As we approach the future in Bethlehem, could we look to the value of the past?

(4th in a 4-part series of posts on thoughtful planning by Kim Carrell-Smith)

Kim Carrell-Smith is a 31-year resident of Bethlehem’s historic Southside, where she taught public history at Lehigh University for almost two decades. She is also an aspiring gadfly, buzzing in on issues of historic preservation, public education, city government, and other social justice issues. She tips her wings to the master gadflies who have served our community for so long!

Gadfly:

Part 4

So last time we looked at key findings from a study of three large cities, when it comes to “Older, Smaller, Better: Measuring how the character of buildings and blocks influences urban vitality.” Those findings:

Older, mixed-use neighborhoods are more walkable.
Young people love old buildings.
Older business districts provide affordable, flexible space for entrepreneurs from all backgrounds.
The creative economy thrives in older, mixed-use neighborhoods.
Older, smaller buildings provide space for a strong local economy.
Older commercial and mixed-use districts contain hidden density

But how do we employ this knowledge? In the section “Principles for Other Cities,” the authors cite some key ideas any cities could follow:

Realize the efficiencies of older buildings and blocks
Fit new and old together at a human scale
Steward the streetcar legacy

As cities seek to re-establish transit corridors and foster mixed-use development, the armature of streetcar-era commercial districts provides a head start

Make room for the new and local economy

. . . research confirms . . . a correlation between a higher concentration of creative jobs and older, smaller-scaled buildings and blocks. These areas also support higher levels of small businesses and non-chain business, helping to keep dollars in the local economy, and providing more resilience against future economic storms.

Make it easier to reuse small buildings

It’s the city’s job to make this simpler. In the study the authors cite particular barriers, how to streamline some procedures, and some incentives cities can offer.

Yes, “Older, Smaller, Better” is just one study, but it is one of many from 1999 to 2019 that have looked at the efficacy and economic impact of promoting and supporting the historic look and feel of cities. Historic preservation, and places that look and feel historical clearly pay, both economically, and in terms of quality of life, making cities attractive, sustainable, and resilient.

So as we approach the future in Bethlehem, could we look to the value of the past? Could we more intentionally blend our new buildings and development to harmonize with, and enhance, what is good for our economy –that which we possess in Bethlehem, which other cities may not? We have three centuries of historical architecture and building stock composed of diverse historical materials; we have great old storefronts, historical vistas, and a compelling industrial/urban vibe, thanks to the presence of the blast furnaces and older industrial buildings. Why use our mistakes of urban renewal –e.g., the Rooney Building, the City Hall complex, the One Broad Street Plaza building–as measuring sticks (literally and figuratively), when making choices for new design and construction? Why not embrace the ideas in “Older, Smaller, Better?” Upgrade, paint, and tweak the exteriors of older structures to enhance the historical vibe. And build new infill that is “context-sensitive.”

With every development proposal, ask the questions: does it honor and complement the historical value that its proposed setting may already possess? How might we blend in the new with the old,

through compatible scale and massing
by creating a complementary aesthetic
using compatible materials

We don’t want to create copies of existing buildings or even keep every old building. But we definitely need to find ways that the new may peacefully and profitably coexist with the old, while maintaining Bethlehem’s historical vibe.

SO MANY studies show that it’s worth a try!

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

Resolving some of the confusion about natural gas

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Peter Crownfield is officially retired but spends most of his time working with students in his role as internship coordinator for the Alliance for Sustainable Communities–Lehigh Valley.

Gadfly:

I don’t want to have a big debate on climate science, but I might be able to resolve some of the confusion about natural gas. Just this morning, I was working with a student at Lafayette looking at just this question, and we found the answer at the Energy Information Administration.

When it is burned, natural gas has far lower GHG emissions than other fossil fuels, so it is marketed as a “clean” fuel. Unfortunately, the “upstream emissions” — from the wellhead, transmission pipelines & compressor stations, and even the gas mains that deliver it to homes — are, on average, higher than the combustion emissions.

According to the Cornell engineers who studied this in detail, the total emissions from natural gas rival those of coal.

