Allentown resident Bill Stauffer, who resides on the 100 bock of S. 16th Street, has a soft-spoken voice, but delivered a powerful message to his City Council last night.
"My wife and I have owned a home on S 16th Street since 1998. There has been more crime in our block and the surrounding blocks than the other 11 years combined. I got off easy. Somebody stole a 70-pound potted plant and some other plants off my porch. You've heard about Bob's [Bob Romancheck] experience. We've found stolen cars in front of our house. We've rousted people as they're buying drugs at a home up on Walnut Street.
"We don't sleep well anymore in our neighborhood. I'm very proud of my neighbors. We're all homeowners, we work together, but I know that the men don't sleep. I don't.
"About three weeks ago, I heard a loud noise out of my home and someone yelling at somebody who was stealing more plants off of someone's porch. By the time I got downstairs, other neighbors were out to find the gentleman walking up the street screaming they were going to come back for the person that was yelling at them, and get their stuff. He said it in a lot more colorful language than I just did.
"We are a neighborhood under siege.
"Now I read the stats that crime is down in our community. It is way up in my particular neighborhood. There's an alarming trend to this. We have a choice. We love our neighborhood. We love our house. We love Allentown. But there's something that happens in this kind of situation, where you wake up every morning, looking 'Are my plants there?', 'Is my furniture there?','Is my car there?', 'Is that sound I hear downstairs someone braking into my home?'
"This is something that happens, and I'm deeply concerned at what's happening in our neighborhood. ...
"I'm not entirely sure what to ask for. I would like to know what the statistics are of crime in my particular neighborhood, in comparison to others or in comparison to the past. That would be something that would be helpful. ...
"I'd also like to talk about something that's a little more fundamental. When you're sitting around, your neighbors are talking about how long they can handle it, how much are they going to take.
"We have a lot invested in Allentown. In fact, we have everything invested in Allentown. Bob [Romancheck] has everything invested in his house. Mike Scware, the guy who had his wheels almost stolen, that's where he lives. Actually, you all know the people in this neighborhood. And there's many more andseveral crimes are happening on a daily basis.
"Not enough is happening. I'm deeply concerned about this issue and I need to take a stand for my home. I need to take a stand for my neighbors. And I'd really like to ask that more be done about the escalating crime situation in our neighborhood because I don't want to be the guy, like my one neighbor, who came downstairs and found someone in my home."
After he was done, Council put him in touch with Assistant Chief Hanna.
Updated 10:50 AM: Actually, I've learned that Stauffer had called about somethng else, so I stand corrected on that point.
Actually Bernie I had mentioned this on Mike Donovan's blog and he had sent it to several other Council members and contacted Assistant Chief Hanna.
ReplyDeletePeter was referencing a Bill that I had learned he was introducing to evict persons from apartments who have been dealing drugs. I contacted Peter about 10 days ago and he forwarded me the Bill which looks like a Bill to me. He had called me late last week and indicated that the Bill was going to be introduced at Council this meeting. As the Bill had come off of the agenda he had apologized to me for not letting me know this.
Evict persons dealing drugs. Now isn't that rich. Like this will make a difference.
ReplyDeleteThese bozo's on city council have their heads up their a**** all the time.
They really have no idea what this guys neighborhood is like. They know nothing of what it is like in this city.
Crime runs rampant. Gangs run the ASD. Who owns Center City when school closes? Drive around and observe.
The mayor is only concerned about his pay for play housing developer buddies and discriminates against neighborhoods in the city.
God bless the police. I suppose they are trying but it is a loosing battle.
Anarchy runs supreme in Allentown and every official walks around thinking things are just fine.
When will it ever sink in? I can not even bring myself to attend city council meetings. It is not good for a decent persons reputation to be seen in that chamber.
The president of the council is out of control. He disgusts me as a public official and Peter Schweyer is running a close second. How can those white boys be so friggin stupid.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-tatamy-interchange-tif-20100915,0,3244677.story
ReplyDeleteSo, now Angle is bullying local non-profit organizations for not getting his political contributors their local gov't kick backs. when are you going to report how much money angle got from the tax collectors. He's engaged in pay to play politics and you're only comment is that you hate political contributions. if this was ed pawlowski or john callahan, you would flip a lid.
In Allentown, it's not the heat. It's the incessant gunfire.
ReplyDeleteThe neighborhood from Hamilton to Walnut to the Y has dramatically changed in the past 10 years. We've seen mattresses leaning against houses and tree trunks, broken beer bottles, broken curbing and sidewalks, boarded windows and public notices on door fronts. Some cars illegally park on front lawns. We feel for these caring people who expected safety in exchange for their commitment to city living. Sadly, that's not what their getting, but this isn't new. It's been this way for a while. Why Pawlowski allows this to continue, only voters can ask.
