Allentown's Solution Is Its Problem

When I ran as an independent for mayor in 2005,  my message was shunned by The Morning Call and the establishment.  I stated that Allentown had become a poverty magnet, and very soon that density of poverty would create urban problems not normally associated with cities this small.  Multiple social agencies were giving hardcore transients "move in" money.  Lo and behold eleven years later,  despite a $Billion dollars of development,  the city still thinks that the problem is a lack of affordable housing.

Allentown doesn't suffer from lack of affordable housing,  Allentown suffers from too much affordable housing, and too much political correctness.  Stand across from a city center corner market and watch three generations of people throw their empty snack bags on the sidewalk,  even though they are only 25 feet away from a trash can.  We don't need $2 an hour parking meters, we need $25 dollar littering fines.  We don't need a Parking Authority,  we need a Littering Authority.

The City and the NIZ board are going to do a study about affordable housing, hire a consultant and probably include some local neighborhood advocates.  The Morning Call will write some articles about it.  When they come up with a solution they should share it with Detroit, Camden, Los Angeles, and the other 100 poor urban centers.  Gotta love government studies.

ADDENDUM: If the above sounds harsh,  understand that as someone who grew up in the 1950's, Allentown was a wonderful place to throw away, and thrown away it was.   Although the town has changed radically,  that toothpaste is not  going back into the tube.  New pragmatic leadership is needed.  Nothing could be less relevant to overall Allentown than a few blocks on Hamilton Street.

Papa and Junior Fritzgerald Try To Milk Lehigh County

If you believe that Pawlowski was color blind when he hired Joel Fritzgerald as police chief, you might as well stop reading this post now. I believe that skin color helped propel Mr. Fritzgerald to the top of Pawlowski's search list. I was at the NAACP candidate's night in 2005, when Pawlowski pledged to make city hall more representative of the city's demographics.

The Fritzgerald family had no issues with such affirmative action when senior was hired. They had no issue with favoritism or nepotism when junior was hired as a guard at Lehigh County Prison.

Junior is now suing Lehigh County for racial profiling,  because Jim Martin charged him after he pointed a gun at two detectives.  I'm not bothering to rehash details of the case, or the subsequent acquittal here on this post.   I understand that some may find my perspective on this situation offensive;  However, this blog is not meant to comfort.  Junior is lucky that the detectives didn't shoot him.

The Perfect Political Storm

While national politics is not my normal wheelhouse,  the adversity of this particular election does fascinate me. I do not ever recall a more polarized electorate than in this cycle.  Supporters of  each candidate truly hate the opponent.  While Hillary has taken the long road to be her party's nominee,  Trump shot to the top because of an unusually crowded field.  Only on a stage with sixteen other candidates could someone succeed with one liners,  and not even memorable ones at that. Who could have imagined that Jeb Bush would disintegrate as he did, with a $150 million dollar campaign fund. Factor in Trump's background on television,  in this age of reality shows.

Readers of this blog may have noticed the Libertarian banner on the sidebar.  As a former independent candidate I often heard that another option was needed, but people didn't want to waste their vote. Independents are often viewed as spoilers.  In reality there can only ever be a third option when voters start pushing that alternative button.

My Democratic friends think that Hillary will win in a landslide. They talk about the math.  I think that they are underestimating the discontent festering in this country.  Regardless of the outcome in November, my concern remains with local decisions.

General Trexler's Bridge

The 8th Street Bridge is one of the marvels of Allentown.  It was built to facilitate the Liberty Trolley run, from 8th and Hamilton to Philadelphia.  I posted about it before, with its impressive statistics. At the time it was the largest concrete bridge in the world.  It involved two business interests of Harry Trexler,  both the transit company and the local cement industry.

Harrisburg and The Morning Call have been braying about the bridges scheduled for improvement and replacement in the area.  Although, I virtually stopped attending municipal meetings,  I still partake in field trips to the local construction sites.  I don't announce myself, and try to be quick and quiet on these unauthorized inspections.  I would prefer not to vanish like Jimmy Hoffa.  I want to inspect the bridge, not end up in the bridge.

On first glance the work on the bridge looks very impressive. The bridge walls have been replaced with new concrete walls, almost identical to the original, even including the lighting pillars. My question is that the roadbed has been raised about 18 inches, but is still supported by the same arches. Eighteen inches of additional concrete on the roadbed and sidewalk is an enormous additional weight load. Furthermore, I have learned that there was bonding issues between the older base and new concrete. Only the approaches, on both ends of the bridge, have been replaced.  This was done because they are the lowest part of the bridge, and the most feasible parts to replace.  However, they were replaced with pre-stressed concrete beams, and the new arches are only decorative panels.  The original approach bases were massive constructions, which probably would have stood another 1000 years.

