Lehigh Valley Ramblings

Where's the NIZ Housing Component?

2012-02-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

Seriously, where the Hell is it?

Lehigh alum Bob Youngentoub has done nearly 40 successful, mixed-owner/tenant redevelopments in the DC area with the Neighboroods of EYA.

EYA buys up public housing projects, tears them down (while also making sure the previous tenants have temporary, safe housing), and rebuilds with much higher density. On the same city block, he combines market-rate housing (the "rich folk"), workforce housing (teachers, cops, firemen, nurses), and subsidized housing together. But, instead of 25 units to the city block (think Marvine-Pembroke), there are now 80 units on a city block. And none of the former tenants of the torn-down "project" is displaced. They return as tenants to the brand-spanking new development. From the outside, there is no architectural distinction (the market-rate units do have upscale amenities like granite countertops that the workforce and subsidized units do not - but the build quality is the same), and within the same townhouse development there is everything from upscale units occupied by doctors and lawyers to mid-scale units to subsidized units. The market-rate units are sold, not rented. The workforce units are also owner-occupied, but have assisted financing (and the municipality gets first dibs if the unit is sold).

Why didn't the NIZers go for something like that? Oh, I could say why, but then I'd have to call them a bad word.

Bethlehem Township Community Center Getting in Shape

2012-02-21T00:00:00.002-05:00

Bethlehem Township's Community Center, first built in 2006 along Farmersville Road, is perhaps the best in the entire Lehigh Valley. A 50,000 sq. ft. multi-use facility, it includes 2 full indoor basketball courts, an indoor walking track, inside and outside pools and separate cardio and weight rooms. Surrounding grounds include trails connecting to the Township's vast park system, as well as baseball diamonds and the Bulldogs' football field. But it needs to get in shape.

Commissioners, at their February 20 meeting, unanimously approved a $36,000 invoice for new equipment already included in this year's budget. Community Center Director Floyd Shaffer has ordered five new elliptical machines, three recumbent bikes and eight spin bikes to include in his current inventory of eight spinning bikes. Later this year, he'll also have a rowing machine in response to member requests, leaving them with no excuse for being out of shape.

In addition to the equipment, Commissioners also unanimously authorized Manager Howard Kutzler to issue a Request for Proposals for architectural and engineering services at the facility. On numerous occasions in the past, Commissioner Michael Hudak has complained about roof and wall leaks, as well as problems with the HVAC. President Paul Weiss cautioned that those wishing to make proposals, which must be kept under $33,000, will be required to participate in a mandatory pre-proposal conference at the Community Center.

In other news, Commissioners unanimously authorized a professional services contract with T&M Associates for architectural services at Housenick Park. No money is being paid, explained President Paul Weiss. "We have not authorized any money for anything," he warned.

Fifty-five acres off of Christian Springs Road near Route 191, including a three-story mansion, were devised to the Township as a park by the late Janet Housenick. It adjoins another thirty-six acres of wetlands along Monocacy Creek, which Housenick conveyed to Northampton County before her death.

Housenick also set aside $2 million, in trust, for park maintenance. Township resident Tim Brady, one of Housenick's three trustees, told Commissioners he is "very interested in seeing this project move forward." While pointing out he is "only one of three," Brady predicts that any expenditures made by the Township will "most likely be reimbursed."

The other two trustees are Bethlehem Attorney Joseph "Jay" Leeson and Northampton County Judge Stephen Baratta.

Commissioners' next meeting is scheduled for February 5, 7 PM, at the Municipal Building, located at 4225 Easton Avenue.

Zawarski Questions Finances at Volunteer Fire Companies

2012-02-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Newly elected Commissioner Martin Zawarski cast an unusual and lone vote against the Township's Bill agenda at the February 20 Commissioners' meeting. Afterwards, Zawarski noted discrepancies in bills for the same services from the Township's two fire companies, Nancy Run and Bethlehem Twp. Volunteer Fire Co. The electric bill at Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire, for example, is three times higher than Nancy Run, at $1,700. Training costs are six times higher, at $1,800.

"This could be because I don't yet understand what they do," explained Zawarski.

He's not alone.

In November, Commissioners unanimously authorized Lafayette College's Meyner Center, at a cost of approximately $7,000, to perform an efficiency evaluation and cost-benefit analysis of the Township's support of fire services.

Most fire companies operate with two funds.

First, there's a firemen’s relief fund from the state. This money must be used for firefighter safety, and is audited every two years by the state Auditor General.

A second fund, the general fund, includes donations, fundraising receipts and municipal garnts.

Harrisburg's Patriot News recently reported a rash, not of fires, but embezzlement by volunteer fire companies in that area. As a result, many municipalities are talking a closer look at the finances of volunteer fire companies.