ReplyDeleteAs for Schweyer, this week, thanks to Bernie, we've learned more about the ugly side of politics.
"The president of the council is out of control. He disgusts me as a public official and Peter Schweyer is running a close second."
ReplyDeleteAgree.
Assistant Chief Hanna has been with the APD more than 20 years. He has to be aware of these conditions.
ReplyDeleteTell us something we don't know. Ed pawlowski, or any mayor of Allentown should have ONE priority. Only One. MAKE IT SAFE.
ReplyDeleteMake it safe everywhere. Put a dozen cops between 5th and tenth street from Hamilton to Tilghman.
Screw the new restaurants....forget about new prgorams. Root out crime and the rest will follow.
HIRE SHERIFF ARPAIO!
ReplyDeleteBill, Thanks fr your clarification. I will note that.
ReplyDelete"It is not good for a decent persons reputation to be seen in that chamber."
ReplyDeleteYeah, and it's infested with bottom-feeding bloggers now, too. We come out at night with skunks and other vermin.
This neighborhood needs 24 hour police patrol on foot!
ReplyDeletePawlowski's focus on upscale restaurants probably is good material for a shrink, but for Allentown's downtowners, fear and crime are tops.
ReplyDelete"when are you going to report how much money angle got from the tax collectors."
ReplyDeleteYou are both OT and wrong. The article you link to has nothing to do with your contention.
I do know one of the reasonswhy there issuchanonymous venom directed at Angle, and will be writing about that soon. I won't be anonymous.
Allentown's problem is crime, and until that's resolved, it's the *only* problem that matters.
ReplyDeleteUntil the City and its elected leaders are prepared to take on a NYC-style early 90s offensive against crime, it will continue to drag down the City.
If a Republican candidate was gearing to run for Allentown mayor, excerpts of this video incorporated into a commercial alone would do the job.
ReplyDeletePawlowski has been at the helm or second in command nearly a decade and this resident's poignant plea for neighborhood safety is what Pawlowski has to show for it.
From the PA Landlord Tenant Act . . . How many landlords take action on this?
ReplyDeleteSection 250.505-A. Use of illegal drugs
(a) The following acts relating to illegal drugs shall be a breach of condition of
the lease and shall be grounds for removal of the tenant from a single-family dwelling,
apartment, multiple dwelling premises or tenement building:
(1) The first conviction for an illegal sale, manufacture or distribution of any drug
in violation of the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L. 233, No. 64), known as the “The Controlled
Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act,”9 on a single-family dwelling or any portion of
the multiple dwelling premises or tenement;
(2) The second violation of any of the provisions of “The Controlled Substance,
Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act” on a single-family dwelling or any portion of the multiple
dwelling premises or tenement;
(3) The seizure by law enforcement officials of any illegal drugs on the leased
premises in the single-family dwelling or multiple dwelling premises or tenement.
Well... this fellow needs to move out. Take the loss and move. He will most likely not be able to make any $$ on his home, but may be able to rent it to a Section 8 family. While his speech is touching, it is 30 years too late. Allentown is lost and is not under siege but has been lost. If anyone had an answer to his problem, make sure its Trademarked, Patended etc... and sell it to every city in the Country and make millions. The hard dose of medicine is that this fellow is putting his family at risk. Relying on APD to protect him could be the biggest mistake of his life. Should he stay in his home, he needs to reinforce his entry ways, have alarm systems, learn how to handle firearms, learn the laws inside and out concerning the use of firearms and make sure his ENTIRE family is trained in the use of firearms. He also needs to have a home invasion plan that he and his family rehearses and knows without exception. My thoughts and prayers are with this guy and his family. I hope he can figure out a way that he could sleep at night.
ReplyDeleteHold on,theres another angle to this situation.Having sit in open court i have witnessed the thugs brought before the judges with these type of crimes.Sorry to say i heard all the excuses an the all too familiar slap on the wrist.The DA's office is as bad as city hall.Jim martin and the county justice system deserves some blame.
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in that neighborhood for 20 years and thankfully moving out 7 years ago I completely empathize with this gentleman. We had a nice middle-class working neighborhood that was gradually taken over by irresponsible renters and homeowners with heavily subsidized mortgages and no pride in their neighborhood. Police were nowhere to be seen. They were concentrated in the high crime areas and understaffed. That led to lots of nuisance crimes in our neighborhood and quality of life violations. Those of us who cared made call after call to police dispatch or to the city hall code office with indifferent responses. Finally you get to the point where enough is enough and you move out. It is a shame. Allentown was the Queen City and still has many good qualities. But relentless law enforcement and ZERO TOLERANCE for the thuggery that has ruled the streets for the past several years has to be a priority of this administration, not bringing restaurants to Hamilton St. This man and his neighbors are heroes for trying to make their community a better place to live. They pay for and deserve a high level of public safety. King Edwin should spend a few nights sleeping out on this guys porch protecting his potted plants instead of holding court with his political cronies at the Brew Works.
