Saturday Night Protest In Allentown

What may turn out to have been an officer's knee momentarily on a defendants head while being constrained and handcuffed, brought the justice warriors and virtue signalers out in force on Saturday night. Shouting that if they don't get what they want, they will burn it down, the march went up Hamilton Street to the police station at 10th.

Although Mayor O'Connell and Police Chief Granitz came to the protest to explain that an investigation will be conducted, the protesters persisted to know how soon they can expect satisfaction?

The video ends one second after the officer uses his knee as an extra hand. Did it remain there, and for how long?  Although social media called it a knee on the neck, that also isn't clear, and it appears that the knee is more up toward the combatants ear. Those that are leading these groups, and so anxious to ferment tension, are not unlike those who yell fire in a movie theater.

So far two city council members, Ce-Ce Gerlach and Josh Siegel. have joined ranks with the protestors.  Gerlach at least questioned her dual role as a resident and council member,  while Siegel thinks that his council cohorts who favor due process,  must go.  He clearly doesn't belong behind the dais.

Allentown and its minority populations are lucky to have Glenn Granitz as chief.  I know of no previous chief in Allentown's history who has been more available and responsive to the public.  The protesters must also realize that he is administrator of the police department,  and that those officers, as anybody else, deserve due process in any inquiry.

screen shot of Chief Glenn Granitz facing protesters Saturday night.

UPDATE JULY 13, 2020: Although molovinsky is usually published weekdays, this was posted Sunday morning, in reaction to the protest Saturday night. The normal schedule will resume tomorrow.

UPDATE 9:00AM:WFMZ has changed its website copy to reflect that the policeman's knee was on the defendants head, not neck.

The Mighty Atom

Years ago at the Allentown Fair, as one would push through a sea of carney delusion, tucked back by the 4H animals was an island of reality. There, in an old battered truck, an ancient Jewish strongman performed incredible feats of strength, to sell only homemade kosher soap. Standing on a platform on the rear of his truck, flanked by photographs from his performing youth, he would bent horse shoes and bite through nails. Many years earlier, my mother as a little girl in Bethlehem, saw him pull a truck uphill with his hair. Even as an old man, like a reincarnation of Samson, his grey hair was still long.
In the summers of 1964 and 1965, myself and a friend,(Fred Schoenk, retired Allentown art teacher) made and sold printed tee-shirts at the fair. We had the honor to know Joseph Greenstein(The Mighty Atom) and his wife. For those interested, there are various articles on the Mighty Atom and even at least one book. Enjoy the fair!

reprinted annually since 2007

The Allentown Fair has been cancelled for 2020 because of the coronavirus. 

A Bridge Still Stands

Last night, Glenn Solt, project manager for Lehigh County, came to the county committee meeting prepared with a twelve page report, and the engineer who wrote it. They testified that the condition of the Reading Road Bridge has deteriorated, the cost of repairing it has increased, but that the cost of replacing it has gone down. Solt is determined to rid Union Terrace of that old stone arch bridge. Never mind that it was completely rehabilitated in 1980, 156 years after it was built in 1824. Never mind that Hamilton Street Bridge is a quarter block north, and a new Union Street Bridge is being built a half block south.

Michael Molovinsky, an Allentown blogger who has previously written about the bridge, accused the county of exaggerating the condition of the bridge and the cost for rehabilitating it rather than replacing it. Molovinsky said the bridge's historic value is irreplaceable, "Let me be frank: Mr. Solt has no feel for history whatsoever," Molovinsky said. "... This bridge cannot be replaced. It's that simple." Colin McEvoy/The Express Times/June28,2012

This was the first bridge built west of Allentown, crossing Cedar Creek, on the route west to Reading, and one of the last remaining stone arch bridges. Although I would like to see a stake driven through the project, technical legalese demands that I periodically appear and defend our history and culture. The bridge replacement funds were approved years ago, and the matter at hand is a small contract for engineering studies.

reprinted from 2012

ADDENDUM: I'm happy to report that I would continue campaigning for the bridge, and eventually convinced the County Commissioners to save the structure.

UPDATE JULY 9, 2020: During his time as County Executive, Don Cunningham and his project manager Glenn Solt, managed to demolish several historical stone bridges. Worse, these losses were misrepresented as progress. When Allentown replaced the 15th Street bridge (Ward Street) traffic was detoured over Schreiber's Stone Arch Bridge, built in 1828.

Journalism And The Southern Strategy

Even before Trump took office in 2017, I noted on this blog that the Pink Hat Movement was unprecedented for a not yet inaugurated president. Before too long those feelings were labeled Trump Derangement Syndrome. That term quickly lost favor. With so many people so vehemently opposed to Trump, it became assumed that anybody who felt less or differently must be the one with some psychological disorder.

While some media companies with market share targets took sides before the election, there still remained those journals interested in objectivity. As a lifelong student of media, I found the reaction to Trump fascinating. His opponents, no matter how sophisticated in media/message, have come to believe that they are opposing the devil, and that his end justifies any means.

Prior bastions of journalism, such as the Washington Post and New York Times, have also abandoned  objectivity...defeating Trump is now seen as a crusade, a righteous mission.

Yesterday, the Times published a headline that Trump's Southern Strategy of using racism is failing. Two years ago such presumptions of strategy, much less racism, would have only appeared as an opinion piece, if at all. The supposed firewalls between news and opinion apparently no longer exist. A month ago, Senator Tom Cottons' piece calling for Trump to quell the riots resulted in the resignation of the Times opinion page editor.

I don't know what is going to be taught in journalism courses as our colleges attempt to restart. I do know that ideals of objectivity can go into the newspaper museum, right alongside of the old lead letters used to set type.

