An Extra Inning For The Establishment

When you're fighting the establishment in Lehigh Valley, you better get your P's and Q's in line before the deadline,  because there are no extensions. However, for the establishment, deadlines are just the beginning.

When Chris Kocher of the Wildlands Conservancy said two years ago that if the South Whitehall Commissioners voted to keep Wehr's Dam, that would be the end of the issue, he must have given himself a good chuckle.

When Lehigh County reached the deadline for farmland preservation, they simply reset the clock. Their goal is to preserve 25% of all the land in the county, so far, they have only 10%. Now, of course that doesn't mean that the remainder is being developed, most of it will remain farmland. Those figures pertain to land officially preserved. It doesn't count in their eyes unless the development rights are paid for with our tax dollars. What these advocates really know about farming or land, you could stuff in one organic tomato.

Last week, when Allentown's Shark Tank business subsidy plan failed to attract enough applicants, they extended the deadline. On the other hand, when a local judge ruled against taxing the arena, the Allentown School District decided not to file an appeal. While there is a limit on trying to save the taxpayer some money,  there's no limit on how much of our money can be spent.  We learned that the NIZ board will be able to keep their full annual $million dollar budget, which they need to scrutinize project applications. As if they really scrutinize Reilly, Butz and Jaindl, or would ever deny them.

The King Has Abdicated

In 1958 my father had a food stand at the fair. It took him about an hour to realize you cannot sell hot dogs in the King's back yard; Yocco, the Hot Dog King. When Yocco's claimed last year they were not at the fair because their canvas ripped, I was skeptical. This year it's official, they have abdicated their spot. Tonight the fair was jammed. In Ag Hall the granges still compete in vegetable canning. A wiseguy still incites you to dunk him. The world's smallest horse hasn't grown. Maybe Yocco's is gone, but the fair is still much more like 1958 than any other aspect of Allentown.

REPRINTED FROM AUG.28, 2007

UPDATE 2016: Yocco's has announced that they have closed their original location in the 600 block of Liberty Street.

The Crucifixion of Ce-Ce Gerlach

While Jesus of Nazareth was killed in Jerusalem,  Ce-Ce was crucified in Nazareth.  One anonymous commenter after another cast stones. The mob found Ce-Ce guilty,  because she accepted a scholarship from DeSales for NIZ residents,  which was underwritten by the Trexler Trust and City Center Real Estate.  Although, she took no direct assistance from J.B. Reilly,  over 80 comments condemned her. The recipients were chosen by the college.  I must confess I may be somewhat responsible for the lynching.  I found some irony in Ce-Ce mentioning the scholarship on her facebook page,  considering she has been portrayed as the advocate for community benefit by the NIZ.  I mentioned this thought to an acquaintance,  who in turned mentioned it to blogger Bernie O'Hare.

After imagining her hanging on the cross,  and feeling somewhat responsible,  I come to her defense.  Comments on Ramblings suggest that the scholarships are not intended for people of means who already have a college degree.  I personally have no knowledge of Ce-Ce's finances, or the criterion used in selecting applicants,  but neither do those condemning her.   Ce-Ce remains one of the more sincere people offering her time and energy to serve the city.  If she is willing to drive to Center Valley one night a week to further her education,  perhaps we should be grateful.

Open Letter To Ed Pawlowski

Mayor Pawlowski, the last thing Allentown needs is another park. In all due respect, I forgot more about the park system than you ever knew. There are endless items throughout the system that are in need of repair. The most used pavilions in the city, in Cedar Park on Honochick Drive, are in dire need of roof shingles and paint. Yes, I know that they are scheduled for replacement, but that is the story of the park department and the city, since your arrival in Allentown. Defer maintenance, and build some new feature. I know that maintenance looks boring on a resumé.  The repaired wall in Lehigh Parkway does look good, but you're only fixing it because it's a retaining wall, and it must be repaired to reopen the road. It was deferred maintenance that caused the problem in the first place.

Anyway, back to the incinerator parcel. I know it adjoins the Basin Street parcel that you should have never bought from Abe Atiyeh. Making a new park out of the incinerator and Basin Street is just cover for one of your political maneuvers. How sad that you're sucking in the new park director on this transparent scheme. But, she's a big girl, and should speak up about priorities.

p.s.  You should speak to Scott Unger, he may need that bridge to bring the choo-choo back to S. 10th Street.

