Browne and Reilly Cheat Allentown Taxpayers

Yesterday, Matt Assad of the Morning Call revealed that local state senator Pat Browne essentially amended the state NIZ rules, in favor of his friend J.B. Reilly's current court case.  It always seemed as if the NIZ was designed as a personal business plan for Reilly.  However, Browne's latest revision makes no pretense of the relationship.   Pat Browne has now taken Reilly's tax appeal defense, and codified it into law. The new NIZ rules restrict assessment of properties to an income basis only,  ignoring construction cost. There is something extra judicial about this end run that should be challenged by the county.

The taxpayers of Allentown are in real ways subsidizing the Reilly Real Estate Empire. We are providing extra police downtown. We are paying $2 an hour to park. The old lady used to ask, Where's the beef?  We ask, Where's the taxes?


I have been on Morning Call reporter Matt Assad's case,  accusing him of writing articles promoting Reilly's real estate interests.  I must acknowledge that it is his article that has made this latest Browne/Reilly shenanigan public.

When Lehigh County Valued History

Back in the early 1970's, a former teacher in Allentown's West Park neighborhood borrowed my photograph of a grain mill, and championed its preservation to the Lehigh County Commissioners. Her efforts resulted in Haines Mill being preserved. It was a time when the county commissioners understood the concept of history and uniqueness. The county now preserves farmland, with the pollyanna notion that farmers will spout there, wear straw hats, and sell organic vegetables on the weekends. Although 22,000 acres have already been preserved, the county just authorized additional $millions to that end. A comment in the Morning Call said that it will insure that we have food in the future. Amazing how little people know about how food gets to the supermarket in 2016. While there is nothing unique about this farmland, and nothing really guaranteed about the preservation, it seems like progress to the environmentalists. Meanwhile, the commissioners and Historical Society turn a deaf ear to Wehr's Dam and other irreplaceable structures, being needlessly destroyed.

That former teacher just passed away at 98 years of age. I still take photographs and champion for places that will never be again, but the current board of commissioners does not have the sense of history and esthetics of their predecessors.

Allentown's Wild and Crazy NIZ

As if the most lucrative state subsidy program in history wasn't enough, Pat Browne threw a few more goodies in the bag for J.B. Reilly, in this most recent state budget. The hotel tax, instead of going to the Visitors Bureau and usual beneficiaries, will be retained by the NIZ, for the hotels within the zone. Browne's explanation was that such a thriving district needs more quality hotel rooms. I think what he means is that Reilly's Renaissance Hotel is so dead in the water, it needs its taxes back. The only public figure to question this nonsense was Tom Muller. Michael Schlossburg voted for it three times, his own and two ghost votes.  However, in his defense,  he like the rest of our midgets in Harrisburg, really didn't know what they were voting for, they seldom do.  The fact that Browne could stuff this into the budget, illustrates what we suffer as state government.

Elsewhere in this weekend's Morning Call, Manuel Gamiz wrote in regard to a new police officer,  (his)old neighborhood began to transform into the thriving downtown shopping, dining and entertainment district that it is today. Manuel must have interned under Matt NIZ Assad.  However,  Assad and Scott Kraus did do an excellent job on this hotel tax article.

Fighting Terrorism

In United States, one well read speech at a national convention can put you in the White House four years later. In Israel, the price of admission is much higher. Sabena Flight 571 was hijacked on May 8, 1972. When an elite team of Israeli commandoes burst into the plane, they were led by Ehud Barak. Barak would later become Prime Minister, and currently serves as Defense Minister. One of the commandoes was shot by friendly fire in the close quarter gunbattle. That former commando is in Washington today, to speak with the former speech reader. Although Binyamin Netanyaho would recover from his bullet wound, four years later, his brother was killed leading the raid to free the hostages at Entebbe.

We did not look for wars. They were forced upon us. But when we were attacked, we did not have the right to lose a single time. And when we won we returned to seeking peace. Today, I suggest to those who seek war not to make the same mistake again. Do not disrespect our ability ... we are prepared to physically defend our land and morally defend our heritage. Shimon Peres, May 9, 2011

photo of Israeli Commando Binyamin Netanyaho

reprinted from 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015

UPDATE: On July 4th, Israel noted the 40th anniversary of the Raid on Entebbe.  Although the enemies of Israel (and the Jews) continue to blame that tiny state for all the troubles in the Middle East, history and current events indicate otherwise.

ADDENDUM: The above post is reprinted from January of 2015. An article in today's local paper refers to the dangers of trucks in terrorist attacks. Israel knows who its enemies are. France is learning the hard way. Here in the United States, political correctness makes us soft targets.