Peter

(In conjunction with the student strike last Friday, Bruce Haines has kicked off an important thread here, but Gadfly would still like to invite posts directly related to our local in- process Climate Action Plan.)

Gadfly at the BPA

(120th in a series of posts on parking)

Gadfly just had to get this off his chest.

Deliver’d the following prepared statement during public comment at the Parking Authority Board meeting yesterday. (The audio of the meeting will eventually be available on the BPA web site.)

Asked that a member of the Board make a motion to include it in the minutes or to attach it to the minutes. No one did.

By the way, the BPA still did not publish the agenda for the meeting beforehand.

Cranky ol’ Gadfly.

Still pursuing the white whale. (in joke)

———-

Ed Gallagher
BPA Board meeting
9/25/2019

I am puzzled by the Board chair’s immediate response to the “technical review” of the Nova and Peron proposals at the August 28 Board meeting: “Basically two 5-story buildings, retail on first floor, apartments above.” That response — without any appreciation of subtlety, without any appreciation of nuance in the City evaluation — flattens the two proposals into undifferentiated clones, thereby justifying the higher purchase price as the determinative factor. If the proposals are the same, yes, certainly, by all means, take the higher offer by Peron. Makes perfect sense.

But in my judgment, a judgment based on the City evaluation that the Board requested, the proposals are clearly not the same. The proposals, in fact, are significantly different. Here, according to the City evaluation, is what we lose by favoring Peron:

possibly 45 apartments instead of 32 (whether Nova proposed 5 floors of residential as indicated in the City report or 4 was, strangely, not resolved)
“a mixture of market rate residential apartment sizes, presenting a potentially more resilient residential product”
“a rooftop restaurant concept, providing greater use of the building by the public and potentially driving more transient parkers to the Polk Street Parking Garage”
a design “emulating elements found on the former Bethlehem Steel site”
a design that “not only encourages the pedestrian interest in the Third Street corridor, but also draws interest down Polk Street”
a design adding “a variety of building styles to the corridor and . . . inclusive of more desirable design elements”
“overall aesthetics, including the stone arches reflecting the ruins and the steel elements, [that] provide an overall stronger relationship to the place in which the building is located”
“proposed use of the building [that] is more comprehensive, providing commercial opportunities beyond first floor retail and greater opportunity for use by the general public”

To me, this positive mix in Nova of the practical, financial, historical, aesthetic, and architectural — this mix of novelty and beauty — this appeal to City goals of a walkable city and the link to our heritage — was surely worthy of discussion.

But the BPA sped to approval of Peron in one minute, fifty seconds.

Was there not one point in the City analysis worthy of discussion?

But as the motion-maker said, “I looked at both of those projects closely, and they’re similar, but there are differences, but I can’t get past the difference in price.”

The BPA Board saw its chief purpose in this decision getting the greatest amount of money for itself. At the end of the day, “It’s dollars and cents,” said a third Board member.

A decision based on money without evaluation of the financial aspects of the proposals because of “significant variances in contract parking spaces and some uncertainty around the potential for CRIZ increment generation.”

It would have taken great courage for one of the Board members to say even, “Whoa, hold on a minute. We owe it to common decency to hear from the City Committee we asked to take a look at this and who are here at the meeting. And we owe it to the public to make sure we have thoroughly considered all perspectives in making our decision.”

It would have taken even greater courage for one of the Board members to say, “Let’s put the money aside for a few minutes, we can always come back to it, but our purpose here is not simply to make money for the Parking Authority, and the question we should be front-loading is how do these proposals align with City goals — which proposal is best for the City at large.”

I was looking for someone on the BPA Board to say, “At the end of the day we have the opportunity to advance City goals of a walkable City, to have a building that speaks of our Bethlehem history, the opportunity to do something special, exciting, unique. Let’s see if we can take advantage of this opportunity and still be fiscally responsible to the Parking Authority.”

adapted from a post on the Bethlehem Gadfly blog September 9, 2019.

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

Here’s a study that seems particularly applicable to Bethlehem’s current development climate

(3rd in a 4-part series of posts on thoughtful planning by Kim Carrell-Smith)

Gadfly:

Part 3

Did I hear someone say, “More evidence, please?” Coming right up!

