Readers Speak Out on Allentown's Downtown

I was recently mesmerized by Mal Gross' "Jack's Five Years." This is just a chapter of Two Mayors and a Lawyer, a book he wrote two decades ago for the Lehigh County Historical Society. It prompted two stories of my own about Allentown and its downtown. The first asked what caused the white flight. Was it simply prejudice against others, or were there other factors? The second, about the downtown, asked if it really is empty at night, and if so, does it really matter?  Readers responded with lots of interesting insights. I want to share some of them. My thanks to you all. 

White Flight? 

Nobody nowadays ever talks about the Allentown “Spur Route” and the damage it did to the corridor from the city’s north border to Hamilton Street between Front and Race streets. Allentown wanted to copy Bethlehem’s Rte. 378, with limited access interchanges, from Rte. 22 to approx. 3rd and Hamilton. My grandfather procured a map of the proposed project, living near 2nd & Linden. The idea began sometime in the late 60’s, and was floated, opposed, revised, in multiple iterations, for decades. It became American Parkway, which was built in stages for about a generation. For those not rooted in Allentown or especially the 1st & 6th Wards, the Spur Route devastated that part of the city. All the grandiose pontifications of the planners, the waffling and indecision, and the fear of possible eminent domain drove lots of good, solid families out, seriously depressed property values (who wants to buy a home near an upcoming highway construction project, let alone have it possibly torn down, because the final layout was in flux?), and resulted in newer residents taking up the cheap housing, without the income or possibly even the awareness of what their new home could be destined for. Maybe Mr Molovinsky could elaborate about what the neighborhood was like before, during, and after Spur Route, There were professionals like doctors and lawyers in what my family called Victorian mansions near Hamilton Street. They were among the first cleared for redevelopment. Years went by until they were traded for donut shops, nightclubs, and nail salons. Is it racist to want to flee before a bulldozer comes to your door with a writ (not a lawyer, but setting condensed image of property surrender for delusional development).

I have lived all my life in the Valley and bought a house in Allentown over 20 years ago. From my own point of view one of the largest factors for the influx of Spanish speaking people was due to the construction of I-78. Those with jobs or relatives in New York or Jersey now had a relatively quick travel corridor to cheaper housing.

I'm a life long Democrat but the Allentown Democrats, like Pawlowski, seemed to encourage this new influx realizing many were poorer and Democratic voters. Once the strong foothold of voters was achieved the realization that the city was crumbling under the overcrowding of schools and crime it seems the next step was the gentrification.

Not all white people, such as myself, fled...but I would not recommend moving to Allentown if you are white where you may likely be treated as a second class citizen as I have. I unfortunately discovered this when getting in a minor dispute with my new Dominican neighbor which then resulted in a massive amount of false reports to police. When asked to come down town to speak to a detective about one of the more serious false allegations I asked him if I could show him my video from my security cameras which proved my innocence. I was told there was no need because as from his interviews with my accusers and their constantly changing stories he knew the accusations were false. So what does this have to do with white flight? It was the continuing conversation with the officer, being told he was being pressured by those above him to "find something" on me even after investigating numerous false allegations. I was told their was "a group" putting pressure on his supervisors to come after me. Seeing my confusion he went on to describe how this "group" surrounds you and pushes you out of your neighborhood. You may think that I am/was being paranoid but his explanation did seem to explain why after constant false charges up, to and including endangering my family with police actions, no charges of false reports were ever given.

I will not flee because I am an obstinate SOB who does not like to be pushed around, but I would not recommend moving here to anyone, especially if you are white.

Empty Downtown?

1) Downtown Allentown is largely empty at night, more so on non-event nights.

2) The residential-retail mix isn't going to bring Downtown Allentown back to its glory days.

You need a large amount of people coming from the suburbs to something other than single-venue events. You can't focus on just Hamilton Street or the area around the arena. People coming to the city know what they see as they travel in. The whole city needs to change.

