It's been a tough 2009 for Allentown City Council VP Michael Donovan. First, he was punched in the mouth this April by some young punk who resented being told he could not use his go kart to tear up a city baseball field. That required surgery.
Second, when Donovan complained to a neighbor about her barking dog this June, she filed a harassment complaint portraying him as some sort of evil lunatic in dire need of anger management. Of course, all the juicy allegations about this Queen City bad boy hit the paper. That required a lawyer.
Last, speaking of lunatics, Donovan has been pestered by a cyber stalker intent on ruining Michael's informative blog with all sorts of off topic, inflammatory and hateful rants. That will eventually require the police.
Although the harassment charges against Donovan were dismissed on August 28, there are those who still like to point their fingers. So here's what happened on May 15, 2009. Annoyed by one of those dogs that loves to bark, Donovan visited the owner about the noise, knocking on her door. She began screaming and slammed the door in his face, shattered glass all over him and the front porch. When police arrived on the scene, it was in response to complaints that now, in addition to the dog, the neighbor was barking. According to the incident report, "She was yelling and causing a disturbance. ... The female was told to keep it down. She was still yelling and carrying on." According to the incident report, this neighbor is the person who slammed the door in Donovan's face, shattering glass everywhere.
Donovan is now considering his legal options because of his neighbors' conduct. "I just want to have some peace and quiet on this street, for it to be safe to raise kids, for people to get along and to treat each other with some respect. That's not too much to ask for in this City."
To be fair, I asked the dog if she had any comment. "Ruff, Ruff. Bark, Bark, Bark. Ruff, Ruff. Bark, bark, Bark. Bark. Woof. "Ruff, Ruff. Bark, Bark, Bark. Ruff, Ruff. Bark, bark, Bark. Bark. Woof. "Ruff, Ruff. Bark, Bark, Bark. Ruff, Ruff. Bark, bark, Bark. Bark. Woof."
Donovan is Vice President of Allentown City Council. A graduate of Bowdoin College and Columbia University, he teaches Business Ethics, Finance, International Business, and Public Policy. Donovan chairs the Budget and Finance Committee of City Council.
13 comments:
Actually, Mr. Donovan is lucky the broken glass didn't cut or blind him. This isn't funny. Also, didn't that Boyle Park incident break his nose?
He has had a rough year.
Bad neighbors are a nightmare in town houses. Been there done that several times over.
Scott Armstrong
Why does violence spontaneously break out around this guy?
When someone stands up for his beliefs, there will always be others who want to silence him.
MD told me he had been cleared early in September, but he didn't make a big public spectacle out of it. It is regretful that because of a Cyber troll that MD has to defend himself this way.
Who is the cyber troll? How many guess do I get?
Look at the comments on Michael Donovan's blog and you'll figure it out. You only need one guess.
We are blessed to live on a block with great neighbors, but there does need to be a way to deal with the crazy neighbor scenario. One of those can change to make up of a block. I hope things get easier for MD.
Bad neighbors are a nightmare in town houses. Been there done that several times over.
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We are blessed to live on a block with great neighbors, but there does need to be a way to deal with the crazy neighbor scenario. One of those can change to make up of a block. I hope things get easier for MD.
Many people's idea of dog ownership is to throw the animal in the back yard and let it bark and bark.
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Dogs are not a good idea in row home situations. I think from a sanitation view point alone they should not be allowed.
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In a neighborhood association meet I occasionally attend, that one bad neighbor is a frequent topic of conversation. Our neighborhood has more than one and they pretty much frustrate improving the quality of life.
can you imagine what it would be like living next to a cyber troll?
That can't be much better.
Bill said...
We are blessed to live on a block with great neighbors, but there does need to be a way to deal with the crazy neighbor scenario. One of those can change to make up of a block. I hope things get easier for MD.
Bill -
I think there is a lesson to learn here and it is if there is a problem in your neighborhood, get the proper authorities involved.
We can lament how times have changed and there is plenty of time to debate which political party did what to make it this way. The bottom line, however, is that Allentown has indeed changed.
In today's Allentown, taking matters into your own hands is (sadly) more likely to get you punched in the mouth (or a door slammed in your face) than bringing you the outcome you desire.
Taxpayers pay plenty for a bureaucracy in City Hall that should be able to handle basic quality-of-life complaints. If City Hall cannot do that, the voters need to hold our elected officials accountable.
Until that happens, our problems will continue.
We've had the same problem in Fountain Hill. Two neighbors, three barking dogs. Fortunately, when called upon to enforce existing ordinances, the FHPD followed through. You can't imagine the difference it has made this summer. Now, what to do about aggressive, no-holds-barred fights over cell phones taking place in backyards? The HIll continues to be a great place to live, but only because (some) neighbors have been willing to step up and defend it.
"I think there is a lesson to learn here and it is if there is a problem in your neighborhood, get the proper authorities involved."
And here is the crux of the problem in Allentown. When the "proper authorities" are contacted little to no action is taken.
Whether it is a noisy neighbor who parties late into every night leaving beer bottles littering the curb or someone who makes continuous false police reports to harrass a neighbor there are almost never consequences for the perps. Hence more low lives are attracted to the area for the screw everybody hooray for me atmosphere.
I congratulate Mr. Donovan on his win and I am hoping that it opens his eyes to the fact that many of us common citizens go thru what he has experienced on a continuous basis. Unfortunately we do not have the resources for expensive lawyers or the prestige of his office to qualm our situation.
I am continually told that the city lacks the resources to control the situation, yet so many people I know speak of police showing up again and again with no fines and no results. The same is said for false reports which an officer told me are very common and waste valuable resources but are allowed with no consequences.
Too many decent people have fled because they don't see any other viable option.
How's this idea? Bring the hammer down with huge fines and prosecution on things like late night noise, false reports, double parking and the police won't waste so much time pissing on the little fires and they can take care of the big ones.
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