While Bethlehem may have its "1st Night" celebration I doubt it could top the spectacle of "Allentown's Blizzard of Litter Fest" going on right now in the downtown. Give Mother Nature's best winds and Allentown's urban slovenliness credit for this dazzling show. While driving through the heart of the city earlier today I was awed by trash tornadoes that whirled newspapers and multi-colored food wrappers up past the roof tops. At streets level a ballet of twirling uncollected autumn leaves and empty plastic beverage containers seemed to square dance before me. Old cigarette packs cart wheeled endlessly, empty trash and recycling bins bounded about free and unburdened of their former contents. It was a beautiful sight and I caught myself counting my blessings for having stumbled upon it. Judging by conditions I think it is safe to say this show will be running through the evening and into the morning. So if you haven't seen it yet there is still plenty of time.Ttocs Gnortsmra
Blogger's Note: This enchanting essay, penned by Scott Armstrong, was published yesterday in The Allentown Commentator, and is re-published here with his kind permission.
28 comments:
Let's dig deep into this trash. Why is it there? Because no one to clean it up? No, because the litter-bugs are cleaning up. Fresh trash on the streets help to cover the old-trash of politics in Allentown's Government. So a fresh coating of litter helps clean up the stench of city-hall.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
O_o
Litter in Allentown is a disgrace. No one seems to care from the mayor on down. The trend in Allentown is for irresponsible transient renters to move in, drain city and school resources, trash the city and move out. There needs to be a concerted effort by city government, civic and religious groups to clean this town up! It starts with the mayor's office. The downtown area is dirty from the globs of filthy gum on the sidewalks to litter flying around everywhere. Why can't Allentown have an effective Main Street program like Easton? There seems to be very poor leadership by the mayor and whoever in city hall is responsible for economic development.
Childish.
Sadly, this all starts with personnal responsibility. The downtown population is for the most part, spawns of the modern welfare system where slovenly lifestyles and behavior are rewarded.
Blame the Mayorm and other officials but at the end of the day it reflects the culture of the people who actually are content to live in their own filth. Dogs are more sanitary.
I've deleted two of the usual personal attacks launched at Armstrong. One is anonymous. The other comes from "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom," fka Pissed Off Naked Blogger.
I appreciate his essay and his obvious gift for writing.
scott has more than a gift for writing. those who criticize his frankness should know that every saturday, for many years, scott spent his morning picking up trash in both west park and the franklin park neighborhoods. neighborhoods such as raub middle school and 19th st. theater district owe their inspiration for clean ups to scott armstrong.
Thank you for writing about this. You have no idea how many of us have tried for years and years to get the city to correct this issue. To have clean-up crews work weekends too. Downtown is filthy.
Just drive past the Morning Call offices, nearby streets are disgusting. Imagine the image we leave with weekend visitors who travel downtown to attend Symphony Hall or the art museum. Maybe your readers have suggestions. It was reported in the M.C. that the current mayor when he first took office hired special clean-up crews (complete with uniforms)to work under the supervision of a prominent local pastor and mayoral friend. But what came of that, we do not know.
anon 7:41, what happen between the mayor, the pastor and the "new" contractor is quite a story, which i won't tell. The new contractor, Girls at Work, (sister to owner of CityLine Construction) cleans Hamilton Street and LindenSt. her crew does a good job within the alloted budget. it must be understood that thousands of people live in centercity who don't hesitate to throw a wrapper down on the street, even if there is a trash can five feet away. since apparently allentown doesn't mind attracting this element (www.molovinskyformayor.com) we must increase the street dept. 2000% if we wish to confront this problem. could you imagine buffalo n.y. having only one snow plow?
This is an excellent post and portrays accurately what many of use who live in Allentown confront on a regular basis.
Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to travel down Hamilton St., more than normal.
Sorry to report what was bad a year ago seems to be only getting worse in many cases.
More empty or abandoned buildings, more trash, more crumbling sidewalks etc. And from the news and blog reports - more crime.