Harvard Grad Mackenzie Ready For Reichley Seat

2012-02-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

Despite having four Republican opponents in the quest for Doug Reicheley's state house seat, Lehigh County resident Ryan Mackenzie filed nearly three times the required amount of petition signatures (300) to qualify for the ballot. The 134th Legislative District consists of parts of Lehigh and Berks counties.

In a news release, Mackenzie claims he filed the most out of any of the candidates pursuing the Reichley seat.

Ryan Mackenzie was born in Allentown, raised in South Whitehall Township, and graduated from Parkland High School. An honors graduate of New York University, he received a dual degree in Finance and International Business and later went on to earn his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Professionally, Mackenzie began his career by working on Pat Toomey’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2004. Mackenzie entered public service in 2007 when he accepted a position at the U.S. Department of Labor. In his most recent position, which he held until leaving to campaign full-time for State Representative, Ryan served as the Director of Policy at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

Geeting's Urban Dream: Nightmare on Hamilton Street

2012-02-21T01:33:00.005-05:00

"Earn it here, keep it here."

NYC Blogger Jonathan Geeting, who considers himself an expert on ... well ... everything, has yet another great idea.

Ready?

His "liberal" (so he says) position is that the municipality where you work should be allowed to keep your EIT. That's why Allentown's NIZ tax grab is no biggie. It's an "earn it here, keep it here" approach to EIT, to borrow the phrase of this beacon of light from the Big Apple.

It's very progressive, he claims.

OK, let's have it Geeting's way.

Guess what? LV Hospital Center, the area's biggest employer, happens to be located in Salisbury Township. Under the Geeting grab, Salisbury will keep all EIT on wages at LVHC. A nice little windfall, to be sure.

It gets better. St. Luke's, the Lehigh Valley's second biggest employer, would send all its EIT to Fountain Hill. That tiny borough would never have to worry again about blowing its road salt budget.

And so on down the line. The Guardian Life Insurance Co., T-Mobile, Amazon, Northampton Community College and Lehigh Carbon Community College - all of them top Lehigh Valley employers - are located in the 'burbs.

With all this Geeting dough, Salisbury and other Townships could lower their EIT. They might even be able to eliminate property taxes. This, of course, would attract even more businesses to the 'burbs, right? Voila!

You think their public schools are Taj Mahals now? What kids are left could probably be taken to school by limo.

Of course, most of the townships have lots of available land, just waiting to be be developed. If they got to keep every nickel of the EIT, they'd go after businesses with a passion. They'd also make less land available for residential (since those residents working elsewhere would not be a source of EIT). They'd happily encourage folk to work in their township, but live somewhere else.

Like Allentown.

Geeting would then have his dense, urban centers - full of residents. But they'd be devoid of employers, except for the occasional "delicious " Latino food vendor! He'd also have the townships full of employers, but with fewer residents. Before long, all the jobs would be in the outlying townships; the homes in the cities. Allentown would be a ghost town during the day, except for the occasional drive by shooting.

Oh, and what to do with pensioners? Put 'em all on an iceberg.

There's Geeting's urban dream, reduced to its logical conclusion.

Very "progressive," don't you think?

What Geeting is really saying is you earn it here (in the City), we keep it. You earn it there (the 'burbs), we keep it.

Cunningham Announces Lehigh County Hall of Fame

2012-02-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Every year or so, Morning Call columnist Bill White inducts some poor soul into his Hall of Fame, making that person an object of ridicule and scorn for the rest of his or her life. White even continues to take digs after the "winner" passes into the Great Beyond.

It's a really horrible and mean thing to do to another person.

I wish I had thought of it.

Lehigh County Exec Don Cunningham, in the course of getting ready for Lehigh County's Bicentennial on March 6, has announced an Inaugural Hall of Fame, too. But unfortunately, this is a nice list of twenty four prominent current and former residents of Lehigh County. are attached.

Honorees will be formally inducted at 6:00 p.m. on Community Celebration Day, March 10, an all-day event at the Agri-Plex building located on the grounds of the Allentown Fairgrounds.

The Bicentennial Committee still needs about a dozen volunteers to help coordinate on the day of the community celebration. Anyone interested in helping can go to www.lehighcounty.org and click on the bicentennial logo, or call (610) 782-3001.

In addition to the Hall of Fame induction, the community celebration will feature more than seventy-five community groups, businesses, historical societies and ethnic and cultural groups with interactive, educational and historical displays including a live bison visiting from the Lehigh Valley Zoo Food and drinks will be available on a cash basis. The day will end with a fireworks display and a bicentennial performance by the Allentown Symphony Orchestra at Allentown’s Symphony Hall.

J.B. Reilly will be juggling all day, while Mayor Edwin Pawlowski has volunteered for the dunk tank. Marcel Grown will collect all the trash.

Allentown is imposing a 200% sales tax on all food and beverages sold. City Council will pass a law later making it all legal.

