Urban Renewal In Allentown

Urban renewal projects are nothing new to Allentown. Every couple decades some Mayor thinks he has a brighter idea. In a previous post, I showed the historic Lehigh and Union Street neighborhood, totally destroyed by city planners. Today, an under used Bank calling center sits awkwardly alone on that Lehigh Street hill. The picture above shows another hill of merchants and residents, fed to a mayor's bulldozer. The picture is from 1953, and shows Hamilton Street, from Penn Street down toward the railroad stations. At that time we still had two stations, The Lehigh Valley Railroad and The New Jersey Central. The current closed bar and restaurant occupies the Jersey Central. Everything on Hamilton Street, west of the bridge over the Jordan creek, with the exception of the Post Office, was demolished up to Fifth Street. Government Center would be built on the north side of the street, and a new hotel on the south, to accommodate the many anticipated visitors. Recently we had to remove and replace the facade of the county courthouse, which leaked since it was constructed. The hotel is now a rooming house.

Unannounced plans are underway for a new hotel to service anticipated visitors to Pawlowski's Palace of Sports. It will be up to some future blogger to document how that hotel becomes a rooming house.

reprinted from June 2011

UPDATE OCTOBER 7, 2019: Quite a bit has changed since I wrote this post in 2011. Many historic mercantile buildings of Hamilton Street have been replaced by large glass boxes. Although the amount of new construction and office workers is notable, revitalization has yet to occur. Come 5:00PM, those new workers can't wait to get out of Dodge. The former mentioned mayor has been incarcerated. The new hotel mentioned, subsidized by our tax dollars, sits virtually empty.

Camden On The Lehigh

Last evening when I entered City Council Chambers, as is my custom, I scanned the document table for the agenda and specific ordinances under consideration. There on the table, printed, fastened and disguised as an official document complete with charts, was an attack piece against one of the nay-sayers or reactionaries who challenge the administration. The victim was Robert Romancheck, who served on the zoning board for 12 years, and is a neighborhood leader in the Raub Middle School area. The fabrication stated Romancheck mismanaged Perkasie, resulting in a tax increase. Coincidentally, todays' Morning Call has an article on Perkasie which features that borough's financial stability. The victim or misinformation to me is irrelevant, the fact that it was on the document table was outrageous. Between the committee meeting and the regular Council Meeting, I approached our elected, appointed and hired officials with this document and my discontent about it. Their reaction, to the man, ranged from amusement to indifference. I contribute this cavalier attitude to the one party sweep this past election. I believe Mayor Pawlowski, although a misguided micro-manager, has integrity and is free from corruption; however, an arrogance has taken over city hall, and we know where that will lead us in the coming years.

reprinted from November of 2007

UPDATE OCTOBER 4, 2019: Although I would learn of Pawlowski's  shortcomings before most, and long before he became the subject of an investigation,  I was giving him too much credit back in 2007.  However,  I reprint this piece to reference the arrogance.  This is a trait that won't be addressed by any prosecutor, but affects every citizen of the city.  While I find O'Connell himself humble enough, the pre FBI swagger remains with some of his subordinates.

shown above older postcard of Lehigh River, with former Hamilton Street Bridge and A&B Meats

Greg Weaver Art Scene

For about ten years, mid 70's to 80's, Allentown was graced with a one man art machine. Greg Weaver studied at Carnegie Mellon and then returned to the Valley to become artist, promoter and inspiration to dozens of local artists. His large studios, which moved from one low rent location to another over the years, became hubs for innovation and social activity. He was very prolific with his work, and generous with his encouragement. A typical monthly bash involved perhaps a poster by Mark Beyer( now an internationally known underground comic) performance by a jazz group such as Gary Hassey,(Greg also had a band) and perhaps a new showing by a local artist, such as Barnaby Ruhe. The loft parties were always mobbed, by many of the same people who now attend the Museum social events. This art "scene" cost the taxpayers nothing, it was done by artists, and it was real. Greg suffered from diabetes, and eventually lost his sight. Although blind he continued to produce art and inspire people until his death. Several of his works are in the Allentown Museums' permanent collection and his memory is in the hearts' of his friends. The image here is from Mark Beyer, representing an invitation to a Weaver event.

above reprinted from September of 2007

UPDATE OCTOBER 3, 2019.  Last night city council temporarily postponed giving the administration $100,000, so that the Arts Commission can hire a  private consultant to promote art spaces in the city.  In a city with a tax raise of 27%,  this is nonsense.   In addition to the  Allentown Art Museum and the Baum Art School, there are private galleries and artist studios.  Although I am a strong supporter of the art community, let city hall concentrate on providing efficient government in a fair way.  Those interested in art will visit the museum and private galleries on their own motivation, without our tax dollars.

