Irony Of The Rt.222 Bypass

In 2005, when the westward side of the Rt. 222 bypass opened, it was a long planned expensive state project, to eliminate congestion on a busy road.. By 2007, when the eastward side was completed, the commercial potential of the Krocks Road interesection was already being planned.  The 63 acre shopping center now straddles both sides of Krocks Road, on the south side of the bypass.  Target and some other stores have already open.  Because the Hamilton Crossing developers also  have the option on the north side of the bypass,  the bypass promises to create more congestion than existed before the new road was built.

Besides the Jaindl family owning so much land in the county,  this portion of the bypass is designated the Fred Jaindl Memorial Highway.

ADDENDUM:  When I opened the Morning Call this morning,  they coincidentally had an article on the expanding commerce of the bypass.  Although, I sometimes do write in response to an article in the paper, such was not the case today.  When I do write in response, I link to the source article.

Lehigh Valley Railroad Piers

In this era of class warfare, while we worry that the rich are only paying 35% income tax, instead of 39%, let us be grateful that once upon a time we had the Robber Barons. In this era when we have to give a grant for some woman to open a small cookie shop on Hamilton Street, let us be grateful that men built railroads with private money. Let us be grateful that incredible feats of private enterprise built piers, bridges and trestles. Trains allowed us to move vast amounts of raw and finished materials across America. This network allowed us to protect ourselves during two World Wars, and provided the prosperity upon which we now rest.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks extended from their piers in New Jersey to the shores of Lake Erie. The Mile Long Pier in Jersey City was the scene of German sabotage in 1916. A train full of munitions, awaiting shipment to Europe, was blown up on July 30th of that year. In 1914, the railroad built the longest ore pier in the world, in Bayonne. The ore would come from Chile, through the new Panama Canal, for shipment to Bethlehem.

reprinted from September 2013

The Hubris of Allentown's Attorneys

Credit Emily Opilo of the Morning Call for a great exposé on the lawyers and firms that have benefitted for the last decade from the Pawlowski reign.   Prominent among them is Oldrich Foucek the Third.  Foucek is also chairman of the Allentown Planning Commission, and a member of the NIZ Board.  His firm was paid over $615,000 for chasing the riff raff away,  when the city demolished 37 properties to build its Great White Elephant.   All together, this firm received  $1.73 million in work, and contributed $32 thousand dollars  to Pawlowski.   He told Opilo that the work they have done for the city is very complex and extremely complicated. 

Now, I can believe that Oldrich's brain is big enough, but I don't believe that anybody should serve in multiple positions of influence in any town.  This isn't a new tradition in Allentown, but Pawlowski's appointments have been particularly strategic.

The Audacity of Hope

Posting on national news is an address this blog seldom visits.  As regular readers know, I keep baker hours.  So, in the early morning I watch  YouTubes of the previous evening's convention speeches.  Obama maintained his status as great speech giver Wednesday, while Bill Clinton has lost some his oratory prowess earlier in the week.  I enjoyed the audience shots during Obama's speech, talk about preaching to the choir.

The only thing wrong with the Audacity of Hope is that it has no substance as a national policy.  Now, while it's positive as a personal philosophy of life in dealing with our daily personal challenges, it provides no strategy for our country's economy or defense.  While Obama  claimed that we are experiencing higher employment and other upward statistics,  I don't think that it translates to many lives.  He even said that people are coming to American to open factories.  We are hard pressed to keep our remaining factories open.  People are working longer for less.  He can certainly lead the choir in singing Kumbaya,  but will the country again rally around hope and promise?

ADDENDUM: HILLARY AND THE GLASS CEILING

 Hillary delivered the best speech of her life, but no less would have sufficed.  She is caught in the contradiction of praising the recovery under Obama, but simultaneously addressing the underemployment reality of America.  In talking about her plans for the first 100 days, she promised to put a chicken in every pot.

While accusing Trump of dividing us, she would pay for those chickens by squeezing Wall Street and the rich.  The fact that she felt it necessary to mention Trump so many times, indicates how close she believes this election will be.

She was most successful when addressing the subject of weapons.  She built a  case that she might have a better demeanor to be Commander In Chief than Trump.  Her approach to gun control was pragmatic; Honor the second amendment,  but refine the background checks.