Allentown Planning Puppies Make LIttle Barks

The Allentown Planning Puppies are adorable. Although, they approved Reilly's Tower of Condo Speculation,  they are concerned about Hamilton Street losing its historical character.  I have no idea what these puppies are talking about;  there hasn't been any historical consideration on Hamilton Street since the Pawlowski era began, and certainly there is no character.

Allentown's Preservation League also chimed in.  They don't mind historical buildings  being demolished for new development, but they don't think that buildings should be demolished for speculation, like the former Elks Club on South 8th Street.  Of course,  those enablers didn't protest at the time. Understand that the arena complex demolished 37 buildings, of which 34 were historic, and several were unique, one of a kind in Allentown.  Reilly just demolished another square block for his now, put on hold,  twin mega towers.

When the Hamilton Street treasure shown above, in the 700 block,  was demolished for the arena,  save for this blogger, there was no concern for its loss.  There wasn't a sound from any of the puppies mentioned here.

The current office condo project must still go in front of Allentown's zoning board, and Historical Architectural Review Board.  Oh, the suspense,  will the Reilly project get the final go ahead from the city?

Lehigh County Authority and A Few Drops In The Bucket

Since the LCA leased Allentown's water and sewage system, almost all of us are now their customer.  Long time readers of this blog know that I have often reported on the sewerage overflows in Lehigh Parkway.   The sewage main runs along the creek on its way to Klines Island, the sewage treatment plant. The LCA is under a long standing mandate from both the state and federal government to correct this problem.  Lehigh County Authority has long maintained that a large part of the problem is infiltration from the storm water systems.   System members, such as South Whitehall Township, have cracked down on illegal connections to the sewer system from roofs and basements.  Allow me to translate the previous statement.  Instead of enlarging the system's pipes to rectify the  problem,  South Whitehall has endangered every household in the township.  The majority of the houses have floor drains to protect the home against burst pipes and other leaks.  The township made every home owner close off this safeguard.  If a pipe or hot water heater leaks, welcome to a flooded basement, mildew and mold. Their thinking is a few drops here and there will add up,  and buy the township some time,  even at the peril of its homeowners.

The Depreciation Of Our Parks

John Mikowychok, the new park director, suggested that after the dam is demolished an interpretative sign could be placed there, with a photograph of the former dam. John, like his predecessor Greg Weitzel, likes interpretative signs. John and Greg have the same background, they both have graduate degrees in recreation from Penn State. Both were hired by our city manager from Philadelphia, and neither have a special feeling for the Allentown park system. Although there will be no measurable improvement to water quality, Lehigh Parkway will be depreciated in both beauty and ambience. While picture postcards used to show the beauty of the parks, now interpretative signs will show what we neglected and demolished.

photocredit:molovinsky

reprinted from September 2, 2013

ADDENDUM: Since I wrote the above post almost three years ago, we have yet another new park director, with the exact same background.  The dam was demolished,  the WPA wall collapsed, and has just been rebuilt.  The sewage still overflows from the manhole covers along the creek,  but all the parks have new entrance signs.

A Baby Boomer Allentown

molovinsky on allentown is meant to intersect local politics and history. I grew up during a very prosperous era in Allentown's history. The post war (WW2) factories couldn't produce enough goods, despite some having three shifts. Local government was small, concerned mostly with infrastructure and public safety.  There was little concern with affordable housing and other social programs. Then, as now, there were always poor people. Eleanor Roosevelt visited Allentown for the opening of Hanover Acres, the public housing above the east side of the Lehigh River. For many residents of that project and Cumberland Gardens, the public housing was a stepping stone, not a lifestyle.

Hamilton Street was a thriving shopping district.  No subsidies needed there.  Those successful merchants handled their own parking system, no Parking Authority needed.  There might have been some nepotism and cronyism in city hall, but no need for FBI investigations.  Information and news came from your television screen and newspapers, but without agendas and misdirection.

A reader asked me why I made commenting more difficult.  Question.......isn't one of the purposes of your blog to foster discussion of the matters you raise? Purposely seeking to curb comment responses and possibly readership, seems counterintuitive to me.  Topics are not chosen in regard to expanding readership, nor do I count comments as a gauge of success. This blog is not monetized, directly or indirectly. I address those topics which are either under-reported, or misrepresented by the local main stream media. Consequently, I want the comments to be as relevant and responsible as possible.

When Walter Cronkite gave the news in the early 1960's,  he signed out each program by saying, "And that's the way it is."