All proceeds that do not go into the NIZ will fund the George Taylor House in Catasauqua, one of only a handful of remaining homes of one of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Below are the Inaugural Hall of Famers:

Lehigh County Hall of Fame Inaugural Class

Athletics

Curt Simmons, baseball Phillies Whiz Kids/World Series Champ Whitehall

Chuck Bednarik, football NFL Hall of Fame Coopersburg

Matt Millen, football NFL Super Bowl Champ 4x Whitehall

Andre Reed, football NFL Super Bowl participant 4x Allentown

Dan Koppen, football NFL Super Bowl Champ 2x Whitehall

Larry Seiple, football NFL Super Bowl Champ 2x Allentown

Ed McCaffrey, football NFL Super Bowl Champ 3x Allentown

Marty Nothstein, cycling Olympic Gold Medalist Emmaus

Michelle Marciniak, bball NCAA National Champ/WNBA Macungie

Arts and Entertainment

Carson Kressley TV Personality Weisenberg

Amanda Seyfried Actress Allentown

Christine Taylor Actress L. Macungie

Michaela Conlin TV Actress, Bones S. Whitehall

Business

Ed Donley Former Air Products & Chemicals CEO U. Macungie

Raymond “Chip” Mason Founder of Legg Mason financial firm Bethlehem

Lee Iacocca Former Chrysler Corp. CEO/Author Allentown

Government and Military

Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays First woman general in US military Allentown

Gen. Thomas R. Morgan Four Star General/Asst. Marine Slatington

Commandant

Innovation and Philanthropy

Joel Spira Founder of Lutron Electronics/ Coopersburg

Inventor of dimmer switch

Literature and Communications

David Zinczenko Editor of Men’s Health/Author Emmaus

John Grogan Author of Marley and Me/Columnist Coopersburg

Charles Bierbauer Network White House correspondent Allentown

Billy Packer Network basketball broadcaster Bethlehem

Rich Lerner Golf Channel broadcaster Allentown

Realtor Denies Lehigh Reassessment Will Favor Higher-Priced Homes

2012-02-22T01:11:00.000-05:00

The Morning Call's latest report about Lehigh County's reassessment predicts that assessments will go up in Coplay, Heidelberg Township, Lynn Township, Alburtis, Catasauqua, Coopersburg, Emmaus and Macungie. Executive Don Cunningham had warned Commissioners that smaller communities with little industrial or commercial tax base would bear the brunt of this storm. His prediction seems to be coming true.

But pro-reassessment advocate Ray Geiger, a South Whitehall Realtor who wrote an op-ed on the topic, is taking the Morning Call (and Cunningham) to task in this email.

Your quote yesterday (and the headline was similar): “The changing landscape favors higher-priced properties over lower-priced ones”.

What is your data source for the above statement?

To the best of my knowledge, the County has only released the chart you offered which shows a geographic/municipal breakdown. Where is a chart that illustrates the trend among higher-priced properties versus lower-priced properties? Just because the smaller Boroughs illustrate increases, does NOT mean that higher-priced properties are favored overall.

The County Administration on January 25th released the following---the existing PRD (price related differential) under the existing assessments is 1.09 and following the reassessment the PRD will be 1.00. I suggest you bone up on statistics and learn that statistic CLEARLY means that lower-priced properties are favored in the reassessment---NOT the FALSEHOOD that your headline screams to agitate the pubic

From this statistical FACT, one may more accurately conjecture, the declines in lower priced properties in the City of Allentown and throughout the County far outweigh the increases in the Boroughs--suggesting that the increases in the Boroughs are due to other factors---i.e. maybe, just maybe they’ve been “underassessed” since 1991?

Do you know anyone that EVER appeals an “underassessment”—and if County officials let things slide for twenty years---why not just keep quiet about an “underassessment”?

When the County releases the entire database—we will know the whole story—but the Administration continues to inflame rather than inform—and the Morning Call is a useful puppet.

He adds tht Cunningham's veto has resulted in "a shorter window for taxpayers to make informal appeals. If not for the veto the notices were expected to go out around February 4th, now they are going out February 23rd, and the deadline on informal appeals is March 16th—reducing the window by two weeks or so---thereby potentially risking more FORMAL appeals that cost more to the County to administer, and potentially clog up the already overburdened court system."

Wouldn't that be a reason to delay reassessment for a year, as Cunningham asked?

My Spirit Animal

2012-02-22T00:29:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a break from the usual politics on this blog. If there was any doubt in your mind about my sanity, I'm about to erase it completely with this question: Do you have a spirit animal?

I do.

Honest! I'm by no means a spiritual or religious person, but there is an animal that really does look out for me. Is it the fierce falcon, who strikes at blinding speeds from above? The lone wolf, whose mere appearance strikes fear?