Both she and Trump are actually running on the same issues,  national security and jobs.

The Artless Walk

When J.B. Reilly built his Strata Flats 1,  he named the walkway along side it,  the ArtsWalk.  You may recall that they arrested the hapless street singer serenading the diners at Shula's,  which folded anyway.  We now learn that despite objections from the art institutions,  the Allentown Parking Authority is going to give the surface lot to J.B. Reilly.  Without the convenience of this lot for pick up and drop off, the Community Music School will leave Symphony Hall.  Why doesn't Reilly just build his new apartment house somewhere else?  He owns the square block between 7th and 8th, Hamilton and Walnut Streets.  Parking Authority board member and city council member Daryl Hendricks thinks that this problem represents success. The Morning Call keeps referring to a booming downtown, with new stores. The town is neither booming, or are the couple new stores doing any business.  What's in play here is simple greed.  Greed by Reilly, and greed by the Parking Authority, a partner in the deal.

Here would be an opportunity for still Mayor Pawlowski to make a contribution to the city, that he refuses to leave.  He should speak out against this plan, and advocate for that surface lot to remain.

Allentown's Sad State of Affairs

If you told someone several years ago that $1Billion would be spent trying to revive a couple blocks on Hamilton Street,  they would be shocked upon visiting.  Take your best shot, even during the noon lunch break,  and it's just dead in the water. I suppose that on the weekend a few restaurants have some traffic, but there's absolutely no vibe.  I think back when Pawlowski hired the slogan company. City Without Limits.  I guess City With No Vibe wouldn't be positive enough, but that's what it is.

Except for the bank accounts of a few men, it certainly was a poor return on our state tax dollars.  However, you must understand that except for a few bloggers, and their readers,  nobody much cares.  Because of this apathy we have a state house that only changes from retirement, not elections.  Because of this apathy we have a one party city government. Because of this apathy, those of you who do care must read your news from the likes of me, rather than a real newspaper.

photograph of 7th and Hamilton, back in the day

The NIZ's Magic Hat

It's difficult for the straight laced, and the main stream media to acknowledge the sleigh of hand occurring in the NIZ.  Officially,  the residential units were not supposed to reap the developer the state tax flow, as in commercial and retail.  Reilly is now interested in building a third Strata Flats on the Parking Authority lot at 6th and Linden. The Parking Authority apparently will continue its practice of neglecting the public good, by allowing chosen developers to build on it's surface lots.  In this case, the lot served the art and music community.  While the first floor of the new building will contain retail,  how much of the project can utilize the NIZ financing is the question of this blog post.  Supposedly, corporations have rented apartments in Strata 1.  That is the explanation for the dark units in a building supposedly full.  One must wonder if the tenant is a corporation,  are state taxes from that tenant  to be used for Reilly's debt service?  We do know that the entire NIZ is neither monitored or scrutinized. * Between the ANIZDA in Allentown, and Pat Browne in Harrisburg,  there's nobody watching the henhouse.

Between the lines,  apparently the  commercial demand has waned; Its been a long time since Reilly managed to poach a commercial  tenant from somewhere else.  I suspect now that somehow the taxes from the residential tenants are being harvested. 

* Reilly told the Allentown Parking Authority that $1million in NIZ tax funds would be used annually for the project.  Apparently, Reilly now makes these decisions directly, instead of just telling the ANIZDA puppets what to say.

Allentown Parks Can Kill Your Dog

Poison Hemlock has invaded the riparian buffers along the creeks in Allentown Parks.  These buffers are to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy,  which essentially dictates all park policy, except recreation, in both Allentown and South Whitehall.  I suppose now the Wildlands can add pet killer to their dam buster credentials.

Allentown has been trying to control the problem by high rough cutting in spots where they see the hemlock.  The real solution is to go back to the way the parks were designed, without riparian buffers.

Frankly, I haven't had much success in curtailing the Wildlands Conservancy's influence in these park decisions. So far,  we lost two small historic dams, and the iconic Wehr's Dam is soon to go. We lost the view and access to the creeks in the park system, around which the parks were designed, by Harry Trexler's landscape architect. I have succeeded in creating a public record of these losses, and I will continue to speak out against how our parks are being compromised.