I slammed both City Council and Mayor Ray O'Connell, claiming their own unwillingness to act as a check on disgraced Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski is a large part of the reason why the City is a fiscal mess. I was astonished to read that one of the reasons they opted fora $1.25 million contract is they have no desire to be bothered by change orders. That's why they are there.
When I criticized Council, I was speaking of them collectively. It's important and fair to point out that Council member Julio Guridy voted No on this contract, and for very much the same reasons expressed by Hyman. He knows the cost should be far cheaper. Also, Council member Daryl Hendricks was a constant check on Fed Ed, perhaps more than anyone on Council. In addition, Council members Ed Zucal and Courtney Robinson are newcomers. Mayor Ray O'Connell was a Fed Ed cheerleader, but once he woke up, he became a forceful opponent and started providing oversight. O'Connell is very dedicated to the City and usually looks for ways to get together and build consensus. He had just come off a bomb explosion that could easily have killed many people. I still think his behavior towards Hyman was wrong, but believe that a bomb explosion followed by this fire probably had him upset.
I make no excuse for Candida Affa, who falsely represented that she attempted to contact Hyman, but was told his numbers are disconnected. She conveniently waited until Hyman was gone before making this accusation, but WFMZ-TV69 contacted Hyman and asked him about it.
Hyman responded directly to Affa:
"Hi Candida:Incidentally, Don Ringer called Hyman from the frickin' North Pole, and Hyman immediately answered. If phone calls from the North Pole made it to Hyman, it's safe to conclude his phone was in working order.
WFMZ just contacted me and said that you tried to contact me but the numbers were disconnected. I’m not sure where you were calling but I haven’t had any of my numbers disconnected in years. I’m texting you from my cell phone which is the same number you and I were texting on this summer. So if you need me you can always call or text me at this number.
Thanks,
Nat"
By the way, I have no idea what Ringer is doing on the North Pole. I think he's looking for a municipality where he can speak without being tossed.
25 comments:
If you'd been there, Bernie, you would have seen that Hyman stormed out quickly after his speech. He was not going to suffer anyone to lecture him.
Also, Affa says she has several witnesses to her phone calls, so I wouldn't be so ready to dismiss her claim.
Finally, Don Ringer may have Hyman's phone number but that may be because they are close personal friends.
As far as the long knives being out, why should Hyman be treated any differently from any other landlord whose property constitutes an immediate danger to the public? Why is not giving him special treatment equivalent to "having the long knives out?"
I was there and heard and saw it all. I have many other questions but my comments are strictly in response to this blog.
Could he see Russia?
The whole town is a smoldering dump fire.
It’s got all the old intractable problems and 3/4 of the same “leadership” that it’s had during the Fed Ed debacle. Precious little has changed beneath the surface.
Let’s see if Pawlowski goes off to federal custody before or after his solicitor goes off to Congress.
You couldn’t make this shit up.
Remember what the lead FBI Special Agent said at the close of the Pawlowski case.
The corruption remains.
Stay away and get your friends and family our. Allentown is dying a slow death..
Allentown, is on the road to Detroit, fiscally and socially, This is what happens when people keep voting for the same either corrupt or incompetent leaders. There needs to be a shaking out down a couple of levels.
Detroit, Washington D.C.,....
And the costs to bring the building down is the main reason there is an issue.
Let's see phone records to prove, shall we.
Regardless of the he-said-she-said stuff, the mayor apparently lied and council voted to spend five times the reasonable cost to demolish. Somebody's getting paid and an investigation should be undertaken to determine who the crook is. This is Ed Pawlowski's Allentown at its finest. Nothing has changed; not even a little bit.
Drama and dribble Bernie he said .She said and it's all poop. You can do better then this.
The whole question of whether or not Affa (or anyone else) made any attempt to contact Hyman is fascinating. Personally, if I were Affa and had actually made those calls, I'd be showing everyone my call log on my phone. It's not hard to do, and it can easily be screenshot and texted or emailed to anyone who wants to see it. It would instantly put an end to Hyman's convincing and relentless insistence that she did not attempt to contact him at all. If the calls were made on a land line, phone records from the provider can be obtained. It's all available information. Why isn't she demonstrating clearly that she did due diligence here?
She also went so far as to say his lack of building insurance was unethical, which is odd, considering that it is impossible to insure a building for greater than its value. She said he failed to secure the building, but his own testimony indicates his crew was out there many times, boarding up windows and making every effort to secure the property.