Crime is spreading throughout the center city area, no area is immune. Guns shots are a part of everyday life in the city. This is the new culture it appears.
In other words I truly believe a growing number of the residents of this city see violence as a reasonable tool in expressing their frustration and anger.
The tax base has decreased while the population has increased. There is more of a strain on the infrastructure and there are a lot of residents who just do not care.
We also live in an "I am not responsible culture" where much is demanded but little is given. During the Halloween parade I noticed this when many children would pick up a piece of candy, open it, put in their mouths and nonchalantly through the wrapper to the ground.
While seemingly insignificant it appears to be a marker of patterns that become an expanding part of their lives.
Mr. Molovinsky, We forgot about the Girls @ Work and are glad to hear you think they are doing a good job. We agree with you, a 2000% added cleaning crew is essential to Allentown's center city's image. NYC had a mere one million for NYEve and within 5 hours, city workers had the streets swept clean. If so many Allentown loyal from all political spectrums agree--litter indicates image--why can't city hall get it?
You have no idea how hard so many of us tried.
Bernie -
As someone who travels to the Allentown Post office almost daily, I am constantly amazed at the amount of trash that is strewn about center city.
It seems that despite the much-touted year-round street cleaning (which was scaled back to focus on downtown), the city is not getting much cleaner. Of course, that assumes that the purpose of year-round street cleaning is cleaner streets and not just raising more revenues (via parking tickets).
Many of the PILES of trash and garbage that I see daily are within sight of city hall, and yet nothing is being done.
Clearly there is a need for a different - and more effective - approach. Perhaps with it being an election year, we will get one.
Mike Schware
Got to rant: Ctown Market dropped of circulars yesterday in my neighborhood. The wind has carried them all over the sidewalk, street, back yards (I picked up 10 from my back yard today) and the alleys.
Litter is a problem. It doesn't help when a well-intended merchant adds to the debris.
Grrrrr.
Oh, happy new year.
Another opportunity for bigots like MM to rant about the "element."
There is nothing about MM's comment that could be considered bigoted. He has long maintained that A-town is set up to attract transients unwilling to plant roots within the city. His mayoral campaign was based, in part, on that premise. Any attempt to infer bigotry from that assertion is logically challenged.
Looks like at least two problems to me over here in Bethlehem. Firts and foremost, people litter and people can stop littering. You can have a fulltime army of litter picker uppers working 24/7, but what good is it if the litterers don't reform? Allentown is a city that seems to have lost its soul and its pride in the past 30 years. very sad!
Although Scott Armstrong's nifty little essay about Allentown is nonpartisan, it has drawn the usual partisan personal attacks. I've just deleted a third anonymous personal attack, responding to a post about litter. This one is directed at both Armstrong and me.
Just got back from Allentown, where I had business that took me all around center city, Old Allentown, even as far as 15th Street, and I didn't see much litter, at least nothing to get balistic over. I made 5 stops. After reading the post today, I kept my eye out. Where I did see a bunch of trash was at the WaWa parking lot on Lehigh Street, where you assume people are paid to pick up. My point: This is a lot of hooey over not much.
I agree with "it all starts with personal responsibility"
For anyone who does not think Allentown is that not that bad trash wise and gun fire wise, I suggest a vist to my neighborhood - 14th and Turner.
If you are not bothered - okay.
All I know is, it wasn't like this when I grew up. It just ----ing wasn't.
anon 5:58, drive down 7th st. monday morning and you will assume there must have been a parade over the weekend, the quantity of litter is staggering.
There has been a clean/sweep team that has been doing a great job of keeping litter off the street along 7th Street and in Old Allentown during the week. I don't think they worked much last week (holidays) and I know they don't work weekends, which explains MM's observation about monday morning. I have a feeling that part of the trash problem on 7th on Monday morning has something to do with the fact that Friday is trash day and what doesn't get picked up on Friday get's blown all over the place for 2 days before that team does it's great work.