Nah.

I'm a goose.

Geese and I have lots in common. We're both slobs, bird brains, talk a lot, and weigh more than we should. We also both have among the worst-looking bowel movements in the Animal Kingdom. We both wear out our welcomes pretty quickly. When we finally get going, we're pretty slow. But we both can go forever.

None of these similarities is what makes me a goose. This is where you might want to call the happy wagon. .

I first realized it many years ago, while running in a 4-mile race. I had just passed some guy, but could feel and hear him behind me, hot on my tail, with a half-mile to go. And I was beginning to fade. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a gaggle of geese flew overhead, honking away. For some reason, I dug down and was able to beat this guy, even though he was really the better runner.

Ever since that day, geese often appear when I'm out on a run, especially when I begin to fade. Last week, for example, I was nearing the end of my first 9-mile run in may years, and was really getting tired. I was thinking of stopping and just walking the final half mile, when three geese appeared out of nowhere, and for the first time during my entire run. I forgot all about being tired.

It happens to me all the time.

Naturally, I'd prefer to be an Eagle or a Falcon. Sounds more impressive, although a goose is a step up from buzzard. From what I've read, a spirit or power animal is kinda' like a guardian angel or patron saint, and is supposed to guide you when you're in trouble. So maybe my guardian angel is a frickin' goose.

Or not. Today I run 10 miles.

If you'd like to discover your spirit animal, take this quiz.

Updated 1 PM: Just finished running 10.2 miles in a blinding speed of 2 hours. The first mile is very difficult, straight uphill. I was considering calling it quits and trying again later, and there they were - my spirit animals. Fortunately, none of them shit on me.

Sixteen Questions For Allentown's NIZ Whiz

2012-02-22T13:21:00.001-05:00

David Woglom, who administers the Tax Collection Committees in both Lehigh and Northampton County, has asked Allentown Finance Director Garret Strathearn to answer sixteen very specific questions in advance of the next combined meeting. [W]e need to know what the financial effect will be on our budgets, particularly during these challenging times," Woglom tells Strathearn.

The combined committees will meet again on March 15, 8:30 AM, at Hanover Township Community Center on Jacksonville Road.

You can view Woglom's letter here.

Mike Schlossberg Now Unconstested in State House Race

2012-02-22T22:35:00.000-05:00

Mike's the one on the left

Earlier this week, I told you that Aryeh Spero, a rabbi, was running against Democrat Mike Schlossberg for Jenn Mann's state house seat in Allentown.

Not anymore.

According to The Express Times, Rabbi Spero has withdrawn, possibly the result of residency concerns or problems with his nomination petition.

Barring a write-in campaign by Republicans or an independent candidacy, Schlossberg will succeed his old boss, Jennifer Mann, as a State Representative.

Hispanic Chamber Moving to Bethlehem

2012-02-22T23:16:00.000-05:00

From the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: ) - Alvaro A. Diaz, Executive Director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the L.V. (HCCLV), announces partnership with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and the move of the HCCLV office from Allentown to a new location in Bethlehem, as of February 1, 2012. The office is located at the Main Street Commons Building, at the heart of the Bethlehem business district. The move was facilitated through the strategic partnership that HCCLV established this year with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce (GLVCC), which allows HCCLV tapping on resources and logistical expertise from GLVCC and enhances the diversity footprint of GLVCC in the Valley. The Hispanic Chamber is in the process of launching a new website to help better serve its members. The office move “places us literally at the center of the Lehigh Valley with easy access to our current members, as well as to potential new members in the bustling Southside of Bethlehem”, Diaz commented. A press conference will be held on Monday, February 27th at the Hotel Bethlehem, 437 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA at 3:00 PM and following a ribbon cutting at the new Chamber office at located at 561 Main Street, Suite 245, Bethlehem, PA. at 3:30 pm.

HCCLV was created with the purpose of advancing the commercial, industrial and professional interests of all its members, especially its Latino members, in the Lehigh Valley. Founded in 2003 as a separate and independent chamber of commerce, HCCLV accomplishes its mission by focusing on three key principles: Advocacy, Business Development and Community Development. HCCLV, through its Fe Foundation, provides entrepreneurial training and internships to high school students in the Lehigh Valley.

Bill White Sounds Off on Swaption

2012-02-22T23:32:00.000-05:00

The Morning Call's Bill White has sounded off on Northampton County's swaption, which I prefer to call the Reibman Folly. For a quick $1.9 million in 2004 ($1.6 million after "consultants" were paid), we now owe the Bank of America $25.4 million, due October 1. White's advice, like mine and like Angle's well over a year ago, is to stop dithering with the second and third opinions already. Give financial advisers authority to pull the damn trigger.

"County Council can continue cluelessly gambling The Blob will shrink to a more manageable size before it eats the diner and kills everybody. Or council can freeze it and dump it in the North Pole."

