Save Allentown State Hospital Movement Picking Up Steam

On online petition urging public officials to preserve Allentown State Hospital is gaining momentum. There are now over 5,600 signatures.

Here are some of the comments:

"This is more than a building. It has been part of the East Side of Allentown for decades. Too much of the city has been sacrificed for new developments. Restore and reuse. Keep the buildings from the past. Too many of us have memories, good and bad, and we would like to keep it as part of our history."

"I am signing this petition to prevent the demolition of the Allentown State Hospital. It is a beautiful building and can easily be use for another purpose. I would think it would cost less than $15MM to renovate it rather than knock it down."

"Embrace, don't erase your history!!!!"

"I believe in adaptive reuse of historic architecture. Communities are revitalized when there is new life given to these beautiful buildings. The detail and craftsmanship of these buildings brings such character to a neighborhood. It is criminal to tear them down with no regard to history."

"There are many amazing ways to save this impressive structure other than tearing it down. It would be an absolute shame to lose a historic campus like this, and would be disgusting of the city officials to let this happen. Look to the many successful rehabilitations at places like Buffalo State Hospital, Traverse City Hospital, etc. as there are viable and beneficial alternatives that would bring economic development and opportunity to the city. Shame on Allentown for proposing this idea."

"I am frustrated...as an architect, to lose such an important piece of architecture here in the Valley is a tragic loss. I get that old building have high costs associated with them - but perhaps a piece of this complex could be saved...the main building? And the rest of the site developed in a way that respects what was here before. It’s not impossible - just takes a visionary developer, which are sometimes hard to find...but to take the entire complex down would be a mistake when someone can find value in what’s already there..."

ASH Demo Advances in State Senate

Mike Schlossberg

He's moving fast. On Monday, State Senator Pat Browne introduced legislation that repeals one bad idea but substitutes another. Just two days later, his bill has sailed through the State Government Committee with a 10-0 vote. This has all the makings of yet another bipartisan blunder from the land of midnight payraises.

I speak, of course, of the state's sudden rush to bulldoze the buildings on the Allentown State Hospital campus. Never mind that this will cost taxpayers $15 million. Pay no attention to the state's own Historic Preservation Office, which suggested a combination of "adaptive reuse and redevelopment. Listen instead to Mike "Darth Voter" Schlossberg. He has no understanding of real estate but thinks demolition "will allow for somebody to basically have a blank slate."

OK, Mike, the bulldozers are on their way to your house so you can have a blank slate.

The one place a blank slate is really needed is in the State General Assembly.

Here are my issues with this bill:

Demolition Must Take Place Before Proposals Sought

Idiotically, the bill requires that demolition occur before proposals are even sought. Morning Call columnist Paul Mushick had written incorrectly that proposals would be sought with the buildings intact. He has corrected himself, but to remove any doubt, here's the precise language from the bill:

"Condition precedent to property disposition.--Prior to the competitive solicitation process under subsection (a) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of General Services is authorized and directed to demolish all buildings and structures located on the property, with the exception of a Commonwealth-owned air monitoring station ... ."

From a fiscal viewpoint, this makes no sense. Why do you spend $15 million to make $2 million? The only person who benefits is the buyer.

This is why I think the Bill should be renamed the "Fuck You Nat Hyman" Law. Browne wants to ensure that his own constituent and the only developer in Allentown other than J.B. Reilly, is screwed. That'll fix Hyman for suing and opening his mouth. How dare he exercise his First Amendment rights! Browne and Schlossberg will spend $15 million of your money to stick it to Nat Hyman.

Couldn't they think of better things to do with $15 million of your money?

A Committee With No Real Estate Knowledge

The second flaw in the Fuck You Nat Hyman Law is that it appoints Browne, Schlossberg and one of Allentown's rocket scientists to a committee to evaluate these proposals. This is complete bullshit. Neither Browne nor Schlossberg know a thing about real estate. They've already established their acumen by supporting the sale of the property to a Doylestown tax cheat with absolutely no public input. What changes now?  The way the bill is drafted, he can still submit a proposal.

My guess is they will still try to sell the property to the Doylestown Deadbeat unless Jenn Mann can come up with another client who smells a little less.

After all, this has nothing to do with the best interests of the public.This is all about lining pockets. Legally, of course.

If these jokers were truly interested in local input, they would never have agreed to sell the property to someone from Doylestown. 