I offer up one study that seems particularly applicable to our current development climate: comprehensive, yet succinct, the 2014 study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Greenlab, “Older, Smaller, Better: Measuring how the character of buildings and blocks influences urban vitality” focuses on Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. But as the authors note, there are some general principles that can be extrapolated for cities of any size. Hang in there, I’ll get to those.

From the Executive Summary:

This study demonstrates the unique and valuable role that older, smaller buildings play in the development of sustainable cities. Based upon statistical analysis of the built fabric of three major American cities, this research finds that established neighborhoods with a mix of older, smaller buildings perform better than districts with larger, newer structures when tested against a range of economic, social, and environmental outcome measures.

Key Findings:

Older, mixed-use neighborhoods are more walkable.
Young people love old buildings.

In Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., the median age of residents in areas with a mix of small old and new buildings is lower than in areas with larger, predominantly new buildings. These areas are also home to a significantly more diverse mix of residents from different age groups. Nightlife is most alive on streets with a diverse range of building ages. San Francisco and Washington, D.C. city blocks composed of mixed-vintage buildings host greater cellphone activity on Friday nights.

Older business districts provide affordable, flexible space for entrepreneurs from all backgrounds.

In Seattle and Washington, D.C., neighborhoods with a smaller-scaled mix of old and new buildings host a significantly higher proportion of new businesses, as well as more women and minority-owned businesses than areas with predominantly larger, newer buildings.

The creative economy thrives in older, mixed-use neighborhoods.

In Seattle and Washington, D.C., older, smaller buildings house significantly greater concentrations of creative jobs per square foot of commercial space. Media production businesses, software publishers, and performing arts companies can be found in areas that have smaller-scaled historic fabric.

Older, smaller buildings provide space for a strong local economy.

In Seattle and Washington, D.C., streets with a combination of small old and new buildings have a significantly higher proportion of non-chain restaurants and retailers, and in Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., areas of the city with older, smaller buildings host a significantly higher proportion of jobs in small businesses.

Older commercial and mixed-use districts contain hidden density

In Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., streets with a mix of old and new buildings have greater population density and more businesses per commercial square foot than streets with large, new buildings. In Seattle and Washington, D.C., these areas also have significantly more jobs per commercial square foot.

Hold on, and in Part 4 we will finally hear about specific principles that cities could adopt to guide development, so that historic preservation and the historical look and feel of cities work as economic drivers for everyone.

Kim

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

Common ground even though differing views on climate change

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Bruce Haines is a Lehigh graduate who returned to Bethlehem after a 35-year career at USSteel. He put together a 12-member Partnership to rescue the Hotel Bethlehem from bankruptcy in 1998 and lives in the historic district.

Gadfly:

I truly respect Breena Holland & enjoy debating our polar opposite positions on virtually everything EXCEPT bad government in Bethlehem, where we come together on local issues.

Clearly I have not been brainwashed in school by liberal faculty pushing for control over our lives by using climate change as a vehicle for such control.

Climate science has evolved from the Global cooling scare in the 70’s/80’s to global warming at the turn of the century to simply climate change more recently as the facts failed to support their mantra along this road.

Climate change has been occurring for thousands of years as a natural phenomenon, including global warming ending the ice age long before fossil fuels were ever conceived.

The fossil fuel industry does not deserve demonization & to deny that natural gas isn’t more favorable to Breena’s cause vs coal or oil is simply bizarre.

While we will continue to differ on this subject, I will continue to look forward to working with Breena where we can find common ground. Defending neighborhood preservation or bad economic development decisions by our local government officials will bond our otherwise diverse opinions.

Bruce

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

“Steelbound” viewing tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 25

(5th in a series of posts on Touchstone Theatre)

For Gadfly, Touchstone Theatre’s “Festival UnBound” actually starts tomorrow with the viewing of “Steelbound,” the play performed twenty years ago that is the point of reference for its sequel “Prometheus/Redux,” which is the centerpiece of the Festival that begins October 4.

The “Steelbound” viewing will take place in the National Museum of Industrial History. Doors open at 6, opening remarks by Hank Barnette at 6:15, and the video at 6:30. Admission free.

