Pawlowski's State Of Denial

From Pawlowski's Facebook submissions, you would never know that there is a giant shadow of suspicion cast upon the 5th floor of city hall. This morning the mayor linked to another report showing that crime is down in Allentown. Apparently, they are not including white collar crime in those figures. Personally, I find those reports meaningless, considering all the shootings and stabbings that do occur. At any rate, I invite Mayor Pawlowski to attend City Council this evening, and get some feedback from his constituents.

Tea Leaves, Deed Transfers and The Atiyeh Park Deal

Some people read tea-leafs, I read deed transfers. It would be more accurate to say that I study deed transfer. There has only been two weeks in the last 35 years that I failed to scrutinize the list, and those omissions were failed attempts at relaxation. Recently, I mentioned Kenneth Heffentrager and his Tenant Association of Allentown. Kenneth has become a fixture at City Council meetings, complaining about housing and landlords. Kenneth is going to become a very busy boy. For the last several years the deed transfers have been dominated by landlords buying owner occupied houses. Many of these landlords are new to the business, attracted by $25,000, and even cheaper houses in center city. Landlording is tough for experienced operators, and the learning curve is steep. It will take years for the city to identify all the new landlords, and many will walk away when confronted with the realities of their new venture. Although Allentown has a strategy for Hamilton Street, it needs one for the remainder of center city.

ADDENDUM: The above portion was posted in February of 2014, and titled Allentown's Housing Future. In June of 2014, I published about the parcels purchased from Atiyeh, information I also gleaned from the deed transfers. Blogger Bernie O'Hare believes that these purchases by Pawlowski were intended to help Atiyeh finance a billboard company, I disagree. There is also a claim that the Basin Street purchase was to protect the water supply, I disagree. That parcel, off 2nd and Union, is near the sewer plant, the water supply inlets are near 15th St.  A former park director, Greg Weitzel, was indeed obsessed with connecting the parks with bike paths. At the time I opposed those plans, because of the shortcomings in maintaining existing park features. I believe that the Martin Luther King parcel was purchased with expanded park land in mind. I speculate that the Basin Street parcel was included because Atiyeh out-negotiated the city,  and  Pawlowski's indifference to using public resources to further his own agendas.  I do agree that both parcels were totally unnecessary, and a misappropriation of public funds.

The Allentown Apartment Myth, A Molovinsky Thesis

Over and over, people contribute Allentown's problems to center city houses being converted to apartments, as if this occurred recently. Many will be surprised to know that almost all the converted apartments existed for over 60 years. When the GI's returned from WW2, the trend was for small single family houses with small lawns, i.e. Levittowns. The mass conversion of the row houses took place in the late 40's and early 50's, and more less stopped by the early 60's. These "new" apartments were mostly occupied by either singles or childless couples. The tenants were buyers at Hess's and engineers at PPL. Because of them, Hamilton Street remained viable for twenty years beyond the main street in Bethlehem, Easton and Reading. Allentown was voted during this era the All American City. During those 50 years, 1940 to 1990, nobody complained about the apartments or the tenants. Ironically, more apartment inventory has been added recently, by creating "loft" apartments in former commercial buildings. The Urbanists think they can revitalize Hamilton Street with upper story housing. While the proponents mistakenly think that they will attract a middle class demographic, they are in fact just adding to the total inventory and thus the problem. Beside the urbanists, advocates for low income housing still demand more units. In reality, it's apparent we have an abundance of low income housing. Recently, there has been a trend to built new, center city single housing; attempting to attract a middle class with disposable income to bolster Hamilton Street. Neighborhood parking lots have been sacrificed for this concept.* In fact, we are just building tomorrow's rental houses. Allentown, unlike larger cities, is a horizontal community. There is no reason, geographic or otherwise, which compels the middle class to move to center city.

Allentown would currently be better served with a moratorium on new housing of all sorts in center city. Considering that over 7000 units exist, owned by 5000 different owners, deconversion hopes are unrealistic. Strict enforcement of current zoning standards, concerning square footage, parking, etc. would suffice in reasonably curtailing additional living units. By limiting supply, demand can improve the quality of life for everybody.

The above post is reprinted from November of 2009. I present it today as a counter point of view to associate Bernie O'Hare's post about what went wrong in Allentown. O'Hare assigns too much emphasis on scattered site Section 8.  I managed numerous buildings in center city Allentown.

 *This post was written in 2009, and the new housing refers to the then new townhouses at 8th and Walnut, and others planned for more Parking Authority lots. Those "new" townhouses have since been sold at auction for 50 cents on the dollar, and are in fact now rentals.

photograph of 10th and Chew Streets, 1948

Smelling The Roses In Allentown

Last summer, I posted about the city purchasing two parcels supposedly for the park system, using funds from the water and sewage lease deal. The transactions interested me, because the last thing the park department needed was more area to not take care of. Although the main stream media never picked up on my revelation, a pit bull from Nazareth now has that bone. Although this blog chronicles the short comings of the park department, especially in regard to the WPA, there is one section, of one park, which receives no criticism.