Forget About Zoning 

A third flaw in the Fuck You Nat Hyman Law is that zoning, planning and other local laws to protect us are suspended during demolition. They may be suspended for the proposals, too, but that's unclear.

I support the notion of seeking proposals. Making demolition a condition precedent destroys the possibility of some creative suggestions.The Committee evaluating these proposals is made up of connected insiders who have already demonstrated they know nothing about real estate and have no regard for the public.

My guess is that Schlossberg and Browne have no interest in being re-elected.

Browne and Schlossberg Still Want to Bulldoze ASH

Although Allentown businessman Nat Hyman's lawsuit against the state has stopped the demolition of Allentown State Hospital buildings, his victory may be short-lived. As reported by WFMZ-TV69, State Senator Pat Browne has proposed a bill (SB701) directing the Department of General Services to bulldoze buildings that the state itself has determined "may be viable for rehabilitation and reuse." After everything is razed, and at a projected $15 million cost to taxpayers, a special committee will sell the property after evaluating proposals. This committee will be made up of Browne, State Rep. Mike "Darth Voter" Schlossberg, someone designated by Allentown and General Services. The previous law selling the property to David Ali will be repealed, although nothing would prevent him from submitting a proposal.

Schlossberg amazingly justifies this waste of $15 million, arguing this "will allow for somebody to basically have a blank slate."

Like his brain.

Proposals should be sought for the 200-acre complex. That's how this should have been handled from the onset. But if Browne and Schlossberg were sincere, they would want separate proposals for both a "blank slate" and with the buildings intact. Demolishing everything at a cost of $15 million so you can sell it for $2 million makes no fiscal sense except to the ultimate developer.

This bill effectively prevents anyone who wants to save the existing buildings from submitting a proposal. Instead of being called SB 701, it should be entitled what it really is - "Fuck you, Nat Hyman."

At Norristown State Hospital, which still operates, the Department of General Services conducted a feasibility study on possible new uses for a portion of the campus not in use. Instead of a committee made up of political hacks, it hired a professional land planner to determine the best use of the property, which was determined to be a senior living center. This determination was made after public meetings and stakeholder engagement sessions.

Browne and Schlossberg are both ignoring the public they ostensibly serve. They have also deviated from what General Services did at Norristown. Why?

I suspect they have someone in mind. And it's not Hyman. Or the public.

State Drops Plans To Demolish or Sell Allentown State Hospital, at Least for Now

Nat Hyman

Pennsylvania's Department of General Services has dropped plans to demolish Allentown State or sell it anytime soon. That's according to court documents filed yesterday in Allentown businessman Nat Hyman's lawsuit against the state.

In what is known as a "Stipulation," the Department of General Services represents "they are not moving forward at the present time with a sale of Allentown State Hospital or demolition of the buildings located at the Allentown State Hospital." The state has also agreed to give Hyman at least 30 days advance notice before sale to a third party or any contract for demolition. It has even agreed to advise Hyman if it even seeks proposals for demolition.

In exchange for these concessions, Hyman has agreed to drop his request for a preliminary injunction, at least for now. He can renew it if the state decides to rip these buildings down.

The parties have finally agreed to put the litigation on hold.

With this lawsuit, private citizen Hyman has succeeded where public officials have been a disappointing failure. These officials include Allentown City Council, who had an opportunity to condemn the proposed demolition through a resolution prepared by Ed Zucal. They let it go. They include State Representative Mike Schlossberg, who personally attacked Hyman instead of addressing his concerns about demolition. They also include State Senator Pat Browne, who took forever and a day before finally responding to his own constituent.

These public officials wanted to spend $15 million to tear down the buildings at the hospital and then sell to a wheeler-dealer from Doylestown named David Ali for $2.57 million. In addition to being someone who has no clue about the Lehigh Valley, Ali is a tax deadbeat who has racked up eight judgments in Bucks County, including tax liens to the state and IRS. But the same people who brought you ghost voting and Fed Ed were perfectly wiling to give Ali three years to arrange financing.

At best, this is incompetence. At worst, it is corruption. This deal had Jenn Mann's fingerprints all over it. She's a State Representative who became a lobbyist and realtor. She has been using her public connections to swing deals like this. That's why Allentown School Director Charlie Thiel wanted his fellow Directors to buy some of the land there for a school. Instead of representing the public good, these politicos serve the private agendas of others.

