Hamilton Street Merchants Stare Down LANTA, & LANTA Blinks

LANTA's monthly board meetings are normally sleepy affairs. The Morning Call's Dan Hartzell tells us he's usually the only guest there. That changed yesterday when board members were awakened by a large and angry confedaracy of twenty-four merchants and bus riders, allied over recent bus route changes that have destroyed business along Allentown's Hamilton Street. After seeing them in person, LANTA has finally blinked.

Conveniently scheduled at high noon, it was virtually impossible for working people to attend. But twenty-four merchants and riders still crossed the wet 8th Street bridge and forged their way to LANTA HQ at 1060 Lehigh Street. Some merchants simply closed their shops. Mike Molovinsky and I ran a shuttle service, going back and forth. A local Korean association also bused merchants who were too afraid to get into a car with me. Wheelchair Jim, who must be turbocharged, beat us all. Believe it or not, we had to leave some folks behind. I was tempted to ask LANTA to send a bus.

Because there were only a few seats and a twelve-member board, most of us had to stand. That gave me a better view of the board. As one of my friends whispered to me, "Now, there's a diverse group." The skin tone ranged between lilly white and ash grey.

Perhaps that's part of the problem.

In vast contrast to the seated big wigs, there was a wide assortment of minorities in the peanut gallery - Korean, Chinese, Guatemalan, etc. And everyone knows Molovinsky is from Mars. The cultural divide was obvious, and I could see it in the looks on some board members' faces.

Fortunately, LANTA started the meeting by allowing the public to speak, and they were willing to listen. They listened to twelve different merchants and riders. And Wheelchair Jim chimed in at least three times.

The owner of the Indian Boutique told LANTA that on Halloween, he was robbed by two masked men. Because a nearby bus stop had been removed and the street was deserted, there were no witnesses. Allentown's vaunted surveillance cameras were no help, either.

And so it goes.

Merchant after merchant stood up to speak of declining sales. But Bibi Hazra, who owns the Loco Dollar Store, was not herself. I later discovered why. She had to pawn her jewelry yesterday to get the power back on in her store. She finally broke down in tears to Channel 69 reporter Bo Koltnow, who has a terrific report.

Wheelchair Jim expresses the sentiment of many riders. "It sure gets my Dutch dandruff up to hear that people are getting pushed around and must cancel their life insurance."

After everyone had spoken, LANTA chair Donald Lipson thanked everyone for coming, and said they would decide what to do at the next board meeting, scheduled for December 11. That brought Jim out of his wheelchair. "We need a decision now. Why can't you take a vote now so we know what's going on?"

"That's not the way we operate," answered Lipson.

At this point, a quiet woman in the crowd spoke up, and mentioned that the board does need to act quickly. "The Christmas season is coming. Most of these businesses rely on that to make their year."

Lipson then suddenly reversed course, and said LANTA would move quickly to implement changes, perhaps by Thursday.

Perhaps this is because the woman who made this request is Ellen Millard-Kern, and she just happens to be chief of staff for State Senator Pat Browne.

Merchants and bus riders may finally have another ally, too. According to Bo Koltnow's report, Mayor Ed Pawlowski finally called LANTA today on behalf of Allentown's suffering merchants.

After we had all left the building, board member Steve Schmitt had another amazing display of insensitivity. He's the LANTA board member who previously claimed Hamilton Street merchants just "wanted something to complain about, basically." Yesterday, he whined, "I find it hard to believe. ... I'd like to see the books."

If he really wanted to do that, all he had to do was ask instead of waiting for everyone to leave so he could talk behind their backs.

Regardless of Schmitt, LANTA finally appears to be willing to make some changes.

It just might save a few businesses.