Steelbound

Bill George performs as Prometheus in a 1999 production of Touchstone Theatre’s ‘Steelbound,’ a modern-day adaptation of a Greek myth in which a former steel worker laments his fate while chained on top of a steel ladle. (Morning Call text and file photo/TMC)

Craig Larimer, “‘Steelbound’ video viewing party to usher in Touchstone’s Festival UnBound.” Morning Call, September 23, 2019.

“Steelbound,” was an adaptation of Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Bound,” a Greek tragedy in which Prometheus stands for human progress against the forces of nature. “Steelbound” featured a prematurely retired steelworker chained to a 24-ton ladle. The cast featured more than 50 people, including former steelworkers and their families and neighbors. The sold-out production was presented in the iron foundry of the closed Steel plant in south Bethlehem. It included music by Ysaye Barnwell, founder of the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. Some of that music is included in “Prometheus/Redux.”

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

Gadfly #1 seeks cure for insomnia

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(Latest in a series of posts about the Southside)

Imagine Gadfly #00 moderating a local Jeopardy show.

The contestants are the Mayor, the Director of Community and Economic Development, and Gadfly #1.

Under the category “Bethlehem Zoning Code,” the answer is five unrelated people.

Gadfly #1 pounces on the buzzer first, as he has been doing for decades.

“The question is, what is the definition of a family.”

Thus, the root cause, according to Gadfly #1, of the developer lust for student housing on the Southside surrounding Lehigh University.

Followers know that according to Gadfly #1’s research, Bethlehem is the only college town in the state with such a definition — others have the less aphrodisiac number of 3, 2, or 1 student permitted.

And he keeps asking, why us? Why this number here?

And keeps getting no answer.

(A follower passed on the information that Bloomsburg defined a family as 4, and the courts upheld it against developer suits.)

Here is “ailing” Gadfly #1 appealing to the emotions of the power structure once again at the September 17 Council meeting.

Now the Mayor answered the South Bethlehem Historical Society letter about conditions on the Southside.

But poor sleepless Gadfly #1 keeps getting ignored.

Sigh.

Now maybe Gadfly #1’s question is too complex, controversial, and cantankerous to answer (Ha! adjectives some might say that apply to Gadfly #1 himself too!) — too hard.

So maybe yours truly Gadfly #00 might suggest something easier to at least help make those “neighborhoods” around Lehigh feel more like neighborhoods and to help assuage (good SAT word) el primo Gadfly’s insomnia.

Like taking the rental and rental company signs off the homefronts and windows.

The signs cluster on homes like lanternflies on trees. See the videos in Gadfly’s infamous Tour de Rentz: from Hillside to First Terrace back in July.

Perhaps video 3 as a good example:

Surely in this modern world there’s an online resource that efficiently directs prospective student renters to rental agencies and rental addresses — rendering these old-style signs — these badges of a kind of urban colonialism — well, old-style and unnecessary.

Surely, there must be a City ordinance against this kind of mercantile trashing of block after block after block after block on the Southside around Lehigh.

Very tacky, like streetwalkers parading their wares.

Perhaps an ordinance like zoning 1320.08 (a) (4): Signs advertising the sale, lease or rental of property, provided that the area of any such sign shall not exceed 6 square feet and not more than one such sign shall be placed on property held in single and separate ownership unless such property fronts on more than one street, in which case, one such sign may be erected on each street frontage. All signs shall be removed within 7 days after an agreement of sale or rental has been entered into. In addition to the foregoing, one open house sign shall be permitted subject to the conditions listed under 1320.08(b)(3). Two off premises signs shall also be permitted as stated in 1320.08(b)(3).

One could look at the Northside too, 12 E. Market, for instance. That yellow is very pretty.

001

Let’s get rid of these signs. And maybe plant some trees on Hillside and elsewhere on the Southside avenues while we’re at it.

At least give Gadfly #1 some satisfaction!

Festival UnBound

Non-profits vie for Wind Creek $$,$$$

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(Latest posts in a series about Wind Creek Casino)

I may be wrong, but, if you wait a day in-between, it looks like you can vote more than once . . .