ReplyDeleteYou people are all crazy. You live in a "City without Limits", it is morning in Allentown. Allentown is a cultural rainbow that hums with the excitement of ethnic diversity. The downtown is vibrant and buzzing. Just ask Mayor Pawlowski. Or ask city councilmen like Pete Schweyer, Mike D'Amore, and of course Mike Schlossberg the new Pawlowski kiddie Corps. They are Allentown's version of Long Dems.
ReplyDeleteYou people ought to be ashamed. You should be thrilled to live in Allentown. Go to the Brew Works on Hamilton tomorrow night then take a leisurely stroll downtown to the Arts park off of 6th Street. The clear night air will be bracing.
A "City without Limits", is only limited by the naysayers and the nabobs of negativity like this whining guy.
"The DA's office is as bad as city hall.Jim martin and the county justice system deserves some blame."
ReplyDeleteHad you attended this portion of last night'smeeting, you would have heard Ass't Chief Hanna credit Martin with setting up some cooperative arrangements among police departments that enable this type of crime to be pursued.
Until City Council only pursues their own pet projects such as stopping fireworks displays and bolstering labor unions, I favor calling in the PA National Guard to patrol Allentown's streets at night.
ReplyDeleteThe "city without limits" is true. It's problems are seeping into the rest of the local communities in the county.
ReplyDeleteWake up Allentown voters! Stop voting the party line and look at the candidates for once.
to persue is only lip service,creative action is required.The cops catch criminals all the time,the failure is what happens after their caught.If the stste laws need revision to toughen penalties then so be it.Theirs much blame to go around.Lets get out of the mud and focus on the real problems facing our communities.
ReplyDeleteI find it amazing that people like previous poster "Guy Williams" are fixated on the old adage... more cops, tougher prosecution, tougher state laws to solve crime in Allentown. Guess what.... PEOPLE WERE SAYING THESE SAME THINGS A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO!!! They don't work and will not work. There is NO solution to the problem. The only thing that can be done is to try and keep it contained. To the person claiming to be under seige.. you are wrong. You have been over run. You need to retreat or continue to live in a quasi underground type of world having to be unrealistically vigilant. It is time for you to flee! That is you only hope. Period.
ReplyDeleteIt is true the animals control Allentown. The corrupt pols are milking the coffers of what is left for themselves and their pal's.
ReplyDeleteI mean who ever heard of paying a bar a million dollars in tax money to open in the middle of a gang infested downtown.
Allentown is lost, Easton is hanging on and Bethlehem is infected and starting to list.
The Lehigh Valley has officially started its path to become the new Newark for new York.
head for the Hills while you can, the cities are lost and the pols don't care.
Your my hero 9:17 am filled with anger and despair.Where should people flee to? The low crime burbs.How about Northampton where 4 people were butchered.And who was the perp?Part of our problem was the success in new york in the late 80s to clean up the city.They had some success,We are still trying to cope.There are no easy answers but we need to work together to address the problem.You would make a great Drill instructor in the military 9:17 just teach people to give up and run
ReplyDeleteThe only way to "win", is tough zoning laws. Strict enforcement of strong housing codes. Make life miserable for the "section 8" landlords who get the checks mailed directly so they never have to visit the slums they help create.
ReplyDeleteThe only "public"housing should be confined ghettos like "pembroke" or "marvine". Keep them concentrated and preying on each other. You can't integrate the thugs into the neighborhood since the results are evident. Check out Allentown.
Zero tolerance public housing codes that throw everyone who makes up the "family unit" out if any one of them is convicted of a violent or drug related crime.
The slumlords hate that, the thugs hate that, the scum animals hate that. They will resist but you keep at it.
Eventually they will look for greener easier more liberal pastures and you may, may get your city back.
Anything less and you are just pissing in the wind and pretending its rain!
What i hate the most is you cant offer common sense solutions with out being labeled a racist or an elitist.Mike M. is right, we can not afford to be a poverty magnet.And all he got was scorn.There are just too many families here who are needy and dependent.My parents both came from large families who struggled without a safety net.My parents had two kids,Why,because they wanted to be able to support us Kids.There no shame in being poor but the sheer numbers of people in poverty causes more problems then we can handle as a community.There just have to be limits to be effective and fair to all.
ReplyDelete