So, someone is lying here. The phone records would easily determine who's telling the truth in the first conflict. I'd like to know the answer to that. If she's lying, she should not be sitting on the Council. I feel the burden of proof is on her. I don't know Affa, and I have absolutely nothing against her, but something about this particular incident makes me seriously question her ethics and knowledge base. I'm open to being proven wrong about my suspicions, though. The anger displayed by council and the Mayor about this incident seems out of place and odd. It's a fire, it's a pain in the butt for everyone, it's a hazard, but....nobody thinks Hyman himself set the fire. (Do they?) Why are they so pissed off at him?
Bernie:
In response to Robert Trotner's remarks you should know that he has always held the longest and sharpest knife to stick in me, never hesitating to deal in lies and mistruths. Using today's post as an example, Candida Affa called me yesterday to apologize saying that the number she had was "wrong" when she tried to call me late one night....he has no knowledge as to whether there were witnesses, he simply made that up. As far as my "storming out", I was told prior to my statement that only members of City Council were permitted to ask me questions and the public was not. When City Council had no questions for me, I left as I had said all that I could say. There was no "storming".
During the election, I confronted Mr. Trotter and told him that he is entitled to say whatever he wants but, as he portrays himself as a religious man, he should tell the truth. He assured me that going forward he would and I suggested that if he was ever unsure as to the truth, he was always welcome to call me. He never has.
Just yesterday, he suggested that I fabricated the bid for demolition and/or post dated it. A horrible and baseless accusation. He also had some convoluted logic about how the check I presented to City Council for $217,000 was not really a check because I wanted a release from any potential liens or litigation. The first day that this whole nightmare started for me he published a full red screen which read "Nat Hyman to Taxpayers: Give me Your Money!" without knowing any facts related to the matter. Those are just a few of the dozens of lies he has aid about me.
I have repeatedly tried to contact Mr. Trotter to determine why he has the need to wholesale make things up about me and perpetually be on the attack...even contacting his synagogue and stopping by what I thought was his house at 18th & Pennsylvania streets. Of course, like most cyber bullies, he never had the courage to respond to any of my overtures. If he decides to be a man and speak to me personally, he can always reach me at my office (610-433-4114) or e-mail me (Nat@Hymangroup.com). But I won't hold my breath.
And, oh by the way, there were 5 members of City Council who have my personal cell phone number, as does Ray, and I have been emailing with 5 City officials over the last 6 weeks (including the acting Solicitor) about another issue. At the bottom of each e-mail is my contact information. And my office number is posted outside of every one of my buildings on the "For Rent" sign. Suffice it to say, if they wanted me, I wasn't hard to find.
Nat Hyman
Bernie O'Hare said:
"I was astonished to read that one of the reasons they opted for a $1.25 million contract is they have no desire to be bothered by change orders. That's why they are there."
You're right of course - that's why they're there. Or at least why they should be there.
If they don't want that responsibility, you have to ask why.
Is it because they won't do anything if outrageous change orders are received (see Cedar Beach stories)?
Is it because they don't want the overpayments to be made public (see Cedar Beach stories, again)?
Is it because they have faith in the Mayor's/Administration's ability to properly handle the issue? I mean, what could go wrong with that approach (oh yeah, see the Pawlowski stories)?
Is it because they hope the overcharges will be passed along to the property owner, and are too incompetent to realize that the city could be stuck paying a massive bill?
Is it because they know the contract will go cronies of those in City Hall, and they're fine with that arrangement even if the taxpayers end up paying (again, see Pawlowski stories)?
The answer is to halt the work (if legally possible). Pay the current contractor for what was already done and let Hyman finish the job.
Can't imagine the entire project should cost my the $400K.
I think what happened here was city officials panicked after the fire department claimed they couldn't go back in to finish and all the fears of collapse on to the streets below.
And to Robert Trotner and others who are trying to spread this fake phone call issue, I would say it's irrelevant.
Nat Hyman isn't hiding out in the Bat Cave somewhere. He lives and has his offices in Allentown, and I'm certain that City Hall has the addresses for both.
If anyone in City Hall truly wanted to get in touch with Hyman and somehow couldn't do so via the telephone, they could easily have taken the 5-10 minute drive to see him in person.
There is a very big question here for lehighcounty assessments, how in the blue he'll does such a big parcel even in blighted condition have a assessed value of about four times the price of Allentowns smallest shitholes single family dwelling?
