Snow disaster explanation

Each of you know there is no chance that Abe wouldn’t listen to the Public Works Committee meeting last night and not provide my comments to this crazy propaganda filled meeting. The attendance was low but there was some good public comment. Mark Shahda, Director of Public Works, presented an overview of how the city should respond. The response to this storm could be summarized by the words of the SEIU President: “poorly managed effort”. 

The argument that it is easier to work overnight is weak at best. During the day the cars that would normally be parked on the streets are likely moved due to the occupant leaving the residence to go to work. Working overnights is a way to maximize overtime payments.

Thanking the staff for a job well done is predictable. There is no doubt that the staff worked tirelessly but it was due to poor management and execution of operations related to this most recent snow event. As Mr. Hunsicker said the snow emergency plan has been around since the 70s, it wasn’t followed. Crews may have worked long hours and missed holidays – although there were no holidays missed during the Feb storm, Valentines Day? Presidents Day? – but that is the job they were hired to perform.

That deserves a big wahhhhhh!

Challenging storm? This was 12 inches and the freezing temps did not let up. However, you have a snow plan and largely use equipment to remove snow. There was no reason that snow operations would be hindered due to cold temperatures. 3rd biggest city in Pa and we can’t handle 12 inches?

My sources tell me that there was no coordination in advance with the Parks Dept or APA until a day prior. The choice to house staff in hotels wasn’t made until the day prior. It is interesting that the City would put employees in hotels. You can’t mandate an employee stay in a hotel. There is a snow operations center, and I have been told that there are beds and facilities for staff to use. How sad to hear that the city had to put employees in hotels when the city has ample space to house during such events. The city owns homes at Cedar Beach and they weren’t thought of to house staff? It is troubling to hear that the city may not have a plan other than using taxpayer dollars for hotel rooms.

A troubling year? There was one storm that had 12 inches and the other two were far less and completely manageable. The snowstorm that crippled the Public Works Department netted far less snow than originally predicted, and they still couldn’t get it done.

                            Vs

The city failed this year with communications related to snow operations. The message from the mayor’s office was to refer to CodeRed. There wasn’t a single message that was received by CodeRed. The social media was hit or miss – small videos were uploaded that addressed what the city wanted the residents to do but not much on the city's operations.  

Signs were not posted to announce the street closures or the snow emergencies. The operations at midnight with blaring sirens and APD screaming instructions through the vehicle loudspeaker. The few postings that indicated snow clearing were open ended and did not offer a reasonable time frame. The posting said “until snow cleared” – that is not how work is done. The truth of the matter is that they did not plan properly between posting and cleanup execution. 

 Mark Shahda mentioned that “we were behind a learning curve on this one. We hadn’t had a snowstorm for 5 years”. Seriously Mark? You have bigger issues if staff forget how to perform essential duties because we haven’t had a significant snow event. You need the learning curve my man. 

I agree with President Napoli – we need to do better. The information is in many different places, and it leads to confusion and misinformation. Again, Coder Red was brought online to handle these situations as a single point of information for residents, and it was never used during the storm. The city website was updated during the snowstorm when the community started complaining about the city response. That was a failure.

I find it weak to blame the lack of equipment. The city has plenty of equipment to clear the streets, and Mark Shahda said the same. He stated, “the city has enough resources to clear the streets with 12 inches of snow”, yet they were unable to meet these clearing needs for this storm.   

The truth is that the city administration failed with this snow season. They did not “open” the city as Mr. Shahda claimed. It is sad to hear him sit there and claim that the city was cleared within days. That is not reality and shame on him for trying to rewrite reality.   

The Allentown Parking Authority and the City Council did an impressive job getting out information; that cannot be said about the Public Works department. 

I heard a common theme in Mr. Shahda’s presentation – “that is a tall order”, “we can’t do that”, “we aren’t staffed or equipped”, “we tried that and it didn’t work”, “I am willing to have a discussion, but…” To me, this is nothing more than a power hold and basic reluctance to make any changes because it requires investment in change. I am not surprised at all by these comments, they are typical of someone who is not capable of handling their duties and prefers to hold on to what they know (what is easy) vice a potential process improvement (something requiring effort and thought).

And what the hell was Miss Canales talking about….?