Welcome To Allentown

Joanne is a long time caregiver in Easton, but she chose to buy a house in Allentown. It's a house you will not see on a house tour, but she is rightfully proud of it. It's on a busy street, in a poor section of town. Her house, the only one decorated for Christmas, is the gem of the block. This holiday season she was rewarded for her efforts by receiving an inspection notice from the City of Allentown. She knew that in recent past, her house had been bought and sold for double the money, by one of the city's non-profit housing agencies, so all the safety issues had been addressed. She knows it's not a rental, under that inspection program, or up for sale, under that inspection program, so why the inspection? Seems that Mayor Ed started the home sale inspection program at the wrong end of the curve, and we hired more new inspectors than new police. Allentown has rolled out its old "systematic" inspection program for a few lucky sections in center city. You who live in Midway Manor, or the south side, and certainly the west end, need not worry. Worry is what this post is about. Joanne is really upset, she feels this unwarranted inspection is an intrusion upon her privacy and time. She received no consolation from her call to City Hall, on the contrary, she was told about administrative search warrants, and that somebody better open the door at the designed time. Her anxiety resulted in a coworker contacting Bernie O'Hare, who in turn contacted me. Bernie and I will keep you informed about how Allentown treats this woman; so far, not well.

reprinted from December of 2008 

UPDATE October 2, 2019: A lot has happened since I wrote this post eleven years ago. Mayor Pawlowski has been incarcerated for his strong arm methods, and his code inspectors are now code supervisors. Although blogger Bernie O'Hare and I no longer team up on stories, people still contact us individually, when they feel that the bureaucracy is abusing them. Such is the case with an Allentown woman on Hanover Avenue. As her court case gets closer, you'll learn more about the Pawlowski era bullying still embedded at city hall today.

Pawlowski's Poor Excuse

Someone once told me the difference between Parkland and Allen is that the Parkland kids can buy better drugs from nicer dealers. There's probably a lot of truth to that statement, and I think truth goes a long way in problem solving. I didn't take much consolation in Mayor Pawlowski's statement that he spent his first two years reviving Allentown financially, and now will focus on crime; those words are almost enough to make me go out and buy a bullet proof vest.

All the solutions offered, such as the Route222 anti-gang task force, surveillance camera system, yearlong study of police force, Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and the anonymous tip line, ignore the politically incorrect reality that there is a correlation between poverty and crime. Although the administration wants to make Hamilton Street appear more affluent, by relocating the bus riders to sabotage the existing merchants, elsewhere Allentown remains a publicly financed poverty magnet. 

The mayor of Hazleton, although offering no solutions to the national dilemma of immigration, sought to avoid its consequences in his community. Allentown can ill afford to lead the nation in a solution to poverty, drug abuse and crime.

illustration by Mark Beyer

above reprinted from December of 2007

UPDATE OCTOBER 1, 2019:  Former mayor Lou Barletta didn't try to solve national problems in Hazleton, instead he realized that the small city should do everything possible to avoid those elements which cause them.  Despite the warnings of this local blogger,  Allentown put out the welcome mat, and we are now immersed in poverty and crime. While the Hazleton mayor went on to congress, mayor Pawlowski is now in federal prison.