Butz Offers Opportunity

Butz's are offering more than rental space, you have an opportunity to join in the revitalization of Allentown. Now, your opportunity will not be as lucrative as Butz's opportunity. Because of the NIZ, he can use your state income tax, and that of your employees, for his debt service on the building. Butz doesn't mention that in the promotional video, rather he talks about the time being right for their third phase. Actually, it's only right because the absurd NIZ legislation is an offer the family can't refuse, but the renting will be slow. To fill the previous two phases he had to call on his connections, placing both the County Visitor Center and the Chamber of Commerce as tenants. The new building even compromises the view and light for his existing building. I wish him well with the new space, but with Butz, Reilly and Jaindl having the same valley connections, the pickings are getting slimmer.

I would like to clarify for my readers that I have no ill will toward the Butz's,  Jaindl's or J. B. Reilly.  Although, my sure none of them have any use for me and this blog,  my issue with the NIZ is the law itself, not the people involved.  All the people I criticize as beneficiaries of the NIZ are otherwise contributing members of the community.  I don't even fault them for taking advantage of this subsidy on steroids.  I fault the excuse of a state government in Harrisburg,  where we could teach even New Jersey the tricks of the trade in corruption.

The Singer and the Steakhouse

Yesterday, the infamous Shula's Steakhouse singer was in district court on charges unrelated to the Arts Walk incident.  He claims that the Allentown Police have a vendetta against him.  Maybe they do,  their boss's boss is known for his vendettas.  The Hunsicker family, long associated with baseball on the south side,  made the same accusation about Pawlowski last week at city council.  But, this post is about the real crime last August by the steakhouse.

In the molovinsky on allentown hall of justice,  J.B. Reilly, Pat Brown, Jennifer Mann, Sy Traub, etc. would have been in court yesterday, not the singer.  They, and the others that are responsible for using public money to bring Shula's to the Strata Building (which is filled up no matter what Molovinsky says).  They are responsible for the vendors who got stuck holding the bag for pennies on the dollar, when Shula's went bankrupt.

Elsewhere, in the upside down NIZ world, the parolee center is closing after 35 years, so that Reilly can build his City Center Tower Number 6.  Some of the parolees will be transfered to Scranton and Wernersville, now, that shouldn't disrupt their lives.  Hey,  if you're a singer or a parolee, move along, it's Reilly Time.

Blackboard Rumble In Allentown

School fights usually take place about a block from Allen, but this one is taking place behind the scenes  on Penn Street, with the Allentown School Board.  A molovinsky on allentown exclusive;  A simple majority of the school board wants to buy superintendent Russ Mayo's contract out, although he has only one year left to go on it.  Buying the contract out would complicate a replacement search, because better candidates are weary of superintendents being replaced for political reasons, and that would be the only conclusion one could reach about Mayo's departure.   Currently, five board members favor a buyout, while the other four feel that Mayo is being made a scapegoat for the discipline issues associated with the school district.

Apparently, Mayo has the confidence of the business community, as he was able to solicit substantial donations to fund the new district run charter school, Building 21.  Besides saving the buyout money, the board could probably attract better candidates for 2017-2018 year, without the stigma of having bought out two superintendents in a row.

SPECIAL EDITION: Arena Ruled Tax Exempt

Ultimately, in his 23-page decision, Reichley deemed that the arena, parking and even the Hamilton street restaurants were in keeping with ANIZDA's tax exempt mission to revitalize Allentown.  The Morning Call

Judge Reichley has ruled against the Allentown School District in its suit against the ANIZDA to tax the arena.  Was Reichley correct, and should he have recused himself from the case,  having voted for the district as a state representative?

As I have recently posted, I don't believe that the NIZ really ever intended to revitalize Allentown, but was a ruse to subsidize J.B. Reilly.   Lets be blunt, the intentions and credibility of whole Allentown affair is tainted.  J.B. Reilly, according to reports published in The Morning Call,  was preparing to contribute $50,000 to Pawlowski's campaign,  just prior to the FBI raid last July.  I would doubt that Reilly was making this donation because he thought that Pawlowski would better serve us in the senate than Pat Toomey.  The Allentown NIZ was a scheme spawned in deception,  from sending out straw buyers to intimidate the former merchants,  to including the Morning Call property,  to squash scrutiny from the press.  The arena complex was broken down into condominium units,  with certain area's deemed public, and other area's privately owned by J.B. Reilly.  In addition to the taxing issues raised by the school district,  which fox in the henhouse did the assessment prorations,  assigning value to the different portions for this hybrid project?

ADDENDUM: The Morning Call article has a definite spin that the lawsuit threatened the continued revitalization of Allentown. This spin has been indicative of all Morning Call articles on the NIZ, especially by this reporter, Matt Assad.   In reality,  real revitalization of Allentown will only occur with improvement to the school district, which the ruling hampers.

photo by Harry Fisher / The Morning Call