Snow is “your thing” but you made me want to bury my head in a mountain of snow.      

 

One last comment on the attempts by council to silence community members from speaking truth and calling out the mayor, cabinet, and council. It is violation of our First Amendment to make any attempt to control or silence a community member from speaking their mind or expressing themselves (including wearing a hat). 

The First Amendment protects the right to speak at public meetings, which includes the right to criticize the government and offer viewpoints. Council members cannot silence or shut down speakers simply because they offer a disfavored viewpoint or criticize government officials. The government cannot discriminate against viewpoints, and any restrictions on speech must be necessary to serve a compelling state interest and must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal. The council and mayor need to realize that they are elected officials and the very seat they sit in and the building they operate is funded and provided by the taxpayers of the city.

Billy Joel

I thought a nice sing-a-long would be fun

Allentown- Billy Joel/ Honest Abe

Well we're living here in Allentown

And they voted for a mayor who is a clown 

Out in Bethlehem they're drinking wine

Doing the norms

Their leaders are fine

Well our leaders think that we should spend more

Raise our taxes so we cant go to the Jersey Shore

Lost our parking spots in the snow

Probably cause of finance

Attendance at the Archer is low

And we're giving Union raises here in Allentown

But the restlessness was handed down

And it's getting very hard to staaaaaay

Well we're waiting here in Allentown

For the crime rate to go down

For the promises our mayor gave

If we voted for him 

We shouldve voted for Abe

So all the debt hangs on the city hall walls

Now we know council will never help us at all

No they never taught us what was real

The Arch is a joke

The Curtis report will be unsealed

And there is more homelessness here in Allentown

Now that the dirt bikers have taken over the town

So I won't be getting any sleep todaaaaay

Every citizen has a good chance to get shot

Or steal from your neighbor and not get caught 

But something happened on the way to that place

They threw a Pride flag in our face

Well I'm living here in Allentown

Tuerk and Siegel think they can take ICE down

But my road wont be getting plowed todaaaaaaaay

And it's getting very hard to stay

And we're living here in Allentown

Is the summer bullshit here already

 

Summer isnt even close but the past two days are bringing out the best in the city.

I had to drive across town this evening and to my surprise I heard more loud music and saw more dirt bikes than ever.   There were groups of those little douche scooters that people buy because they can't afford a real motorcycle everywhere.  Isn't there helmet laws and required lights for those things?  

I saw dirt bikes driven by the tough boys who have to cover their faces.  They are so cool. And their bikes are so great.  Its rare I ever see any girls on the back of these things.  Wonder why.  Losers.

Then I see the real cool guys with the 3 wheel Spyders blasting spanish music for the whole city to hear.  Why do people spend their childrens college fund to mount speakers all of these machines?  Its outright obnoxious. 

Now of course who is going to curb this 3rd world behavior.  Do do do..  Chief Roca?  I'm waiting for his yearly Facebook or news article explaining how APD is doing zero tolerance with illegal dirt bikes and YOU WILL BE CITED. Same bullshit every summer.  Yet the problem is always here. 

We could always ask this guy what he is going to do about the dirt bikes.

I do have to say, if yesterday and today is a taste of this summer in Allentown.  Holy shit be prepared for your quality of life to be at an all time low.  The loud music, the loud cars,  the reckless driving, its all back.  

Soon enough the out of staters will be here to invade and ruin our parks. 

Because we need more people in town

 

Hey there is wall on MLK by the park I want to talk about.  Just kidding.

How about the proposed 1000 apartments down by the waterfront? This would be a combined effort by the Lehigh County and Allentown Planning commission.  Could you imagine what high rise apartments would look like?  

Then the amount of services they would require especially once they turn into low income apartments.  Fire calls, loud music, prostitution. 

Is this a good idea? Will these apartments attract the right clientele that will actually take care of their places?  Is this the idea of affordable housing in Allentown.

The city needs if anything, if possible single dwelling homes. Maybe 1500sqft or so, with a little yard and driveway priced around $300k (which probably is a low price) That is about as affordable of low income housing as it will get.  They need to development more of a tax base.  

