from the parking lot, clearly the cane bore no weight, and was merely a prop. Most of the people waiting were quite young, in their twenties. Disability has been expanded to include mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, additive personality and anger management. I will say many of them did look angry to me. It was hard finding a parking space. Business also looked good at the prison. If Johnny Manana's had gotten these crowds....

reprinted from 2008

                                                Post on Emma Tropiano below

Emma Tropiano, The People's Candidate

In the late 1970's, neighbors would gather in the market on 9th Street to complain and receive consolation from the woman behind the cash register. Emma was a neighborhood institution. A native Allentonian, she had gone through school with mayor for life Joe Dadonna, and knew everybody at City Hall. More important, she wasn't shy about speaking out. What concerned the long time neighbors back then was a plan to create a Historical District, by a few newcomers.

What concerned Emma wasn't so much the concept, but the proposed size of the district, sixteen square blocks. The planners unfortunately all wanted their homes included, and they lived in an area spread out from Hall Street to 12th, Linden to Liberty.* Shoving property restrictions down the throats of thousands of people who lived in the neighborhood for generations didn't seem right to Emma. As the battle to establish the district became more pitched, Emma began referring to it as the Hysterical District.
Emma eventually lost the battle, but won the hearts of thousands of Allentonians. Emma Tropiano would be elected to City Council beginning in 1986, and would serve four terms. In 1993 she lost the Democratic Primary for Mayor by ONE (1) vote.

Her common sense votes and positions became easy fodder for ridicule. Bashed for opposing fluoridation, our clean water advocates now question the wisdom of that additive. Although every founding member of the Historical District moved away over the years, Emma continued to live on 9th Street, one block up from the store. In the mid 1990's, disgusted by the deterioration of the streetscape, she proposed banning household furniture from front porches. Her proposal was labeled as racist against those who could not afford proper lawn furniture. Today, SWEEP officers issue tickets for sofas on the porch.

Being blunt in the era of political correctness cost Emma. Although a tireless advocate for thousands of Allentown residents of all color, many people who never knew her, now read that she was a bigot. They don't know who called on her for help. They don't know who knocked on her door everyday for assistance. They don't know who approached her at diners and luncheonettes all over Allentown for decades. We who knew her remember, and we remember the truth about a caring woman.

* Because the designated Historical District was too large, it has failed, to this day, to create the atmosphere envisioned by the long gone founders. Perhaps had they listened to, instead of ridiculing, the plain spoken shopkeeper, they would have created a smaller critical mass of like thinking homeowners, who then could have expanded the area.

reprinted from 2010

Political Correctness and Allentown

Pawlowski helps feed some of the many poor who have moved here under his watch

The Library Of Congress is changing the term illegal alien to unauthorized immigrant,  to be less offensive.  On that note,  those easily offended should not continue reading beyond this point.

In 2005, at a NAACP sponsored event, I introduced the concept that Allentown was becoming a poverty magnet. An officer of that organization, who was also an employee of CACLV, asked me to prove that I wasn't a racist, since so many of the poor people moving to Allentown were of color. In 2005, even mention of a poverty magnet was unacceptable. The Morning Call reporter, assigned to cover the 2005 mayoral election, while generally marginalizing my candidacy as an independent, jumped on the chance to publicize the controversy.  Now, in 2016, the consequences of the poverty magnet is part of city planning. Alan Jennings himself has adopted the phrase in the last few years.  Allentown's trying to induce mixed income housing into center city. Yesterday, the Morning Call had an article about the mass migration to Allentown from Puerto Rico in the last decade. Unfortunately, a disproportionate part of that population limits itself to low income, by making Social Security Disability a career choice. However, that's a taboo subtopic, that is still years away, if ever,  from public discussion.

Despite Elton John coming to perform at a new arena,  Allentown has become a much poorer place in the last ten years.  The streets are strewn with litter, and the middle class avoids the school system.  Social programs that make Allentown an attractive landing spot for transients should be reevaluated for their long term consequences on the city.

I don't believe that Allentown is currently being well served by political correctness.  At any rate, it is not on the menu at this blog.

Omega Pills and Blogging

I keep seeing Larry King doing informercials and commercials for a supplement pill. He mentions more energy to play with his kids. Now, I get that he dyes his hair, but really, how young are his kids? I'm not much for that kind of research, and by the way, please don't submit comments which ask questions. Do your own research. While I digress to the subject of comments, the less incoming comments here was not unexpected, with the new registration requirement. While registration provides more credibility for your point of view, readers can still utilize a pseudonym.  As reader George Ruth noted on an earlier post comment,  ... it is helpful to readers to 'digest' a comment based on that commentators 'history'. It is much more enlightening. I know that registration requires more commitment, but this blog and your input is meant to contribute to the community.

Anyway, a short peek at King's bio reveals that he's 82, and has been married eight times. I suggest that you both register to comment, and buy omega pills.