Sportswriter Cheers For Downtown Hockey Arena ... From the 'Burbs

2012-02-23T00:43:00.000-05:00

Morning Call sportswriter Gary Blockus thinks the NIZ and hockey arena in downtown Allentown can be a success, so long as we brush aside those nasty "perception of crime" issues with a vigilant police presence. Well, I guess if a Blockhead Blogger can write about this deal, so can Blockus. But at best, it's nothing more than a "homer" column supporting yet another sports venue at which the jocks and their favorite writers can hang out. At worst, it's an orchestrated "puff piece" of fluffy journalism to satisfy the criticism that the Morning Call is likely getting from civic boosters and Pawlowski boot lickers.

Peter Luukko, President of Comcast-Spectacor, who will operate the arena, keeps comparing the Allentown project to the John Lebatt Centre in London, Ontario as a comparable. The facilities are certainly comparable, but the cities aren't. London is a city of almost 370,000 people, about 3 times the size of Allentown. It is a major urban center in both Ontario and Canada. I'll bet the demographics of London versus Allentown are much different, too.

Gary Blockus cites the increase in restaurants and businesses around the arena site in London, after it was built, and draws the conclusion that it was the arena that did it. Perhaps, but London is a major urban center and the new nightlife and commerce could also be attributable to other factors. His "anecdotal" observations are just that, anecdotal.

He also cites Washington, DC and the Verizon Center and New York City (Bryant Park, really) as examples of how more police can clean up a city. What is he smoking?

Finally, this sports maven compares the safety of walks across suburban parking lots in Hershey, Wilkes-Barre, and even Philadelphia as comparable to the urban core travel from parking to arena in Downtown Allentown.

Holy Brew Works, Batman, we have another FDAA style apologist! And on the sports pages, no less. It sure looks as though this "column" by a Morning Call sports staffer was intended to balance the news side's questioning of the Arena, its many shortcomings and lack of transparency. I could be a cynic and say that I hear that Jeff Vaughan - mouthpiece for the Arena and J. B. Reilly brother-in-law - and Morning Call Content Editor David Venditta are old friends, but I won't, because it's probably not relevant.

One last thing, Blockus talks about how he used to walk - in 1980 when he moved to Allentown - from his apartment on South 13th Street to work at 6th and Linden Street after 4 PM and then home again after midnight with no fear. Would he do that now? A year from now? Not sure, but one thing I do know, it's going to be hard for him to do it anytime soon. He lives in Laury's Station in North Whitehall Township. That makes walking to work a bit difficult.

That's the bad news. The good news is, his EIT is not going to be driving back to North Whitehall Township and the Parkland School District with him.

It's staying in Allentown, thanks to the NIZ.

Zoners Hear Final Arguments For and Against Atiyeh's Rehab Proposal

2012-02-23T03:01:00.000-05:00

Allentown Diocese Attorney Jay Leeson

Over eighty people, including retired Judge William Moran and City Council members David DiGiacinto and Eric Evans, crowded into Bethlehem's Town Hall on February 22 for final arguments on Abe Atiyeh's zoning appeal for a controversial 70-bed voluntary inpatient substance abuse center. Proposed at the vacant Calvary Baptist Church on Dewberry Avenue, it's located right next to Bethlehem Catholic High School. Those expecting a quick decision left disappointed. After 21 hours of testimony spread out over six long nights, zoners Gus Loupos, Bill Fitzpatrick and Ron Lutes will wait until March 5th to make a decision. "We see light at the end of the tunnel," said Loupos, who chairs the zoning hearing board. "All we need now is a decision."

Representing Abe Atiyeh, Attorney Blake Marles told zoners that City Council and Mayor John Callahan only injected themselves into this case because of last Fall's election, drawing groans from the audience. "That's ridiculous," blurted out retired educator Greg Zebrowski, an ardent rehab foe.

Marles also argued that the Objectors in this case - the Diocese of Allentown, City Council and the North Bethlehem Action Committee - all failed in their burden of establishing that the proposed rehab actually presents a risk to anyone. Noting they had an obligation and ample opportunity to present facts, all they could come up with is "speculation" and "what if objections." In contrast, Marles subpoenaed the principal of an elementary school located next to a rehab, who testified there never has been a problem.

"They tried to make this a referendum on Abraham Atiyeh," Marles said of the Objectors. "but it is the use that must be evaluated, not the user."

A cross of ashes, marking Ash Wednesday, adorned Attorney Joseph "Jay" Leeson's forehead as he made his final argument on behalf of the Diocese of Allentown. Referring to the "town hall democracy" that sets Bethlehem apart from other communities, Leeson noted the "unusual breadth and depth of opposition," including the Mayor, City Council, a religious institution and "citizens from all walks of life."