ADDENDUM: This post was intended  only as an observation about the current state of journalism,  not as an evaluation of candidate Trump.  In addition to molovinsky on allentown,  I also publish another blog,  Rainy Morning Chronicle.  Rainy Morning has a facebook page where I occasionally boost the posts.  Facebook,  while constantly prompting me to use the paid service,  rejected the link to this post.

Urban Renewal In Allentown

Urban renewal projects are nothing new to Allentown. Every couple decades some Mayor thinks he has a brighter idea. In a previous post, I showed the historic Lehigh and Union Street neighborhood, totally destroyed by city planners. Today, an under used Bank calling center sits awkwardly alone on that Lehigh Street hill. The picture above shows another hill of merchants and residents, fed to a mayor's bulldozer. The picture is from 1953, and shows Hamilton Street, from Penn Street down toward the railroad stations. At that time we still had two stations, The Lehigh Valley Railroad and The New Jersey Central. The current closed bar and restaurant occupies the Jersey Central. Everything on Hamilton Street, west of the bridge over the Jordan creek, with the exception of the Post Office, was demolished up to Fifth Street. Government Center would be built on the north side of the street, and a new hotel on the south, to accommodate the many anticipated visitors. Recently we had to remove and replace the facade of the county courthouse, which leaked since it was constructed. The hotel is now a rooming house.

Unannounced plans are underway for a new hotel to service anticipated visitors to Pawlowski's Palace of Sports. It will be up to some future blogger to document how that hotel becomes a rooming house.

reprinted from June 2011

UPDATE OCTOBER 7, 2019: Quite a bit has changed since I wrote this post in 2011. Many historic mercantile buildings of Hamilton Street have been replaced by large glass boxes. Although the amount of new construction and office workers is notable, revitalization has yet to occur. Come 5:00PM, those new workers can't wait to get out of Dodge. The former mentioned mayor has been incarcerated. The new hotel mentioned, subsidized by our tax dollars, sits virtually empty.

Saving The Spring Pond

As a small boy growing up in the twin homes above Lehigh Parkway, I would go down the steep wooded ravine and cross the Robin Hood Bridge. The stone lined spring pond and miniature bridge was just the first in a series of wonderful WPA constructions to explore. Last year, when I organized the reclamation of the Boat Landing, my memory turned to the pond. Although overgrown with several inches of sod, I knew the treasure was still savable.





In the spring of 2010 I met Mike Gilbert of the Park Department, and pitched the idea of a partial restoration. On May 26th, I posted A Modest Proposal, which outlined my hopes for the pond. By July, Gilbert had the Park Department clear off the remaining stones, and clean up around the miniature bridge.


Park Director Greg Weitzel  indicated to me that the pond features uncovered will be maintained. Any further clearing would be at the discretion of Mike Gilbert. In our conversation he also stated that there are virtually no funds available for the preservation of the WPA icons.







I will attempt to organize a group and contributions for this most worthy cause. Between the Spring Pond and The Boat Landing there was once a bridge to the island. Wouldn't it be nice if a small boy could go exploring.

above reprinted from previous posts

UPDATE August 2013Mike Gilbert has retired, and the Park Department has a new director. Although grass and sod are starting to again cover the remaining stones that surround the pond, the miniature bridge is still visible. I will make it my mission to again pitch the new personnel.

UPDATE June 18, 2014. The grass and sod has reclaimed the stones that surround the pond. Only the very top of the miniature bridge is still visible to those who know that it's there. Unless there is an immediate intervention, it's days are numbered.
HISTORY IS FRAGILE

UPDATE February 2017:In 2015, in cooperation with Friends of Allentown Parks, I supervised college volunteers to clear the new sod off the pond stones, and the new bush off the miniature bridge. Allentown is on its third park director since this post was first written, and has acquired two large parcels to create new parks. To be planning additional parks, when our existing park features are left to abandonment, is incredibility poor management.

UPDATE May 1, 2018:  This past weekend the pond, miniature bridge and spring channel to the creek were once again cleared.  The work was done by volunteers from Faith Church, Asbury Church, Igesia De Fe and Salem Bible Church,  through Karen El-Chaar, director of Friends Of The Parks. Although the park department provided assistance in the two clean ups over the past several years,  they have  not provided ongoing maintenance to the site.  Understand that in the past few years they have constructed the exercise area at Jordan Park, the cement disc golf pads in the parkway and other recreational features. It is long overdue that the WPA structures be returned to the regular park budget and schedule.

UPDATE JANUARY 14, 2020:  Karen El-Chaar is now Director Of Parks. Hopefully she will have a soft spot for this particular WPA structure. I continue trying through this blog and facebook to keep these structures on the public agenda.

The Island Of Lehigh Parkway

The scene above shows part of the Boat Landing, with the island in the background. Please note the bridge leading to the island. The island, bridge and landing were created by the WPA. Although the island still remains, as does its stone piers, the bridge is long gone. The boat landing, although buried, was partially recovered in 2009 by myself and a number of volunteers. The island, as remaining, has lost its shape and has been enlarged from deposits carried by the Little Lehigh. The island was created by the WPA in the mid 1930's, by excavating a channel on its south side. It is the intention of the park department to eventually allow mother nature to fill in the channel. Park philosophy has changed from manicured to al natural. It is my hope that the excavated portion of the boatlanding will be retained.

As a boy I played on the island and especially remember the concrete benches inlaid with tile. It was indeed a special place.  Although the island will never be restored, it is my mission that the remaining WPA structures be maintained.   In the photo above, note the path overlooking the stream and island,  with no weed wall in the way of the view.