If I had to cite the three main problems that is preventing both downtown Allentown and Allentown as a whole from prospering (with solutions), I'd say they are:

1) Parking. Parking is difficult for city residents and it's even more difficult for those coming from out of town. Yes, there are parking garages throughout the downtown, but they are not always convenient to where people want to go and (as many have noted) they are not the most pleasant experience as far as safety or cleanliness. Allentown City Hall makes plans as if downtown Allentown is Manhattan Island, and not for the reality that one can drive 10 minutes in any direction and find a restaurant outside of the city with free parking at the establishment they want to go to. City Hall needs to wake up.

Solution: Instead of expanding Parking Authority hours to be 24/7 harassment of residents and visitors, cut their hours back and have them ticket for only the most egregious offenses. In addition, use CDBG money to buy up and tear down interior residential blocks. If you ever walked in some of Allentown's neighborhoods, you'd find homes that are built not just on the numbered blocks or half blocks, but also on the alleys in between. They need to go. It's too many people, and too many cars.

2) Too many apartments, too many conversions, and TOO MUCH "affordable housing". Both the conversion of single family homes to multi-family rentals and the unending approval of apartments has led to too many lower-income people (of all races). It's not a sustainable balance for the city and it's increasing density, straining parking and killing the school district.

Solution: Stop approving new apartment complexes. Provide financial incentives to home-buyers to de-convert housing back to single family homes, and facade grants to homeowners wanting to improve the appearance of their property. Stop funding the non-profits that are bringing more low-income residents to the city. You get what you fund. Take MASSIVE action on this area.

3) Too little focus on police and quality of life issues.

Solution: If you start implementing the policies that are identified in #2, the safety and quality of life issues start to turn around. Still, the city needs more police officers and it needs them to be actively targeting problem areas of the city. The police need to be visible throughout the city, so that people from out-of-town know they are safe.

In addition, litter, noise complaints, unkept properties, and loose animals need to be addressed quickly by the appropriate departments of the city. Get those employees out of their offices and into the neighborhoods to address those issues proactively instead of waiting for complaints.

Would all of that make a big difference in the downtown and the rest of the city? Of course.

Will any of that be implemented by the city's current elected officials, who seem to be more focused on implementing the same policies that are failing cities across the country? Of course NOT.

usually, results have no bearing on City Hall policy. As long as city residents keep voting for the same low-IQ politicians, they will keep getting the same low-IQ policies.

Joe Holko said...

I grew up in the 60s and 70s when downtown Allentown was in its heyday. Hamilton Street was filled with stores, including Hess’s, Zollinger-Harned, Leh’s, numerous shoe stores, like Farr’s, Wetherhold and Metzger, jewelry stores like Apels, a furrier, a wedding gown shop, a sporting good store, where you could buy tickets to a Phillies game, and even a store that sold nuts. Hess’s restaurant was a big draw, as well as its Christmas windows filled with unique toys. As I recall, there were multiple parades each year in downtown Allentown, which brought in the crowds looking for cheap family entertainment. There were also restaurants including the A&B luncheonette, Sal’s Spaghetti House, the counter at Hess’s which was sometimes two deep at lunchtime with people buying a slice of pizza or a hot dog. Moreover, there were multiple banks downtown, and 2 movie theaters. There was the Hilton hotel, the Bayleaf restaurant and Park’s Mens Shop too. There were pizza parlors and Solomon’s clock store. Of course, there was PP & L, law firms, and other businesses downtown. With the advent of malls, online shopping, banks in the suburbs, restaurants throughout the Lehigh Valley and the development of safe, and clean downtown Bethlehem and Easton with their unique vibes it’s no wonder that Allentown‘s purported renaissance has not taken off. I used to work at 740 Hamilton Mall during the 80s and 90s, attended the happy hours at the Hilton and the Good Spirit restaurant. I had occasion to visit the Livingston club for lunch and its snapper soup. At the corner of 8th & Hamilton, Isaac‘s Sandwich restaurant was also a lunchtime draw. Sometime in the mid 90s, law firms and other businesses moved to the suburbs. The stores closed down, shoe and jewelry stores moved out, and restaurants like Isaacs could no longer make it on just the lunch crowd. Hess’s became the Bon Ton, then closed and then rained and replaced with a new glass building at $26 a square foot for office space. Sals closed, the A&B luncheonette closed. Kenny’s and the 7th Street Deli closed. Buildings were in decay. One-way traffic, reduced the traffic visiting the downtown. At one point, even the sidewalks on Hamilton mall were unusually slippery when wet. Now, there seems to be a police presence downtown throughout the day. There’s an X-rated video shop, an Allentown police station, and even though the new buildings provide first class office space at $12 a square foot, there does not seem to be folks staying downtown after hours. Oh, the Post Office closed. I’ve been downtown on weekends and have found the restaurants uncrowded. If it wasn’t for a good friend, who works downtown who suggest going out to eat there, I would go to the restaurants at the Promenade shops, the West End, and restaurants in Bethlehem and Easton. Traveling 10 miles to Bethlehem or 20 miles to Easton is preferred to going downtown. Employees working remotely will be the death knell. Sadly, no matter how hard JB tries, I don’t think downtown Allentown will ever come back. Just saying.