Turning to the audience, he asked every person opposed to the proposed rehab to rise. Every person in the room, save for the press and Atiyeh's own legal team rose.

Leeson told zoners the "collective wisdom" of this group can't be wrong, and the room burst into applause.

City Council Solicitor Chris Spadoni

Representing City Council, Attorney Chris Spadoni told zoners that nobody objects to the rehab, just its location. He urged zoners to "protect our children" at Bethlehem Catholic High School Noting that Bethlehem is the "gem of the Lehigh Valley" because of its neighborhoods, he argued that a rehab so close to a high school and park is "deleterious."

Leapfrogging onto Spadoni's argument, Attorney Steve Goudsouzian also complained about the "awful location. I could not think of a worst place for this." Claiming that Atiyeh "tried to sell you a package," he noted there is a drug enhancement penalty near schools for a reason.

After attorneys were done, Zoning Chair Gus Loupos allowed six members of the audience to make final arguments as well. Stewart Early, a consultant, pointed out that the proposed rehab is located either next to or within a mile of four different schools, as well as two daycare centers. Youth case manager Holly Hornerook pleaded, "Please listen to what we're saying. These are our children. It only takes one time."

All that's needed now is a decision on March 5. Before leaving, Attorney Blake Marles told zoners, "I've seen you considerably more than my wife some weeks."

How Will Lehigh County Reassessment Affect You?

2012-02-23T03:16:00.001-05:00

Information supplied by Lehigh County Director of Administration Tom Muller

New Barber Shop Coming to Bethlehem's South Side

2012-02-23T08:50:00.004-05:00

Master barber Robert Cruz, with proud wife Ileana

Bethlehem will have a new barber shop on the South Side, thanks to a unanimous decision by its new, five-member board on February 22. Robert L. Cruz was given permission to convert a vacant Mini-Mart, located at 1326 1/2 E. 4th Street, into "Rob's Barber Shop."

According to Cruz, it will be the first barber shop for drivers coming into Bethlehem from Route 78, and he noted that he has "ample parking" in the back, room for three cars But he expects most of his clientele to be local, walking there from two or three blocks away.

"I'm very nervous," Cruz told zoners. But as time went by, he relaxed enough to tell them he was recently awarded a master barber's license and would like to spend the rest of his career working "and paying taxes" in Bethlehem.

As the decision was announced, Solicitor Mickey Thompson gave Cruz a thumbs up and said, "Come back and see us."

"Come back and see me," smiled Cruz, whose shop will be open from Tuesday through Saturday.

In a separate matter, zoners also agreed to permit Wendy Thomson, a nationally certified grief counselor, to operate out of her home at 408 N. New Street, near City Hall. Under questioning by her attorney,Robert V. Littner, Thomson explained that a home setting is a more conducive environment to healing. She added that it is also greener, having less impact on the environment. She called it a good work-life balance.

Thomson told zoners she would see a maximum of 10-12 patient over the course of a week, and no more than 6 people during any given day.

Under cross-examination by Bethlehem Attorney Karl Longenbach, Thomson acknowledged a home occupation is also cheaper than paying rent at Main Street Commons, where her office is located. Longenbach represented nearby antiques dealer Sam Guttman, who claimed that a home occupation "sets a terrible" precedent in Bethlehem's historic district. He also suggested that Thompson is already seeing customers from her home, noting he sees cars parked there.

Before conducting hearings, the newly-constituted five-member board reorganized at the suggestion of Solicitor Mickey Thompson. Chairman Gus Loupos, Vice Chair Bill Fitzpatrick and Secretary Linda Shay Garder were all elected unanimously.

Atiyeh's Proposed Rehab Spawns Website

2012-02-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Eleven North Bethlehem residents opposed to Abe Atieyeh's proposed rehab, adjacent to Bethlehem Catholic High School, have been at nearly every one of the seven (and counting) hearings before the Zoning Hearing Board. They got the Mayor and City Council involved. They hired a lawyer. And now, they've started a webpage, North Bethlehem Action Committee.

This group, which includes former Judge William Moran, former Northampton County Council member Greg Zebrowski and retired educator Bill Nelson among its members, is a direct response to Abe Atiyeh development proposals. In addition to opposing the proposed voluntary substance abuse residential treatment on Dewberry Avenue, they're also against Atiyeh's plans to build either luxury apartments or a psychiatric hospital on a five-acre tract, directly across the street. They're also concerned about Atiyeh's recent purchase of a nearby residential property, located at 2110 Center Street. "This property may be a part of a grand plan for this area—either multiple drug and alcohol treatment facilities or large, high density apartments."

Using the Internet, they've circulated a petition opposing Atiyeh's proposed rehab, and have collected 240 signatures.

All Atiyeh has on his side is a former Phillies ace.

And the law.