Of course, Hyman wants to buy this property himself. He knows that filing this suit pretty much ruined that possibility. But his suit has served the greater good by exposing several problems: 1) Should a government ever sell a property to a third party without first seeking proposals? 2) Should there be more restrictions on former public officials who attempt to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayer? 3) Will state legislators like Schlossberg and Browne ever realize that they were elected by the people and not business interests?

Hyman is represented by Attorney Suzanne Ilene Schiller of the Bala Cynwyd law firm of MANKO, GOLD, KATCHER and FOX, LLP. Yhe Department of General Services is represented by Attorneys Harry Robert Walter and David Lee Narkiewicz

The stipulation is below.

Pa Drops Plans to Demo Allentown State Hospital by BernieOHare on Scribd

Court Fast Tracks Hyman Lawsuit

Nat Hyman's desire to stop the demolition of Allentown State Hospital has been ignored by state and city officials. But his lawsuit seeking an injunction against the razing of any buildings on the 200-acre campus has the Commonwealth Court's full attention. 

On Wednesday, Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer ordered the state's General Services Administration to answer the motion for an injunction by May 9. In addition, she scheduled a hearing for May 21.  

Since that is election day, I suspect a continuance will be sought. 

I expect the state will argue Hyman lacks standing. 

Hyman Sues To Halt Allentown State Hospital Demolition

On Monday, Allentown entrepreneur and real estate developer Nat Hyman filed a lawsuit to prevent Pennsylvania from demolishing the buildings on the Allentown State Hospital campus. Filed in Commonwealth Court by Attorney Suzanne Ilene Schiller of the Bala Cynwyd law firm of MANKO, GOLD, KATCHER and FOX, LLP, the litigation is an attempt to halt the latest folly coming from  a cabal of state and local officials who seem to be more interested in enriching a Doylestown tax deadbeat than in doing what is in the best interests of the community.

Background

As we all know, state officials who know better than the rest of us decided some years ago to close down the state hospitals. Residents there would do better in community mental health programs, they said..You've seen the results  Some severely mentally ill people are on the streets, including me. Instead of being treated in a hospital, they've been flooding our jails, too. In Northampton County, 72% of the jail population is mentally ill. Twenty-three percent suffer from serious mental illness, with acute symptoms.

In the meantime, Allentown State Hosptal's 200-acre campus sat dormant while state officials considered how they could top the initial blunder of closing it down. They came up with a scheme so monumentally stupid that you have to wonder whose pocket is getting greased.

Get this. Our leaders in Harrisburg plan to spend $15 million to tear down the buildings so it can be sold to a wheeler-dealer from Doylestown named David Ali.  It gets better. In addition to being someone who has no clue about the Lehigh Valley, Ali is a tax deadbeat who has racked up eight judgments in Bucks County, including tax liens to the state and IRS. It gets even better. The state is giving him three years to arrange financing.

Why such a sweetheart deal?

Two words. Jenn Mann. The former state lawmaker turned lobbyist is running interference for Ali. She has current state lawmakers Mike Schlossberg and Pat Browne waving the pompoms. She has quietly been pushing officials at Allentown School district to buy some of the land from Ali for an unneeded school. She is also pushing to give Ali a tax break, not that he pays them.

Of course, this is corruption. It's a little more smooth than what we saw with disgraced Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski, but it is still corruption. In fact, it's worse. For all his flaws, Fed Ed at least thought he was doing what was in the best interests of Allentown. No one can say that about this scheme.

Nat Hyman, who is local and has no tax liens, was also interested in buying the property. He sought no tax breaks, either. He wants to preserve the buildings. Officialdom ignored him. So Hyman did the only thing he could do - sue.

The lawsuit

According to the suit, Allentown State Hospital is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and is listed on the Pennsylvania Register of Historic Places. As a result, a state law called The History Code required a consultation with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, which is a part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. In fact, the History Code actually requires the state to consider alternatives to demolition of historic structures. It also mandates the General Services Department to “[i]nstitute procedures and policies to assure that [its] plans, programs, codes, regulations and activities contribute to the preservation and enhancement of all historic resources in this Commonwealth.”

The state has no procedures or policies. It ignored its own laws.

The State Historic Preservation Office did visit the site, and concluded

Per the appraiser’s evaluation, many of the buildings due to
their overall condition and general maintenance that they
have received, are in average condition, and may be viable
for rehabilitation and reuse. Even those buildings that had
not been included in the overall usable square footage may
have potential rehabilitation potential. A practical plan for
redevelopment of the campus should balance historic
preservation and economic development.