Now I know that is a long winded question for some butt the assfuckings are also in the county offices too and don't just stop at that level!
I see the back and forth about contacting Hyman. But in reality, shouldn't Hyman have contacted Council and let them know he has a plan? The building is his responsibility. He should have taken the lead. Yet I have read, that he was "unavailable". Whether he was holed up talking to his attorneys, or readily available is irrelevant to me. The calls were HIS to make.
As for the fees, outrageous, even if the 1.25M is just a max. The taxpayers will take a hit if the cost is more than the quote Hyman had. BUT, Hyman should have taken care of this right away.
Maybe Mr Ringer was taking Santa Claus lessons......he has the white hair
I was about to address Trotner, but Nat beat me to it. So Robert, now that we know Affa is completely full of shit, Will you apologize?
Seeing how Mr. Hyman has been handling himself recently, Allentown got chided. Mr. Hyman would have been an outstanding Mayor. He is accessible and responds promptly. Hopefully, he will run for the position in the future.
Nat - were your bids for the demo for a building that was still currently on fire? Maybe that's why the bid was so high. Also regarding your concern for public safety... let's talk about the Adelaide and how basically EVERY SINGLE window is broken and there is trash everywhere around it.
Bernie - it's funny how quick to turn on Ray you are. You have no loyalty.
I was reporting accurately what Affa said at the meeting. She said she had tried to contact Hyman from the Michael Hanlon's office and there were witnesses.
My recollection of our conversation at Congregation Sons of Israel on Election Day is quite different from yours.
At any rate, I have never had the "long knives" out for him. He may believe that because the first contact I can remember with him was when I was videotaping a Zoning Board hearing in which he was making a presentation. I was videotaping not on his account but because my colleague Lewis and I try to video as many city and county meeting as possible to keep residents informed. But i believe he jumped to the conclusion that I was trying somehow to make him look bad, which was never the case.
When someone runs for office he puts himself and his record in the public eye, and scrutiny is fair game. I obviously supported O'Connell, and there were things in Hyman's past business dealings that were fair game.
I do not have the "long knives" out for him and never have. In this case, my first thought was of the not insignificant number of landlords in the Lehigh Valley who have simply ignored seemingly indefinitely city pleas to reimburse them for similar costs and sometimes never reimburse. I was afraid he would try to do the same. I sincerely believe Mayor O'Connell had the same concern, since Hyman's only asset was the gutted building. My posts were aimed against that scenario. Since Hyman has appeared at an early date, I'm confident things will work out and I'll return to my happy semiretirement from activism.
My.posts are always sharp and pointed, which may lead some to believe I'm invested in my ad hominem attacks. I had no personal animus toward Pawlowski, much less for Hyman, whom I respect tremendously for his business achievements and his commitment to Judaism. I apologize to Hyman for in any way giving him the impression that I have any personal animus toward him.
All the noise aside, it seems that Bob Trotner is cool with wasting $1 million. That is the central issue for taxpayers; not personality disputes. The city rashly voted to pay 5 times the cost for demolition. That's really bad.
government on all levels waste money like their no end to it so Allentown spending 1 million on a 250000 project should surprise nobody but it goes on and on
”Bernie - it's funny how quick to turn on Ray you are. You have no loyalty.”
The chief criticism directed at me is that I am too loyal to those I hold in high regard. And I remain loyal to Ray. But I am also honest. He was needlessly and uncharacteristically antagonistic, and that is the opposite of who he is. He is known for building consensus, not dividing people. I believe the fire, which came so fast on the hellsofthe car bomb crisis, was probably very stressful for him. And guess what? Unlike Fed Ed and some others, Ray wants to hear it when I think he’s out of line. He does not want to be surrounded by yes men or rubber stamps. Drop the Fed Ed mentality.
National Hyman, according to the Morning Call today, said he would have appeared at the meeting where council approved the $1.2 million dollar demolition but was advised by his attorney not to. If he had appeared a week earlier none of this he said-they said about the cost would have been necessary.
Also, Hyman is reported to have agreed with council's decision to have the demolition continue but to himself conduct the cleanup. He hasn't agreed to pay and I anticipate a Hyman lawsuit over the costs.
Nat, not National. Also, my name is Trotner, not Trotter as Hyman spelled it.
"I anticipate a Hyman lawsuit over the costs."
I certainly hope he does. Put me on the jury.
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