Hearing in March For Scranton Men Accused in Streetlight Scam

2012-02-24T01:05:00.000-05:00

A Northampton County Grand Jury has charged two Scranton-area men - Robert J. Kearns and Patrick J. "PJ" McLaine - with defrauding Bethlehem Township of $832,460 in a street light purchase scam. According to The Scranton Times, an electrician is now suing for $5,000 in unpaid invoices. This is on top of $320,222 bill to another subcontractor.

A preliminary hearing on the Northampton County charges is scheduled March 16, before District Judge Barner in Bethlehem Township.

Local Ballot Challenges in State House Races

2012-02-24T01:26:00.000-05:00

Although they have yet to make their appearance on the DOS webpage, Capitol Ideas reports that two local state house candidates are facing ballot challenges: Wanda Mercado-Arroyo (running for Doug Reichley's seat); and Leslie Altieri (running against Marcia Hahn).

Gee Whiz! Allentown's NIZ Hits Fox News

2012-02-24T22:19:00.001-05:00

You can read the story here. Lehigh University's Steve Thode, a real estate expert, disputes an unnamed City spokesperson who claims that the NIZ and arena are "transformational."

"There is no tangible evidence that there's going to be any net job growth because of this," claims Dr. Thode. Sure, Allentown will get new jobs, but they'll be poached from other portions of the Lehigh Valley.

Updated Sunday, 12:15 AM: This story also appears in The Blaze, along with 55 comments! I liked this question: “How can a city/state spend money on a sports statium when there are people living on the streets and eating out of garbage cans?”

Nursing Homes Out, Managed Care In

2012-02-24T23:29:00.001-05:00

That's according to a report in The New York Times, which notes most people would rather live out their lives in their own homes.

This is just one of the reasons why Northampton County Executive John Stoffa, himself a former Human Services Director in two counties, advocated the sale of Gracedale.

Unfortunately, his attempt to inform the public in numerous town halls was drowned out by fear-mongering from a group more worried about their jobs than the elders they are supposed to serve.

Updated Sunday, 8 AM: The Archdiocese of New York plans to open seven PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) centers in the South Bronx. It is selling St. Teresa's, a 98-bed facility that would cost the Diocese $25 million to renovate. A PACE center costs $6 million, and can help 250 seniors stay out of nursing homes.

Each Phantoms' Ticket Sold Will Cost Taxpayers $20-40

2012-02-27T00:22:00.000-05:00

Let's crunch a few numbers, shall we?

State Senator Pat Browne, author of the NIZ legislation, has told local municipal officials that the steady state arena debt service will be about $10.5 million. I assume these are revenue bonds with a sinking fund feature so that the money has been sequestered to retire the principal at maturity in 30 years. That works out to a debt service of approximately $11.2 million (7%) per year, assuming that the total arena cost is $160 million.

If the EIT collected is about $550,000 a year, that will cover about $8 million of the debt service. Total. Over the course of 30 years.

But what about cost overruns?

My guess is the EIT will be used for the first $8 million of the inevitable cost overruns of the project. To be fair, that $160 million is a "soft" figure. You really don't know the real cost until it's finished. A recent Morning Call news account about soaring hockey arena costs, is very disconcerting. Before construction has even started, we may have spent as much as $45 million. Obviously, King Edwin would rather not ask his own taxpayers to make up the difference. He'll grab the EIT.

Won't the lease to the Phantoms pay for the $10.5 million in annual debt service? Nope. Not even close. That lease is only $500,000 a year, with a corresponding $500K a year for "capital improvements." Rent on the arena is $10 million less per year than the annual debt service. It doesn't even cover 5% of the debt service!. And the $500K a year in capital improvements sounds great, but is only one-third of one percent of the development cost.

Let's (generously) assume the land is valued at $10 million and the improvements to the land at $150 million. That means, for that $500K a year to actually cover "stuff that wears out," the average building component would have to have a useful economic life of 300 years! Even at $5 million a year, that's a 30-year average life.

Do you know of an HVAC system that lasts 30 years, much less 300 years? How about those seats in the arena? The playing surface? The roof? The interior fit (including dressing rooms, office space and so forth)? The "pig-in-the-poke" here, for me, is the enormous subsidies given directly to the tenant of the arena in a desperate attempt to get a minor league hockey franchise to locate in Center City.

The taxpayers will be on the hook for a lot more than $10.5 million a year - closer to $20 million by my estimates - for just the arena.

If the arena attracts 500,000 attendees a year, taxpayers will be subsidizing the ticket price for each and every one of those attendees to the tune of $40 per ticket! Even at 1 million attendees a year (that, folks is four events a week - every week - averaging 5,000 attendees per event), that's a subsidy of $20 per ticket. Imagine how much cheaper the Phantoms' owners will be able to lease those "luxury boxes" to King Edwin's wealthy political contributors (and still make a tidy profit) with such a massive subsidy from "the little people." And, they'll get to "write off" even that heavily-subsidized cost as a business expense.