It added that “[t]he demolition of the hospital complex will adversely affect the property as it will no longer be able to convey its historic and architectural significance.”

In addition to ignoring The History Code, the suit alleges that the state has even failed to follow the law authorizing this conveyance. In December 2017, the state legislature blessed a conveyance to Ali's company, TCA properties. It specifically authorized a conveyance that included the buildings and structures on the campus.No law authorized any demolition.

Hyman seeks an injunction that will halt demolition and preserve the status quo.

Allentown State Hospital, which opened in 1912, was designed to be in a block plan with several buildings connected by corridors and originally included administration buildings, patient ward buildings, a dining room and auditorium, two chapels, a dietary kitchen, a boiler and an electric plant. It includes historically and architecturally significant building details, such as marble floors and columns, stained glass, stately wood trim and wood doors, and a spiral staircase with brass railing and marble steps.It was closed in 2010.

Most recently, it was the location of a movie.

State Agency Determines ASH Buildings Are Fine

In the cRaZy world of state government, one hand often has no idea what the other is doing. So while the State Department of General Services wants to tear down Allentown State Hospital at a cost of $15 million so it can sell it for $2.5 million. Makes sense, right? But get this. At the same time, another state agency says it should be kept.

And people wonder why I'm nuts.

The Pa. Historical and Museum Comm'n is the "the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." It has an "An Official Pennsylvania Government Website" and everything. In other words, it's part of the government. And while the Department of General Services, along with a gaggle of local state legislators, are hell bent on wasting your money to tearing down the state hospital, this official state agency thinks it's just fine.

Just like Allentown developer Nat Hyman said.

He's an architect, you know.

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (“SHPO”) is a bureau within the Pa. Historical and Museum Comm'n. It looked at the grounds last year. It concluded that the Hospital retains its integrity and should still be considered eligible for listing in the National Register.

In a letter to General Services dated letter dated March 12, 2018, SHPO declared that “due to the overall condition and general maintenance” of the Hospital buildings, the Hospital “may be viable for rehabilitation and reuse.” In fact, SHPO determined that a real estate market analysis may conclude that the highest and best use of the Hospital would “support a combination of adaptive reuse and redevelopment.”

Hello.

But other vested interests want you to waste millions in taxpayer dollars to demolish perfectly good buildings and sell it to a tax cheat.

Makes sense to me.

Something smells.

Online Petition To Save Allentown State Hospital.

An online petition opposing the demolition of Allentown State Hospital has garnered 3,100 signatures thus far. When the state decided to close the hospital, it was insane. Now it is going to spend $15 million to demolish the buildings so it can sell the property to a tax cheat for $2.57 million. It has brushed aside the biggest and most "serious" developer in Allentown, next to JB Reilly. 

By the by, I'll have more about Jenn Mann soon.   

Allentown State Hospital Tract Being Sold to Tax Cheat

Let's say that you wanted to buy property from someone. You're willing to pay $2.57 million. Let's say the Seller is amenable but tells you it must first spend $15 million to knock down all the buildings located there. What's more, the Seller is going to give you three years to get a few investors to join you. During that time, it is spending $2.2 million a year to maintain the buildings it wants to knock down. You'd say that Seller is nuts and belongs in a state hospital. That Seller, unfortunately, is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The property in question is the Allentown State Hospital, which is where our glorious legislators belong. Without question, its deal to sell the 200-acre campus for $2.2 million to a private party is fiscally irresponsible. It's actually borderline lunacy until you learn who's involved.  Then it really begins to smell.

In their infinite wisdom, state officials decided some years ago to close down the state hospitals. The argument was that residents there would do better in community mental health programs. But that's bullshit. Funding for community mental health has been cut. The result is that some severely mentally ill people are on the streets. They have been flooding our jails, too. In Northampton County, 72% of the jail population is mentally ill. Twenty-three percent suffer from serious mental illness, with acute symptoms.

After this monumental error, state officials had to decide what to do with what had become a ghost town. Allentown Mayor Edwin "Fed Ed" Pawlowski wanted it, and told state officials that he would seek requests for proposals from developers, entrepreneurs and nonprofits. You know, the same people that lined his campaign coffers. Fortunately, at that time, it was known that he was under federal investigation  for political corruption.