Jessica Johnson, “Vote now to pick which local nonprofit gets $25,000 in Wind Creek Bethlehem contest.” Morning Call, September 23, 2019.

Wind Creek Bethlehem is giving $25,000 to a local nonprofit organization as part of its grand opening ceremonies in October. The recipient will be chosen by a public vote today through Sept. 30, according to a news release from Wind Creek.The 10 organizations were picked based on previous partnerships and community relationships built over the last decade. They are:

ArtsQuest

Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley

Hogar Crea – Women’s Center

Junior League of the Lehigh Valley

St. Luke’s University Health Network

The Foundation For The Bethlehem Area School District

Turning Point Lehigh Valley

Via of the Lehigh Valley

Victory House of Lehigh Valley

YWCA Bethlehem

These local organizations were asked to submit a 30- to 60-second video showcasing their organization, who they are, what they do and how they would spend the money. Each video was posted in random order on Wind Creek Bethlehem’s official Facebook page Sept. 13-22.

The winner will be announced Oct. 10 during Wind Creek Bethlehem’s grand opening ceremonies.

To learn more, go to www.windcreekbethlehem.com/about-us/Giving-Back.html, or go to bit.ly/WCBCharityContest to view all the submissions and vote.

Wind Creek Bethlehem actively builds mutually beneficial partnerships with service organizations, non-profits, educational organizations, and similar groups within our service areas. We will consider ongoing funding as well as requests for projects and events that address people, community, and the earth in the community that we call home.

Festival UnBound

How do they fit? . . . Are they a done deal?

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(10th in a series of posts about 548 N. New St.)

How pertinent to consider Mr. Vergilio’s*** comments at the Sept. 17 Council meeting as a follow-up to Kim’s “Historical preservation pays” post.

Gadfly always amazed these days at how fast time goes.

A sign of his senior-seniorness.

(Sinatra’s “But the days grow short when you reach September” plays faintly in his inner ear these days.)

Been 8 days since he promised a “to be continued” on 548 N. New.

The 11 and 15 W. Garrison St. matter popped up (see sidebar).

Can’t multi-task anymore.

In media res the Garrison St. discussion, Jerry Vergilio*** stepped up twice — calmly, concisely, patiently, sensibly — to put the current issue in its meaningful frame.

548 N. New and Skyline West:

How do they fit?

Are they a done deal?

Vergilio*** is Everyman, a concerned citizen who doesn’t understand the thought process or the bureaucratic process or the political process that has enabled these highly significant visible projects to outrun his awareness and anyone’s ability to curb their forward motion.

Like the comments by Kim Carrell-Smith and Bill Scheirer at the Planning Commission meeting on 548 that Gadfly has reported on, Vergilio is too late.

Too late.

“Done deal.”

The death knell to citizen participation.

2 W. Market, at least they had the decency to make something that fit in the neighborhood.
I don’t know what the zoning issues are, but as far as what they did, they made something that fit there.
But we have two buildings going up — 546 New St. and Skyline View — they’re totally inappropriate buildings.
They overlook the historic district, they don’t belong there.
They’re glass and metal — I don’t know how anyone could say they belong right next to the historic district.
. . . doesn’t fit.

546 New St. was in the paper last week — apparently it’s a done deal.
That a done deal? . . .Nobody knows? . . . Nobody knows?
How about Skyline View?
I mean, do they still have a chance to be modified?
That doesn’t go past you guys first?
And then whatever’s built there is up to whomever buys the property?
How about 546-548 New St.? — it was put in the paper as a done deal — it’s the first I ever heard about it.

Gadfly recalls his own “teachable moment” post in one of his modest proposals.

We need to take the shroud off this entire development process.

*** Gadfly taking this man’s name from the video — hope it is correct.

to be continued . . . (yeah, yeah, we heard that before)

Festival UnBound

Historical preservation pays in a number of ways

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(2nd in a 4-part series of posts on thoughtful planning by Kim Carrell-Smith)

Gadfly:

Part 2: The evidence mounts

Okay, so if you don’t want to read all of those regional, state, and city studies from the last installment, how about a summary of key ideas from a number of reports? You don’t just have to take my word for this: in her 2012 study “The Economic Impact of Historic Resource Preservation,” author Mimi Morris, the Executive Officer of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment, examined a host of data-based studies, and summarized:

The dozens of reports written on the topic of the economic impact of historic preservation all identify these three main economic impacts resulting from historic preservation:

Increased Property Values
Job Creation
Increased Heritage Tourism

Related social impacts that have a lesser but still important economic impact include decreased criminal activity, increased housing supply, better quality of life, and increased pride in cultural assets and communities.