Jamming 1000 apartment units into the city will not help generate taxes as much.  Also how many of these apartments will have children.  What if these apartments house 400 more students, which is certainly a low number.  Can the district all of sudden support an influx of that many kids?  No it cannot.  

Luxury apartments won't work either because Allentown isnt attractive enough for people to want to spend $2500-$3000 a month for an a apartment. If of course the waterfront were developed with nice restaurants, running trails along the river, some reputable businesses etc.  Then maybe I could see more wealthier people wanting to live there.  

I like the idea of building living spaces, but lets not just throw up high rise apartments because their is a housing shortage.  I think in the long run the idea could turn out to go not as planned.

I saw this online.  Im dead.

A Legend to be released

It appears Mr. Pawlowski will be released this summer. Good for him. Eight years is a long time. Although he has only served a little over half his sentence. Personally there are other people I would like to see in prison.

Let's talk about the former mayor. He is an entrepreneur, a tough mayor, a fair mayor, but was he unethical? Let me start with the bad things. Obviously, he was taking bribes in exchange for things. A big no no in the politics, if you get caught. Did he financially gain from all of his charges? He obviously had some sort of financial gain that led him to a prison sentence. I doubt it was boxes of cash being delivered to undisclosed locations.  

But what did he do. Ed used illegal means to get downtown bigger and better. No one can deny the big buildings, the arena, all of the restaurants and the sudden influx of money that came into the city.  

In exchange for all the illegal things he did were to better his chances of becoming something more than a mayor. A Senator perhaps. Do I fault him? I mean did he hurt anyone in his endeavor? I dont think so. He went about making a city better in an unethical and illegal manner.

Do I think the city would be better if he was still mayor? 💯. Ed's bad decisions arent as blatantly obvious as the current mayor. His accomplishments were seen unlike the current mayor. He was more liked than the current mayor. Ed was using his position to promote and grow Allentown while building his brand and chances for higher office. The current mayor has done absolutely nothing for Allentown and is working overtime to ruin the city.  

Pawlowski was a far better Mayor with all of his unethical activity than Matt Tuerk could ever be.  

We all know that politics is dirty. Will always be dirty. Pawlowski did things behind the scenes. He didn't waste money. He didnt promote friends. 

He didn't make bike lanes no one will use except the dirt bikes. He didn't have palpable disdain for the United States like this mayor. He actually focused on Allentown and made more happen here than any prior Mayor. A record he holds today.  

I sort of wish Ed could run again. I could see downtown revitalized again.

No memes needed because the joke is on all of us Tax paying fools

 

I literally saw an ethical violation by all council members including the mayor by voting for Councilman Binders wife to be appointed to the housing commision. What the fuck!!

A sweet lady came up to the bafoons and read how appointing a family member is unethical per the Allentown Charter ethics code.

All council people just ignored her and voted yes.  Do the council members and the Mayor realize that those that do not live in the city laugh at these meetings. We are a joke.  Any idiot can see the decisions made are ruining the city.  There are no rules followed, no ethics and no fucking morals whatsoever.  

Interupting sorry.  Make sure the 5 people that attended get their Chaser free parking ticket validated.

Back to the bullshit.

I truly miss Eddie Cares, Ms. Ocasio, Zucal, Ms. Redman and all the people that made council fun.  It really sucks now.  Its boring. Boring. And did I mention it sucks. And its more predictable than Matt Tuerk raising a flag for every country, township, group, village, fraternity, and any other non profit you can think of.  The scripts are handed out before the meetings and you hear nothing but Yes,Yes,Yes,Yes.

I heard Tuerk mention a concern about city health care costs. And how the city should be concerned because they have lost Federal funding.  Why doesnt he learn to run a city without relying on everyone else to give handouts.  But he is a Democrat.

I also saw previous comments on a proposed police DROP pension.  So I have been researching this.  Next week I will drop the good news on the tax payers if this passes council which I hear they will vote on it this month. A slight spoiler, I am anticipating this Pension change to cost the tax payers roughly $1,000.000 a year.  

Well we were or are the "City without limits", so money doesnt matter. But now we are "All Inspiring" for what? Corruption? Stupidity? Nepotism? Quid Pro Quo?

Its funny the 3rd largest city in Pa is attended by fewer people than my over 60 pickle ball banquet.  It is really sad to see a city fall into despair like it has under the Tuerk administration.  