Only now is the part of the project which I knew to be necessary beginning.  The massive bridge arches has been showing spalling damage over the last decades.  That is the process where old concrete lets loose from the steel re-bar used as the construction frame.

When the project is completed, I do not expect to be invited to the ribbon cutting.

Allentown, The Lehigh Valley's Humpty Dumpty

The Molovinsky entourage entered Easton about 4:45 Sunday evening. Although early for dinner,  there was already sizable activity in center square and the nearby restaurants.  The 64 thousand dollar question,  or more precisely, the $1billion dollar question,  is how can little Easton outperform Allentown when the latter has benefitted from the largest incentive program in state history?

I'm afraid I can't give Sal credit.  His bus terminal/parking deck is a bigger abomination than I predicted. Truth is because nothing else was done, Easton has retained its historical character, and the charm that conveys.  People want some ambience.  It can be authentic, such as historic Bethlehem,  or it can be completely fabricated, such as the Promenade in Saucon.  But Allentown has nothing, except new buildings, devoid of any character.  Before Reilly builds another thing, he should consider hiring an architectural consultant.

Growing Up Allentown

Life in Allentown during the 1950's was pretty easy, compared to now a days. Whether you were white or blue collar, there were plenty of jobs. Whether you lived in the West End or center city, all the neighborhoods were clean, well maintained and relatively crime free. The school system was the envy of the county, and people finagled to get their children enrolled in it. Allentown High School had championship teams in multiple sports, and the football stadium was one of the most lavish high school stadiums in the country. The park system was the subject of numerous picture postcards. Likewise, downtown was widely known, with Hess's being a destination. All the above characterists would stay in place throughout the 1960's, into the early 70's.

I bill this blog as the intersection of politics and history in Allentown, and the greater Lehigh Valley. Although, I will continue to speak out on current events of concern, I suspect that this page will turn more and more to history. Perhaps nostalgia is so appealing because the current reality is so disillusioning. 

Although, my archive of older Allentown pictures is extensive, I invited Ozzie and Harriet Nelson to illustrate this post.

Lehigh Parkway's Forgotten Island

Director Harms Lehigh Parkway
February 04, 1993|The Morning Call
To the Editor:

The WPA in the 1930s created a three-acre island by diverting water from the Little Lehigh Creek. The island had remained a source of joy for birders, naturalists, and nondescript strollers. No one foresaw Marushak arriving on the scene with wrecking tools to rip up the bridge, terminating public access to the island. Three masonry piers remain in place. Also remaining are 12 discarded auto tires gathering silt in the small stream.

BERT LUCKENBACH
ALLENTOWN (February 4, 1993)

20 years later......
Most people have long ago forgotten that there was a bridge to the island, although the stone piers still remain, obscured by overgrowth. The curved wall and landing of the Boat Landing, shown in the lower right of the photograph, are buried. In 2009, with help from others who appreciate our treasured parks, I had the privilege to rescue the steps which lead to the landing.  Over the decades, the debris and silt mentioned above has enlarged the island, almost to the boat landing.  This Saturday, April 6, in conjunction with Friends of The Parks, I will conduct a tour of current and former WPA sites remaining in Lehigh Parkway. 

Michael Molovinsky

 reprinted from April of 2013

Hurricane Diane, 1955

Hurricane Diane hit the Lehigh Valley in August of 1955. Living in Little Lehigh Manor, I remember huddling in the house, while the metal garbage cans of the era flew around the neighborhood. My father, whose meat market was on Union Street by the Lehigh River, worked throughout the night. Fortunately for him, his market had an second floor backup cooler, and a small freight elevator. While the retail business district on Hamilton Street is elevated enough to be unaffected from flooding, center city Easton was devastated by the Delaware. The next morning was rather surreal for a nine year old boy. A large willow tree on the corner of Lehigh Parkway South and Catalina Ave. was lying on it's side. Although the Little Lehigh receded quickly, the park road and basin had been flooded. Diane remains a record in flooding and damage. Let us hope it remains that way.

reprinted from August 2011

photo from August 1955. Delaware rising up Northampton Street in Easton.