Allentown's Blighted Properties

A few years ago, Allentown decided it had too many low income people, and that they would curtail that demographic by condemning buildings. Hundreds and hundreds of buildings were tagged in center city, some for such minor violations as peeling paint. It's not uncommon to find up to four tagged buildings in one block. They tagged so many buildings, that rather than contain blight, they helped create it. They also confounded the inconsistency of their housing policy by easing the requirements to convert former commercial buildings into apartments. The end result is no less density, no less apartments, but more blight. They are now trying a herding technique. The poor are being driven off of Hamilton Street, relegated to the upper blocks of North 7th Street. The Administration hopes that Pawlowski Plaza and event center at 7th and Hamilton will attract those with a gold credit card in their wallet. They might need cattle prods to keep the perceived riffraff away.

UPDATE: This post from November of 2011, originally titled The Cattle Drive, has been attracting attention. With City Council agreeing to host a special meeting on blighted property, it seems an appropriate time to repost it.

Playing Charades In Allentown

It wasn't that many years ago that I was asked by the former merchants of Hamilton Street to attend a meeting with them at Allentown City Hall. They were being approached and threatened by strawbuyers, and wanted to know what was going on. At the first meeting the city denied responsibility, feinted concern, and scheduled a second meeting.

This week residents of Allentown are being asked their opinion about the city's future by four paid consulting firms. In reality, the last thing the Powers That Be care about is your opinion. This is just another charade to justify the next phase of their development plan. Although the city supposedly had parking and traffic figured out two years ago, that is the speciality of one of firms hired. Another stated objective is how to redevelop the more challenging downtown properties. In an earlier post, I explained how the Parking Authority was selling off the surface lots near the arena to chosen developers, for more new buildings, in the taxpayer financed NIZ. Allentown will solve both the parking and blighted property problems by simply tearing down areas adjacent to the NIZ tax zone, for large surface lots.

A conventional candidate for the State House wouldn't be explaining how these tricks work, he would be backstage with the performers. Needless to say, I'm not a conventional candidate. On the contrary, I'm an independent, who is offended that local politicians delude the public, and pay for it using public money.

Saving Wehr's Dam

Last night, in another presentation to save Wehr's Dam, Bob Schantz brought a groundhog to the Commissioner's meeting. Schantz is the direct descendent of Guth, as in Guth's Covered Bridge, Guth's Station, and Guthsville. Also present was William Wehr, grandson of the mill and dam owner. This groundhog predicts something or other, every year at the dam. Sitting toward the back of the room, it was unclear to me if the groundhog was real, or just a puppet.

I have been in training for a major stunt of my own, going over the dam in the barrel shown above. Because the Wildlands Conservancy has removed all the dams in the area, I must travel to Massachusetts, where they still respect history, to find a mill dam to practice on.

Morning Call report on meeting by Meghan Moravcik Walbert

wfmz.com report on meeting by Stephen Althouse

Reefer Madness

Paul Carpenter has a column in today's Morning Call about how Pennsylvania absorbed the Casino revenues, without really providing property owners with meaningful tax relief. I made the same observation back in May, when I announced my candidacy for State Representative in the 183rd District. Not only didn't the casinos bring relief, neither did it's predecessor, the lottery. Neither will hydraulic fracking or even pot, when they legalize it. Pennsylvania's problem isn't lack of revenue, it's a lack of priorities and ethics. I don't know if marijuana will make you insane, but voting for the same candidates and parties, election after election, is nuts. Imagine a candidate who doesn't need a job, or isn't looking for a career. Imagine a candidate who is non-partisan, and informed on policy issues. Imagine a candidate who is outspoken, and willing to point out the fools and their folly that waste your taxes. Where ever you live in the Lehigh Valley, help me get to Harrisburg, to help all of us. I have installed a paypal button on the sidebar of this blog. A mailing address can be found on the About section of my campaign site, Mr. Molovinsky Goes To Harrisburg.

Politics and Blogging

Easton's mayor Sal Panto and Blogger Bernie O'Hare have had better days. O'Hare had been historically complimentary toward Panto's accomplishments in Easton, and Panto would occasionally comment on the blog. Recently, O'Hare wrote about what he perceived as a conflict of interest in Easton, and Panto took offense. Currently, on Panto's facebook page he writes; What a great weekend in Easton. After a few days of a small group of bloggers tearing us apart and questioning our character, integrity and ethics it was great to be approached by literally a thousand people.

Although Panto may feel that it is his role to cheerlead for Easton, it's O'Hare's mission to be the fourth estate. We are in an era of reduced coverage by the traditional newspapers, and blogger scrutiny is more important than ever.

What would happen if you took a non-partisan, skeptical blogger and had him run for office, you would have me!!  After 20 years of smiles and handshakes by the same person, hopefully the residents of Slatington and Northampton are ready for some real resolve on their behalf in Harrisburg.

Wehr's Bridge and Dam

Wehr Mill Road goes over Wehr's Covered Bridge, next to Wehr's Dam. The dam and bridge combination compose one of the most picturesque sights in the valley. While the township and county value the bridge, the dam is on trial. Next week, while the bridge is being inspected for possible damage by an overweight truck, myself and some new allies will be defending the dam. While the truck driver was arrested and will be prosecuted for damaging the bridge, the Wildlands Conservancy was given permission to plan the dam's destruction. William Wehr and Robert Schantz, direct descendants of the two covered bridge namesakes which anchor the park, and myself, will present South Whitehall Commissioners with 600 signatures to save the iconic dam. It's our contention that the dam should be added to the ordinance with the bridge, which was recently incorporated into the township's new historic overlay district.

Addendum:  After advocating for the dam in front of the Commissioners three times,  I know that they would prefer the status quo described as such;  The Commissioners have not yet approved or disapproved of the dam's demolition, the conservancy was given permission to proceed with doing a "study" that the commissioners will then take into consideration when complete.

photo by K Mary Hess

The Harhart Emergency

The taxpayer paid postage incumbent Julie Harhart has been making hay with soft campaigning, masqueraded as state business. In August, she will be holding an Emergency:Be Prepared Seminar and Expo at a middle school in South Whitehall. The real emergency facing local residents is Harhart's stagnation in Harrisburg. She has initiated only one piece of legislation in 20 years, but did manage to vote herself a 50% pension increase for life. Although she presents any money coming the district's way with great local fanfare, none of it resulted from any advocacy on her part. It's time for the residents of the 183rd to think independently.

Lehigh Valley's Emergency Ordeal

The recent full page advertisement promoted Lehigh Valley Hospital as rated tops in ten different medical specialties. We've seen promotions for their new fitness center at the arena. What we don't read about is patients lying on gurneys in hallways, waiting up to 24 hours to be admitted through the emergency room on Cedar Crest Blvd. What we don't read about is patients being transferred from Chew Street to Cedar Crest, because of limited diagnostic procedures and services available at the Chew Street location. Although I'm no expert on this situation, I do know that sitting in an emergency room for five, ten or twenty hours doesn't help anybody's condition.

There's plenty of room at the new fitness center,  at the emergency department, not so much.