Pretty convincing.

But what about a couple of specific studies that Bethlehem can really learn from, given our city’s historical “branding,” our current historical building stock, and the powerful and predominant aesthetic impact of our historical architecture and views, in both downtowns?

At the risk of some repetition here (full disclosure: I bring this up a lot at City Council’s courtesy of the floor in hopes that someone will hear me), one study that could be very useful for Bethlehem planners and developers is the fascinating 2017 project conducted by Edge Research, and funded by American Express, called “Millennials and Historic Preservation: A Deep Dive Into Attitudes and Values,” which specifically discusses the economic and social impact of historic preservation when it comes to millennial consumers and residents in US cities. There is very powerful data here indicating the clear preference of millennials to live, work, and spend their time and money in places with a historic feel.

Aren’t these young people the future of our city? Don’t we want this generation to spend their (rent, play, and tax) money in our commercial areas, and nearby?

So our stockpile of evidence is beginning to grow: historic preservation pays in a number of ways. Maintaining the historical vibe of a community is good for jobs, tourism, property values, and feet on the street for retail, dining, and business growth and sustainability . . . and we know it appeals to young people, in particular!

But there is one more study, which is most significant, when it comes to thinking about scale, aesthetics, mass, and context in city development or redevelopment.

Part 3 coming soon . . .

Kim

Festival UnBound

The strikers’ generation has been taught climate science

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Breena Holland is an Associate Professor at Lehigh University in the Department of Political Science and the Environmental Initiative. She is a past and current director of Lehigh University’s South Side Initiative.

Gadfly,

What my friend Mr. Haines fails to admit is that the golden egg is actually not golden. Its yoke turned out to be a slow-release poison, which the climate strikers clearly have learned a lot more about. Their generation was taught climate science, and because of that, they don’t view the problems of transitioning away from fossil fuels as something that can avoided while rich fossil fuel companies continue to externalize their costs on the rest of the world. What’s the point of a strong economy if it slowly kills the planet that all species need to live?

While every one of Mr. Haines’ claims can be contested on empirical grounds — natural gas is not resulting in dramatic emissions reductions, and the price of it will go up in PA because it will be exported thanks to frackers’ abuse of eminent domain to set up pipelines, etc.—what his comments reveal is simply that he has not familiarized himself with the science of climate change and its consequences. If a person denies the seriousness of the problem, then the strikers look unreasonable. But if you take the problem seriously, then it’s obvious why the crisis can’t wait for fossil fuel companies to clean up their mess, and why we need to start talking about real alternatives rather than appeal to 20th century economic ideas that favor endless growth at all costs. The strikers are choosing life over growth, in part because they have a lot more of it ahead of them than me and Mr. Haines. If he doesn’t get that, then he needs to pick up any serious scientific journal that publishes actual data on the science of climate change. Climate change is still an inconvenient truth.

Breena

Festival UnBound

Sunrise on the SouthSide (6): Neighborhood Revitalization

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(Latest in a series of posts about Lehigh University and the Southside)

Sunrise on the Southside

Chapter 4: Neighborhood Revitalization

We continue to look at the Southside through Lehigh University’s promotional “Sunrise” video. Their project came to Gadfly’s attention just as we have been spending a lot of time on the Southside, a focus especially stimulated by the moving letter from the South Bethlehem Historical Society and the formation of Bethlehem Residents for Responsible Development.