Taking care of Business

“In Allentown, Public Service has always been a Family Business"

Now I dont know Mrs. Binder personally, and judging by her resume she appears to be very qualified and extremely intelligent. She has a long background in social services and community engagement. However, that is only what I see on a piece of paper. This is not about Mrs. Binder--she is a long standing community ally. 

There is an opening on the Allentown housing board that mayor Tuerk has to fill. As many of you know Mr. Binder has just been elected to city council.

Does the mayor’s appointment of Mrs. Binder have anything to do with the fact that her husband in my opinion is considered a swing vote? Matt Tuerk only makes moves that benefit him. 

The mayor continues to make questionable moves to advance his agenda. Mrs. Binder has been in the community for many years and suddenly now that her husband has been elected to council, she is appointed by Mayor Tuerk? How can you appoint spouses of people on city council and it not be looked at like quid pro quo? This is disgustingly wrong, but not surprising coming from this Mayor. Mr. Binder should not vote on this appointment. His vote would make it even more corrupt. "Sorry honey, I had to vote No." "Jeremy you're outside and the dog is inside."  

Seriously though the dude has only been on council for like a month and this stunt is going on?My guess is that we will find out when Mayor Tuerk brings his next initiative to full council. Pay close attention to how Mr Binder votes. Then, we will see if there was a secret deal made behind closed doors.  

My bet is that it has something to do with getting his secretary promoted.  

Atleast the snow is gone.

Round 2

At the time of this writing all indications say that this storm has seemed to have shifted and will result in less snow than was originally forecasted, yet the mayor has taken to social media to scold the residents for not remaining calm and that we should just wait for "55 degree weather".  The mayor has proven over and over again that HE is not equipped to respond to any situation that requires the city services to be deployed.  We have seen this with the snow response, the rude staff in city hall, the even more rude staff in his office, the failed response last summer to the multiple heatwaves (who can forget the trashing of our waterways), the unsheltered response, the horrible condition of our streets, the Oprah Winfrey "you get a car" style spending in the city government; the list goes on and on.   While his most recent blame game claims the city does not have the equipment to remove snow, he further proves that failure is the result of any task he attempts or is involved.   Round 2 of the snow disaster cleanup is coming, also look for a request for DPW to buy new equipment for snow response.  $$$$$$$

What do we know? 

Yesterday, Tuerk announced the city emergency declaration at 6pm Saturday night.  He advised that cars needed to be removed by 10pm.  The best part was the Mayor ordered snow routes to be cleared by 10pm only four hours after the snow emergency was declared.  Great job giving people time to get their vehicles to alternate locations. Now leaders are trying to be proactive to try and fix all the mistakes from the last snowstorm, by creating more missteps and failures. He stated towing and ticketing vehicles would be enforced on snow routes. It seemed to have fallen on deaf ears anyway.  The Police Chief had more sense and sent out a message on Sunday saying they would enforce parking starting Sunday at 10pm.  

I truly hoped it wouldnt snow at all but too late for that.  Calling a snow emergency maybe 24hrs before it even begins snowing is just asinine. Could you imagine how dumb this city will look if it doesnt snow or if only a couple inches come down? Maybe Matt should wait until the governor decides to call a state of emergency before he does.   What we can expect is Matt "Kardashian" Tuerk continuing to send out his stupid TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram videos that show him running.  Running suits you Matt — you "run" from anything that requires attention or effort.

The city’s constant failed reaction really comes down to an administration that doesn’t seem capable of managing even routine situations. 

Giving residents only four hours to move their vehicles is unreasonable, especially when there won’t be a plow on the road or any meaningful snowfall by then. How much can anyone really say about something this basic? It’s not as if Allentown is experiencing snow for the first time.  Hell, just look back a month ago.  What’s even more baffling is that Allentown is the only place declaring a snow emergency four hours in advance. Is that because they’re the only ones who still haven’t figured out how to handle snow management?