So the state began negotiations for a direct conveyance. No requests for proposals. No advertising the property. Nope, someone from Doylestown mysteriously appeared and is negotiating to buy the property. A direct conveyance to an outfit called TCA Properties was unanimously approved in the land of midnight payraises in 2017. There's a three-year period until the sale actually occurs.

Like fish, any deal that lasts that long begins to stink.

How did the state line up TCA Properties, who State Representative Mike Schlossberg referred to as a "serious developer." What makes him a "serious developer" is the fact that he is represented by former State Rep. Jennifer Mann, now a lobbyist and a wheeler-dealer with a real estate license.

Though Mann is a registered lobbyist, she has failed to list her work on behalf of TCA. How did TCA get lined up with the state?  Mann is currently lobbying to get a special tax break for TCA from the county, Allentown and the school board. State law fails to compel lobbyists to register for dealings with local government.

We all know how that worked out for Mike Fleck.

Mann is not doing this for Allentown. She is doing it for herself and a very nice commission (as a realtor) on the sale.

Now let's take a closer look at this "serious developer," shall we? The principal of TCA Properties is David Ali, who operates both TCA Properties and another one-man outfit called Impala Builders. He runs both businesses out of his house in Doylestown.

Bucks County records show the following liens against this "serious developer":
  
2018-73860. Pa Dept of Revenue v. David J Ali and Maria L, filed 8/8/18 for $10,107.77
2011-74202. Pa Dept of Revenue v. David J Ali and Maria L, filed 11/30/11, for $5,710.83
2008-72320. Pa Dept of Revenue v. David Ali, filed 7/29/08, for $6,721.37
2007-70914. Pa Dept of Revenue v. David J Ali and Maria L, filed 4/9/07, for $$6,049.49
2010-21825. IRS v. David J Ali & Maria L, filed 10/4/10, for $4,789.88
2004-04444. EARTHSTAR BANK v. David J Ali & Maria L, foreclosure complaint filed 7/8/2004. Terminated 10/12/06.
2005-20094. IRS v. David J Ali, filed 2/8/05 for $ $87,270.01.
2011-07439. AMERICAN FAST FREIGHT INC v. IMPALA BUILDERS LLC, filed 8/18/11, for $8820.14.

This is a "serious developer"?

State Senator Pat Browne campaigned against opponent Mark Pinsley, listing nonexistent liens. These liens are very real. No government, state or local, should do business with someone who collects tax liens like candy.

In case you're wondering whether anyone aside from me has noticed that TCA is far from the "serious developer" that State Rep. Mike Schlossberg pretends it is, let's look at what The Morning Call itself said about TCA and David Ali back in 2017:

Ali’s companies, TCA and Impala, also are named in a March 10, 2015, report by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. The report raises questions about how Ali’s companies handled the purchase and sale of property in Fayetteville, N.C.. The property was owned by the family of a Veterans Affairs employee, leading to the finding that she had “an appearance of conflict of interest” by participating in the evaluation and sale of land used as a VA health care facility, according to the report.

This is a "serious developer"?

Sign me up. I can make deals from my estate atop the Nazareth Army Navy store, sitting in my underwear.

Over the weekend, Nat Hyman contacted the very state legislators who want to sell this property to a tax deadbeat. His interest was reported in a Morning Call story that originally was very positive. Then reporter Emily Opilo got State Rep. Mike Schlossberg to trash Hyman, which seems to be a hobby for local Allentown officials. His remarks were so vitriolic that the newspaper decided to tone it down and remove some of them.

I guess it can only handle one libel suit at a time.

Why are Schlossberg and even Browne so willing to trash Hyman? Simple. Jenn Mann represents TCA, not Hyman.

Just a few days ago, Schlossberg sent a missive to The Parkland Press, saying "In a perfect world, the Allentown State Hospital buildings would be preserved and re-purposed to create jobs and grow our economy, but we have to face the facts."

Now he has a "responsible developer" who wants to preserve the buildings and create jobs. He is seeking no TIF. But he lacks a connection to Jenn Mann.

Nat Hyman is no Ghandi. He's in this to make money. I do not mean to suggest that he should get the sweetheart deal intended for the tax cheat from Doylestown. It is clear that TCA lacks the resources to do the demolition. Instead of wasting more money, the state should seek proposals from interested developers and do what is right for the Lehigh Valley.

Not Jenn Mann or her minions.