Just my observations.
geoff, here is a suggestion for the city (some think i just criticize). everybody realizes that if the police were as efficient as the parking authority, crime would be well controlled in allentown. I have observed hundreds of incidences of littering over the years, perhaps if the authority officers were authorized to hand out tickets, say $10 for littering, that would help reduce the problem. they already ticket for street cleaning, how about street dirtying?
MM, i've agreed that it's a possible opportunity but just to be clear, they don't ticket for street cleaning, they ticket for people parked illegally on days when the streets are meant to be clear. To do what you suggest will require a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE expansion of the powers of the parking authority. Having received many tickets myself in the past year, its not a power I'm so willing to cede to the authority. How do I know that they won't ticket me, a home owner on 9th street, for the litter that somebody just passing by happens to drop in front of my house.
I'm not disagreeing with the premsise. I think that if the parking authority is given this responsibility (something that might require a city charter amendment), it might open a door to greater powers for authorities (which are not directly elected by voters) to engage in stronger police powers. I have some reservations. that said, given proper safeguards, I can be convinced.
Geoff, I agree with you on this one. I don't like police powers going anywhere other than to the police.
geoff, sorry for the misunderstanding, i was referring to giving tickets when they observe someone littering, as the police are suppose to do for jaywalking. i agree that tickets should not be given for found litter, i even take issue with trash and recycle officers now having that authority. homeowners should be given every opportunity to remove litter caused by others before being legally responsible. understand that the parking authority issues tickets for cars being out of inspection, previously a province of the police, so obviously the authority could gain the authority to ticket littering they observe. although i'm sure the officers would prefer to not be that confrontational with the public, it would help provide a solution to an enormous problem in allentown, a problem which is larger than illegal parking in my opinion.
MM, I understood your thinking but I know the potential for unintended consequences that come with ticketing for anything. The example I gave was something that I could just see happening. Your proposal is something that requires some legal research. the first time somebody would get a ticket, could they conceivably challenge the legality of the authority issuing those tickets? as I understand it would probably require some charter reworking and maybe some state legislation. And even if it is legally feasible, we'd have to resolve the philosophic question of expanding police power for an unelected municipal authority.
it's ironic to be so concerned with the constitutionality of ticketing for littering, but have no hesitation for inspecting people's private property, even proclaiming someone a landlord of shame. is it not inequitable to inspect a house for rent, but not inspect it if it is not for rent? doesn't that put class of ownership before condition of the building? is it equitable to declare a periodic systematic inspection on 3th st, but never do it on 30th st? allentown bends the rules. in today's paper mayor ed, during an election year, doesn't concede that the pension shortfall cannot be recouped in the marketplace. i would think it might occur to residents of old allentown that the litter and crime is only getting deeper.
MM, I've said to you many times that I refuse to get into partisan conversations like the one you choose to start. Let's stick to the question at hand. If you want to bring up political agendas, I'm not getting into those conversations.
If you want to know the facts about crime and litter measurements in Old Allentown in the last 2 years, please feel free to contact me. You might be surprised. I konw they gave me encouragement but we still have a long way to go. Every bag of litter or every crime is one too many in my book.
As far as the constitutionality, I'm not sure one way or another. I know inspections have been upheld repeatedly by state and federal courts. The question you raised was whether the parking authority can issue littering citations. Police can and should do so, but that's not what you asked. You are asking if the powers of the parking authority can be expanded. Do you realy want that? Like I said earlier, I can be convinced of the merits. Bernie seemed to suggest that concern might be well founded.
geoff, believe it or not, i'm not a partisan; i was very vocal against the republican administration back when, it's too easy to dismiss a valid problem by using the partisan label.
yes, i would like to see the parking authority ticket people observed littering. i believe we both could agree, that in center city, we see parking authority officers more often than police officers. i believe they are an efficient force, but find their excessive ticketing of residents burdensome. expanding their authority to littering would better serve the public purpose.
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