Just steps from the university, on streets that are predominantly to the east and west of campus, are row homes, apartments and small homes that juniors and seniors and graduate students opt to rent. About a third of undergraduates live off campus.
With the neighborhood in transition, university and city leaders grew concerned about rental property conditions. In response, with financial support from Lehigh, the city now designates two of its city code enforcement officers to regularly inspect South Side rental properties, including off-campus houses where students reside.
“We want to make sure that the housing stock continues to be strong, safe and stable,” says Bethlehem Mayor Donchez, who acknowledges a number of “very good landlords.”
Lehigh also purchased a number of properties near the west end of campus that were blighted, in poor condition or had earned a reputation of bad student rentals. . . . The university renovated those properties in an effort to improve the housing stock, making them available to faculty, staff and graduate students.
The goal is to make sure that we feel that the neighborhood has stabilized to a certain extent, that you don’t have a great level of turnover . . . The goal [is] to have more people, even not associated with the university, have homeownership so that it becomes much more of the family neighborhood that it once was.
Those strolling the Greenway pass Esperanza Garden, a community garden that grew out of a collaboration among Lehigh, its students and the city, and the Harmony Pavilion, part of the Lehigh Chinese Bridge Project.
Neighborhood revitalization is happening on a bunch of different fronts.
The kids are so important—just as important as the tourists coming in from New York [for the Wind Creek casino]. . . . The amount of money they spend on the South Side is a tremendous boon for the economy.
Now there’s a lot of pride in ownership, and people have reinvested in their own investments. The South Side has some tremendous projects that have gone up recently. We’re definitely the jewel of the Lehigh Valley.

Festival UnBound

Can you pick out H. D. from this gallery of Bethlehem women?

(28th in a series of posts on H.D.)

Finding H.D.:
A Community Exploration of the Life and Work of Hilda Doolittle

Bethlehem-born writer Hilda Doolittle — H. D. — (1886-1961) is
the “Lehigh Valley’s most important literary figure.”

Next event: H.D.’s Bethlehem: A Walking Tour, Saturday, September 28, 2019. 1-3 pm, Rain date: September 29, 1-3 pm, Meet at the Bethlehem Area Public Library, 11 W. Church Street, Bethlehem, led by Seth Moglen, Professor of English, Lehigh University.

Can you pick H. D. out of this album of Bethlehem women noteworthy for their dedicated public spirit?

Wow! Good going! You are special!
It was the hair-style that gave her away, right?

But we want to make sure that H. D.’s face as well as her work is recognizable by everybody in town.

To wit: the Bethlehem Area Public Library has commissioned Angela Fraleigh, painter, professor, and chair of the Moravian College art department to do a portrait of H. D. that will hang in a place of honor in the library (there is already a plaque outside).

We are talking a high quality, museum-class portrait.

Contributions toward the $3500 goal for the portrait are still 2/3’s short.

If Gadfly followers donated $5 each we’d be over 50% there. And do the higher math.

See the library’s GoFundMe page to make online contributions.

Easy!

Tip o’ the hat from Gadfly.

Finding H.D.:
A Community Exploration of the Life and Work of Hilda Doolittle

Need for a reality check on climate change

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Gadfly:

With regard to the Student strike for climate change. When is someone going to put some sanity into the climate change mantra? They are espousing to kill the goose that laid the golden egg!!

Our country’s leaders strategically unleashed the fossil fuel industry about 40 years ago to make us energy independent from the grip of the oil cartel in the Middle East as you will recall. Remember the long lines at the gas pumps & sky high energy prices? We finally just now have achieved energy independence thru the creative investments in technology to include lateral drilling & fracking. The industry succeeded in driving down prices by increasing supply—Economics 101!!

Now Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren want to lock up the leaders of the industries that spearheaded this initiative. Prices of fossil fuels have been driven to unprecedented low levels to allow America to become world competitive & actually bring back lost manufacturing from offshore. Manufacturing relies on energy & brings higher paying jobs than the service industries fostered during the Bush/Obama administrations.

Low-cost Natural gas is replacing both coal & oil as the primary fuel for power plants as well as other energy consumption. This is resulting in dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions here in America at a same time of unprecedented economic growth.

Solar & Wind energy is clearly a minor player today & a long term supplemental energy source as it is unreliable & requires massive storage capacity to provide consistent power.

Killing air travel & cows is a wild pipe-dream that would destroy our economic leadership in the world & cost jobs for inner city minorities & for average Americans trying to rise above the middle class.