Sometimes, we unknowingly fall victim to our own prejudices. Perhaps we view Allentown through our white, suburban skins and fail to see its vibrant, Hispanic population and the thriving business community which serves it. Yeah, people flee the PPL center after an event obviously unable to interpret the Spanish Language offerings in the windows of many businesses.

Bethlehem has a strong student population on its south side and it supports a vibrant economic community. Sorry, I don’t frequent bars that serve students. I avoid the noise and the patrons unable to hold their own.

And, Easton is not the result of gentrification. That is, if you define gentrification as a process of eliminating or displacement of poor in favor of rich. Nothing has really changed housing trends in fifty years. The rich and poor are still here. Recent construction has been aimed at a wealthier tenant but lacking displacement of any poor. The only displacement occurred years ago when blocks of the downtown were leveled for vacant lots that have only found a purpose sixty years later. The displaced have died. A town cannot survive on bars serving a supposedly wealthier class. Parking is a nightmare and there are reasons to believe that many retail operations are troubled. The rental housing boom in downtown Easton is new and not proven to be successful. Until the housing boom most downtown rentals were walk ups located above retail stores. The rentals were unattractive and appealed and still appeal to low incomes. Real gentrification may take place in the West Wards if people purchase rentals, deconvert, and establish single family houses. West Ward still has a high in excess of fifty percent turnover rate. Cannot build a town on disappearing residents.

The Banker

In my experience it is a desert on non-event nights (whether that’s a weeknight or weekend), and even on event nights people drive in, go to the hockey game or concert, and get in their cars and leave. They don’t stay andd go out to eat or for a drink. Same with the Ironpigs - as fun as they are, people don’t stay in Allentown after a game.

And it’s even worse with work/home hitting how many office workers are in downtown Allentown at any given time. A healthy community, whether it’s Allentown or Bethlehem or Nazareth, needs a vibrant downtown corridor to thrive. The combination of limited numbers of people day and night means restaurants can’t survive, stores won’t open, people from the surrounding neighborhood aren’t getting jobs, and tax revenue isn’t being generated to sustain the area. The result is, among other things, you get Allentown screwing the County on the Coca-Cola Park improvements - they continue to have their hand out because they’re not getting what they thought they would out of downtown.

So yep it’s a problem, and will get worse over time.

michael molovinsky said...

Bernie, you write...

" If streets are empty at night, it could be because residents are at home, like most of us. "

Young professionals don't move into center city, suffer the inconvenience of parking decks, to intentionally stay in at night. Beyond any discussion of the enabling legislation, there is something very wrong, and I submit intentionally misleading, about what we're told and what we read about Reilly City Center Real Estate, aka center city Allentown.

Unfortunately, I apparently have the monopoly, even in the blogosphere, on broaching this topic.