The Bricks Of Allentown

When Mildred Gehman* portrayed the house on the southeast corner of 12th and Walnut Streets in 1950, it was already about 60 years old. Another 60 years have passed, and the house still looks the same today. The bricks of Allentown hold up well. Yesterday, as I passed the corner of Madison and Chew Streets, I noticed three buildings in a row wearing a new orange tag, Unfit for Human Habitation. I have seen many clusters of these orange tags. They are generally handed out to one unfortunate owner or another, by one inspector. Recently, I received a phone call from such a hapless owner. His two buildings were tagged for some superficial reason, such as peeling paint. Everybody knows who has painted, or paid to have his house painted, that the stuff starts peeling off in short order, since the lead and other emulsions have been removed. Back to hapless owner. Because his buildings were tagged, the tenants were forced to move. In addition to the disruption in the tenants lives, the owner was denied the income stream to meet his debt service. Upon completion of the work on the list, the inspector then created a new list upon re-inspection. The re-inspections required scheduling specific inspectors, such as plumbing and electric, and dragged out the time frame. The primary inspector then inflicted a third list on the owner. Over a year has passed, his two buildings remain vacant, and the owner is out over $Thirty thousand dollars. Buildings on 12th Street, just north of Chew, have been tagged so long that the orange is fading on the notices. The city can mistreat rental operators because the public has little to no sympathy for that class of ownership. Several years ago, Allentown passed a Point Of Sale inspection law, which requires inspections of all private houses for sale. Welcome to the bureaucracy. To post a comment pertaining to a specific property, owner or inspector, you must must use your name.

 *Mildred Gehman,1908-2006, starting teaching at the Baum Art School in 1946. At that time, Baum was on the southwest corner of 12th and Walnut Streets, across the street from the house shown above.

above reprinted from May of 2012


UPDATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2019: Years ago, I would occasionally blog about some property owner who was being victimized by Pawlowski's City Hall. Although Pawlowski has been exorcised from the building, I'm afraid that the attitude he fostered apparently remains in some segments of middle management.

Last month, I reported on an east side homeowner who was being bullied by a nearby business owner, who has a connection at city hall. While the property next door to her,  also owned by the bully, is in a distressed condition, she is getting the citations, and being taken to court. After verifying the situation myself,  I called upon a middle supervisor for relief on behalf of the homeowner.  The reply seems to be the inspectors doubling down, and circling the wagons.  From the bully's distressed adjoining property, they rephotographed the homeowner's property, looking to fabricate more violations.

I can understand some residual arrogance remaining in the code department middle management... after all, Pawlowski ruled the roost for 13 years, and used some of those guys as his henchmen.  What they don't understand is that this blog started in 2007,  largely to fight such inequities.

The Mohican Markets

Once, before the malls, there were three thriving cities in the Lehigh Valley, and some merchants would have a store in each of the downtowns. Some of the buildings still exist, and have been reused; The Allentown Farr (shoe) Building is now loft apartments. Two of three Mohican Market buildings, famous for baked goods, no longer exist. The Easton location, on S. 4th St., was victim to fire. The Allentown store became a bingo hall and then a parking lot.  Butz's newest office building now occupies the space.

The Mohican Markets were owned and operated by Bernard Molovinsky, who purchased the three Lehigh Valley stores from a small chain located in New York and Pennsylvania.

revised and reprinted from September of 2007

Abuse At The Monument Building

The building had begun its life as the 1st National Bank. The second owner renamed it Corporate Center. The third owner renamed it Monument Building.

One morning in early July of 2008, code enforcement descended upon the Monument Building like a swat team.  Every officer, in every department , entered the building at the same time, and spread out looking for every possible violation. Under the previous owner, the same conditions, with the same tenants, were lauded as a rebirth.

Whatever motivated Pawlowski to pull the plug on the new owner, the tenants were lightweights, of no consequence to him. At that time, myself and few other malcontents, like Lou Hershman, would gather early in the morning for coffee at Jerry's Cafe, located on the first floor.

Jerry's was not one of the upstart businesses blessed with a Pawlowski grant at the time. He had to pay for everything, and everything had been inspected, inside and out. His plans had been approved, his electric and plumbing had been approved,  and his expensive grill and hood system had been approved.  While all the tenants were put out of business that day,  Jerry was also financially ruined. 

During this sorry Pawlowski era, he used the code department as a weapon.  Although Pawlowski is gone, some of that same mentality apparently still lurks with some of the code officers.  I wrote about Pawlowski's tactics back then in 2008, and I will continue to defend those currently victimized by such abuse.

The Monument Building would be torn down years later by J.B. Reilly, and replaced by one of his Corporate Towers.

I photographed the code cars that morning lined up for the raid