Once again, this is government pork built in a simple way: figure out what your wealthy contributors are willing to "pay-to-play," then have "the little people" make up the difference.

It ain't complicated!

Taxes Up in Second-Hand Smoke at Allentown's NIZ

2012-02-27T00:22:00.001-05:00

Morning Call journalists Matt Assad and Scott Kraus, in their latest revelation about the NIZ biz, reveal a tax grab that goes way beyond mere EIT from outlying municipalities. Developers Joe Topper and J.B. Reilly, partners in Lehigh Gas Corp. and each of them $10,000 contributors to Allentown Mayor Edwin Pawlowski, now plan to divert tobacco tax, too!

According to the news account, Topper and Reilly made an offer to East Side Allentown cigarette wholesaler Dorward Wholesale, and are moving operations from there to the NIZ so they can take advantage of the $1.60 per pack tobacco tax, estimated to bring in a cool $7.2 million each year. That tax money will be diverted for their $50 million office complex.

Instead of the tobacco tax revenue going to fund state programs, it will be converted into building equity for J. B. Reilly and Joe Topper in City Center. Is this economic development or economic alchemy? This is an economic development shell game at best, and tax larceny at worst.

Senator Pat Browne, who now looks like the little Dutch boy trying to put his finger in the dike to stop the flooding, keeps telling us not to worry. The spokesman for Lehigh Gas, says this is a good thing for all of us and par for the course.

I feel better already.

We get no new businesses moving into the NIZ, just another one from another part of Allentown - its forgotten East Side. Worse than that, these guys have figured out a way to "game the NIZ." In fact it's the closest thing to the elusive concept of alchemy I have ever seen.

If Tom Corbett sits silently for this one, if the rest of the Lehigh Valley doesn't see what is really happening here, then we are all fools and deserve to have these thieves laugh all the way to the bank - literally and figuratively - since that is what 702 Hamilton was and is.

Irony has a funny way if being ... ironic.

The barbarians are at the gates and they will use this NIZ to get their buildings built for free. We haven't seen the end of it, since the waterfront development is still to happen. If you don't think that Mark Jaindl and his partners won't try to leverage the NIZ benefits to their advantage, then you haven't been out to the townships that his brother has devoured courtesy of public subsidy - new highways, new sewer lines and new water lines - and even more importantly, some of the most favorable rezoning this side of New Jersey.

Hey, here's an idea for old Topper and Reilly. Talk to tax collector Berkheimer about "relocating." They collect the per capita tax for a lot of school districts and EITs for a lot of municipalities (Bethlehem included).

The per cap tax for BASD alone probably is somewhere around $1 million.

I'm sure, with Berkheimer's massive staff, they'd need gobs of office space (maybe a couple thousand sq ft max). I think Reilly would have an attractive lease for them.

Let's not forget about the fact that you have Lehigh Gas' state gasoline taxes that are being used to build the new building, too. Assad and Kraus did a good job of projecting what this little wholesale tobacco and candy company would generate in state taxes, I am sure they could do the same for Lehigh Gas' taxes on gasoline sold.

This is truly an example of the "law of unintended consequences." I cannot believe that this scenario was envisioned when the legislation was discussed - even though it was with a very small group of decision makers - and that something like this would be condoned. I guarantee you that every wholesale tobacco outlet in the State - the low-hanging Lehigh Valley fruit will be picked first - is fair game for these two.

This is just incredible. Now, if they could just move the PLCB's "cage" in Harrisburg to the NIZ, they'd have a billion+ more in liquor taxes to play with.

"Sir, have you no shame?"

While Topper and Reilly have made sure they took care of themselves, let's see how Allentown has taken care of you. For that, you'lll need to read the post below.

Marc Holliday: How to Develop Urban Offices Without a NIZ

2012-02-26T22:21:00.002-05:00

Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green Realty Corp., is not just any landlord. With over 28 million square feet in Midtown, he is the largest office landlord in New York City. He's paid almost as much as a professional athlete, with a $10.32 million, 6-year package.

For good reason, too. In a challenging real estate market, its FFO (funds from operations) rose 17% over the last quarter of 2011, to $90.3 million.

A Lehigh grad, Holliday will return to his alma mater on Wednesday, February 29, to explain how office development is done in a real city. Without an NIZ.

If you'd like to go, call 610-758-4768 or email sds210@lehigh.edu, and see if you can wrangle an invitation.

Wanna' Have Lunch With Niz Man J.B. Reilly?

2012-02-27T12:46:00.003-05:00

Brother, can you spare $200? I'd love to go myself, but it's out of my price range. I promise I wouldn't even eat.