 

Fun fact.  Did you know we have an Emergency Management Team?  Me either!   A quick look at the City of Allentown website and we have an emergency management team!   Why do I feel they arrange travel for the Mayor since there are no 'emergencies' in Allentown?  Why is it that we have heard absolutely nothing from Allentown Emergency Management?  Not even a CodeRed alert; yet the city webpage keeps telling us to listen for notifications via CodeRed.   I have CodeRed — NOTHING.  Thank goodness this isn't an earthquake, major fire or ICE situation, we would all be in danger. 

Send an email to the City Emergency Management and express your dissatisfaction with their preparation and response to these storms.     

EMA@allentownpa.gov.

https://www.allentownpa.gov/en-us/Government/Departments/Fire-Emergency-Services/Emergency-Management-Agency-EMA  

Pray for Summer

Residents of Allentown took to the city council meeting to complain about the lousy snow removal effort of the city.

A resident as mentioned before in a post cited Apd was on her block after midnight blasting their sirens to get people to move their vehicles.  

Also mentioned was the fact people are getting tickets when they move their vehicle to a location so snow removal can be done. In my opinion the citizens are getting so screwed by freaking snow removal. Woken up, cited, towed, and there is still snow everywhere. Great job. Plus more snow on the way. 

I personally have seen several parts of the city not plowed and mounds of snow. Residents have to relive their drivers test just to get into a parking spot.

The reponse by Council President Napoli was he reached out to the APA and is working on putting together a joint meeting of council and the authority on April 8 to answer questions regarding parking enforcement. 

April 8th? When its 70 degrees out? Such good planning. Isn't there anyone competent that can be in charge of the city and its departments??

Napoli quoted on WFMZ

“On the issue of snow removal, there is a public works committee meeting on March 11 and we will be discussing the snow removal with our public works team, and learning more about that,” Napoli said.

Learning more about what? Snow removal? Simply plow to the nearest intersection, have a front end loader load snow into a dump truck and go dump it at fountain park.

And of course Mayor Tuerk had nothing to comment on the snow removal. Pretty hard to know what's going on in the city when your in Washington DC or California. Wheres your next useless trip on the city taxpayers money?

Ask and Maybe you shall Recieve

 Happy Presidents Day Abe!!!

Finally, something positive to write about. The city has created a data center aimed at handling Right to know requests.

The data hub created will allow people to research different things to include:

City code cases, city building permits and city rental licenses.

I am not sure the extent of what will be able to be seen on this hub but I am sure it is limited.

Now I do think this is a great idea...But. 

I would imagine people will be looking up things on busineeses and their neighbors all the time. 

The code office will be smothered with complaints as people report on things. So the city might want to hire more code enforcement officers.

Also, will the Curtis Files be able to be seen on this Hub?? Its okay, the files will be out on their own. Give it time.

I do find it rather concerning that the rise of RTK requests is on the rise every year. The city claims the rise reflects the growing public interest in access to city records. I would think its because people are tired of all the corruption and wasteful spending and want to know the truth. RTK requests to me mean the city isnt transparent enough so people have to go the legal route to get the information.

Also, the snow removal is just embarrasing at this point.  Who is really in charge of this shit?  Do they just pick random streets to remove snow?  I read they just hit N. 6th St.  How in the hell did they just get to 6th st?  Its been like 3 weeks since the storm. The eastside, west end and southside have zero chance of getting any removal.  Or basically all the tax payers, working class arent getting any services.   

So much love in the Heart of the City

Happy Valentines Day

In appreciation of Valentines Day, I want everyone to show there love for the city and I want to see how honest you are.

I hear the city puts out surveys to its employees to see how much they enjoy working for the city, or improvements that could be made etc. It is some type of attempt to try and get their employees to think the management cares and is listening to you.  Yet nothing changes. 

Your post is anonymous here unlike the city surveys that I am sure they can somehow track. There is nothing anyone can do about it on here.

I want to hear from you, if you worked for the city, are currently working now or even know someone who has worked for the city. What is the truth?

Tell me about your experience. What you didn't like or didn't like. Improvements you would suggest. Please keep to a half a page if possible.

Where the city or department you worked for is headed.

 The issue with the city surveys is that no one ever sees the actual results except the mayor or his cronies. 

Then the mayor or someone will say how everything is so great and everyone loves each other, but cannot show his proof. Or people lie on the surveys because of fear of retaliation.

                      "Madonna"