State Senator Browne, County & City Leaders Support Suffering Hamilton Street Merchants

"I came here interested, but leave here passionate."

That's how Jeanette Eichenwald, Allentown City Council candidate, reacted after hearing how merchants and bus passengers have suffered from LANTA's recent elimination of bus service along portions of Hamilton Street. She had good reason.

Last night, local leaders listened as twenty-two bus riders and small business owners, the "have nots," told their story at Allentown's Faith Baptist Church. James Blawn, a bus rider in his seventies: "I walk 5 1/2 blocks, one way, to catch a bus." Jenny Lim Chen, whose family owns and operates the House of Chen, sadly and quietly reports they've dropped their health insurance. Bibi Hazra, from the Loco Dollar Store, burst into tears as she told about being assaulted yesterday by one of her suppliers. She owes him $200, but only had $20 in her cash drawer. He started to choke her until people began calling for police. Jim, a wheelchair bound bus passenger, saw it happen. And he was at the church last night, too. "I won't knock progress until it stops someone else's progress." Barbadel Campbell, the eloquent septuagenarian whose letter to the editor was recently published in The Morning Call, asked, "How could this happen?" She noted there was no prior discussion with passengers or merchants, and that even most bus drivers knew nothing before the changes imposed by LANTA's top heavy management. This twenty-five year center city resident can no longer shop along Hamilton Street "because carrying the shopping bags on foot is a pain." She wonders whether this is a plot to rid the city of its low-income, and mostly minority, businesses, in favor of upscale ventures for the beautiful people, like $40 Halloween dinner bargains.

Barbadel has reason to wonder. Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, through his information minister, refuses to help. "It's a transportation issue. Nothing was done to affect the businesses. We're trying to improve transportation." Pawlowski even thumbed his nose at Lázaro Fuentes, who chairs the Lehigh Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

LANTA is just as bad. BiBi and Jenny called several times in early October. Nothing. I tried contacting executive director Armando Greco on October 9, as well as all members its board. Nothing. Channel 69 reporters tried to contact LANTA yesterday. Nothing.

So what's LANTA doing? Rather than respond to this suffering, its bureaucrats are incredibly combing through an eighteen hundred signature petition submitted a month ago, looking for duplicate signatures.

But as of last night, Hamilton Street merchants and bus passengers have reason for hope. Lehigh Valley leaders have responded! And so has the media.

Allentown City Candidates Respond

Four out of five Allentown city council candidates are firmly on Jenny and Bibi's side. Jeanette Eichenwald, along with her husband, were obviously moved when BiBi broke into tears. Former Lehigh County exec Dave Bausch will push to have one stop restored. Mike Donovan, in a written statement to Mike Molovinsky, believes LANTA failed to involve enough people before eliminating these stops. "When the appropriate parties are not involved, we have disappointment, lack of trust, and a loss of community." Finally, a statement from Robert E Smith demands that stops be restored. "We need leadership that represents all the people, not just politicians and wealthy elitists who want to keep those people off Hamilton street."

Controller candidate Michael Schware noted that what has happened sends a "dangerous signal" to business. "We may want you here today, but not tomorrow."

The only city council candidate who failed to appear or present a statement? Peter Schweyer, who just happens to sit on the LANTA board. Some of Hamilton Street's minority-owned merchants feel they are being discriminated against, but he told me in an October 3 email that these concerns are "laughable and frankly quite bizarre." I hope these merchants remember Schweyer when they vote.

Current Allentown city councilman Tony Phillips also stopped by, and told the crowd, "These things don't happen without the administration being involved. The only ones who were not involved in this decision were you."

Other Local Leaders Lend Their Support

In addition to city leaders, Lehigh County Commissioner candidates Dean Browning and Roger Reis added their support. Browning, bean counter extraordinaire, told merchants that LANTA relies heavily on public funds, and that merchants should make their concerns known at those funding sources. Reis echoed Browning, adding that commissioners could write letters.

Last night's biggest surprise was Ellen Millard-Kern, who just happens to be State Senator Pat Browne's chief of staff. His Allentown office, incidentally, is located smack dab in the middle of this Hamilton Street mess. He is inundated with complaints from passengers and merchants. So Pat Browne has already sent his own letter to LANTA. That's going to be a little harder to ignore. Here's part of it.

I am writing on behalf of three separate and distinct constituencies who do not like the recent change in the bus schedules. Specifically, I have received petitions with hundreds of signatures from LANTA riders requesting a restoration of bus service to Hamilton Street. In addition, I have been contacted by Hamilton Street merchants who are experiencing "precipitous" declines in business. Finally, the disabled community has expressed concerns that their ability to access stores, other Hamilton Street amenities and educational opportunities has been greatly reduced if not altogether curtailed.

. . . I sincerely request that you consider developing an alternate route plan to address these concerns and make considered reasonable accommodations as warranted.

Media Support

A show of support from Lehigh Valley leaders is great, but the media has also cast a public spotlight on the plight of Hamilton Street's minority merchants and senior bus riders. It was Channel 69's top story on last night's 10 o'clock news. El Torero, a Spanish-language Allentown weekly, this morning published a full-page story, complete with a photograph of an empty Hamilton Street, as buses whiz by without stopping.

Next Step

LANTA'S next board meeting is November 13. If Allentown's mayor and LANTA's management continue to snub the "have nots," they will soon have an opportunity to meet them face to face.

As wheelchair-bound Jim told me late last night, "There are more of us, and we aren't going away."