Paul Pozzi started working for the department in 1979. In 1985, he joined the small crew at the Rose and Old Fashion Gardens. For the last decade, the gardens have been solely under his magnificent care. We who take solace in that magic place owe him a debt of gratitude.

photo by molovinsky, flowers by Paul Pozzi

Morning Call Exclusive; Molovinsky Running For Mayor

SPECIAL FROM THE MORNING CALL: While the Sunday edition of the Morning Call will discuss the boring white bread on the horizon, such as Bennett, Guridy and Thiel, Wednesday's edition will feature Molovinsky's incredible plans. Moving back into Allentown, it is rumored that he has leased the former penthouse at the Americus Hotel. Below are excerpts from Wednesdays paper, where Molovinsky is interviewed by special assignment and former Call reporter, Naryl Derl.

Naryl Derl: Let me apologize for the shabby treatment I gave you back in 2005. 

Michael Molovinsky: Let's both move on, and save Allentown from the current scandal. 

Naryl Darl: Are you moving into the Americus?

Michael Molovinsky: Nothing has been signed yet, Reilly wants me in the new Strata lofts above Shula's. I told him I would only consider it if I pay full freight, but he can't understand that. I have declined a $20,000 campaign contribution from him, he can't understand that either.

Naryl Darl: What do you think differentiates you from the other candidates?

Michael Molovinsky: I'm honest.

Complete interview will appear in Wednesday's edition of The Morning Call.

Park Follies and Misappropriations

Over the years this blog and myself have established credibility and expertise on Allentown's traditional park system and the WPA. I must report what I consider to be a major shenanigan by the mayor. $1.3 million dollars was taken to purchase two heavy industrial areas, to supposedly add to the park system. This $million plus dollars was taken from the water/sewage lease, which is being used as the mayor's discretionary fund, instead of the dedicated pension relief,  promised at the time. $950,000.00 was used to buy the parcel at Union and Basin Streets, near the city sewage plant. This is one of the oldest industrial areas in the city, and certainly not needed for more park land. Allentown has not been able to maintain the existing park land, or the features within it. The Fountain Park Pool has been abandoned, and the WPA structures are crumbling. The other just purchased parcel is the old fertilizer plant location,  along Martin Luther King Dr., west of the crumbling Schreibers Bridge. We have an administration with no memory or knowledge of Allentown's past. Anybody who knew what went on at the fertilizer/rendering plant, would not want their grandchildren playing there. The city's rationale for these purchases is to expand the biking paths and connect the parks. That's the folly, and now the misappropriations. Allentown has supposedly allocated money to engineer the repair of the leaning WPA wall in Lehigh Parkway. I know why the wall leans. Years ago, the stone shoulder between the park entrance and wall was blacktoped. As cars and city trucks drive around the curve, pressure is exerted against the wall. That strip of asphalt needs to be removed, and the stone buffer restored. The problem with the engineering study is that it's the third time it has been appropriated. In the last two budgets money was actually budgeted to repair the wall, now the process begins again. What happen to the previous appropriations? Must molovinsky on allentown now also establish expertise in forensic accounting?

reprinted from June 26, 2014

UPDATE: This morning, I interrupt my planned schedule to republish the above piece from June 26, 2014, which is linked to in a post by Bernie O'Hare. The shoulder, which I refer to along the now collapsed wall in Lehigh Parkway, also served as a drainage swale. Over the past several years I had met with two park directors and the city engineer, to no avail, trying to save the wall. Recently, I have reported a problem to the current park director about the Union Terrace WPA structure, that needs immediate attention. At this point in time, I'll leave any analysis of purchase and gain of those parcels to Mr. O'Hare. However, I will say that rather than the parcels connecting the parks, in reality, they are connecting the neglect.

Spanking The Allentown Arena Promoter

Recently, I have been taking the Allentown Arena to task for having such a sparse schedule.  I stand corrected, nothing is better than the announced indoor midget car racing, coming in January.  The concept itself is so meager that the Morning Call entertainment editor spent half the column reciting the rich racing history in the Lehigh Valley, but it wasn't midget cars, indoors.  Perhaps, if they added a reality show twist; Maybe the cars could be driven by nude midget women, is that politically incorrect?  Anyway, whoever comes to that, I bet they won't be staying at the Renaissance Hotel, or eating at the attached Dime restaurant.

Waging War Against Allentown Park Weeds

Today, molovinsky leaves downtown Hamilton Street, and travels twenty blocks west to Cedar Park.  As an advocate for the traditional park system, I have been waging a war against the riparian buffers, which make our  magnificent parks an unsightly mess.  In Allentown, because the storm runoff systems are piped directly into the park streams, these token buffers are just a useless, unsightly insult.  This hot summer, this insult is added to injury, because Cedar Beach Pool is closed. Along the entire length of Cedar Park, there is not one area cleared of high weeds.  You would think that out of a mile of creek side,  we could mow the grass for at least fifty feet,  so that some children might enjoy the stream, as generations have in the past.