There needs to be a reality check with these preposterous proposals from our politicians in addition to the brainwashing of our youth in our schools. They clearly aren’t being taught enough history & economics. The leaders espousing elimination of fossil fuels clearly missed these classes along the way or simply want to control our freedom of choice.

Bruce

Gadfly would like to keep our attention on local issues, and Bruce will soon follow-up with comments on our in-process Climate Action Plan.

Festival UnBound

New development in the City: there is a difference between “anything goes” and thoughtful planning

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(First in a 4-part series of posts on thoughtful planning by Kim Carrell-Smith)

Gadfly: As so many residents, city officials and business folks have noted, new development can be good for the city, and is necessary for our tax base. But a few of us have added a caveat: there is a difference between “anything goes” and thoughtful planning. The future of our city should be based on sound practice that considers the latest data and research.

Is there a sound alternative development vision to the glitz, glass, mass, and height typical of new project proposals that have been announced lately in Bethlehem? As the Infill Development Standards and Policy Guide (developed for the state of NJ by the Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research and the University of MD’s National Center for Smart Growth and Education) has noted, successful infill projects in cities should be “context-sensitive.”

The context in Bethlehem is HISTORICAL.

So, could preserving the historical ambiance and human scale of our city — while pursuing creative development and redevelopment projects—also bring value, tax money, jobs, feet on the street, new businesses, tourists, and increased property values to Bethlehem? The answer is yes, and there is plenty of evidence to support that.

If you can hang on for the ride, I can introduce you to a raft of studies, first via one hyperlink (that list ought to keep everyone out of trouble for a few days). But after that I promise to discuss the highlights of two studies that are particularly applicable to the current development climate in Bethlehem.

Want LOTS of state, local, and regional evidence? Stick with me; this shouldn’t be too painful. Just one link first.

This is a hyperlinked list of studies from 28 states, 12 cities, and a few National Heritage Areas (like our D&L) which all examined the impact of historic preservation on the local economy. The information in these studies is based on solid data and good research done by professional planners, data and policy analysts, and academics (urban planners, business professors, economists), and lawyers, most of whom belonged to two different top teams of consultants: one firm was the highly regarded real estate and economic development firm PlaceEconomics, and the other consulting group was the equally well known Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers.

The vast majority of these studies indicate that maintaining the historical integrity of cities can and does enhance property values, creates jobs, expands the tax base, attracts visitors and/or new residents, and puts “feet on the street.” Each city, state, or regional study provides strong evidence for such assertions.

So there IS an alternative way of thinking about “progress!” I promise fewer studies, but fascinating findings, in the next installment . . .

Kim

Festival UnBound

We need the city to adopt a resolution declaring a climate emergency

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Peter Crownfield is officially retired but spends most of his time working with students in his role as internship coordinator for the Alliance for Sustainable Communities–Lehigh Valley.

“It’s Sunday, September 22, do you know where your local Climate Action Plan is?”

I wish I did, Gadfly!

The city issued an RFP for climate a action planning that was due over 2 months ago. (I was told that 4 proposals were received, but the City has refused to make the proposals public.) And they have not yet awarded a contract.

We need the city to adopt a resolution declaring a climate emergency and to direct all departments and employees to mobilize an all-out effort to reduce GHG emissions and to involve the entire community; the resolution also should call on businesses and educational institutions to do the same. ‘Business as usual’ is not acceptable.

BASD adopted a Climate and Sustainability Commitment over 5 years ago, but have not reported any significant progress on fulfilling the commitment. (The facilities department had already done an outstanding job of reducing energy use, even before the Climate and Sustainability Commitment was adopted.)

In the meantime, teachers in every subject area and every grade level can find ideas for teaching climate change by looking at the Teacher Guide section at teach-climate.net. Zinn Education Project also has some excellent resources for teachers.

Parents & students should demand that schools give appropriate attention to the climate emergency!

Peter

And now it’s Monday, September 23,
do you know where your local Climate Action Plan is?

Festival UnBound

Festival Unbound is e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e!

(5th in a series of posts on Touchstone Theatre)

Who are we now that the Steel is gone?

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

Take a video tour of just a few of the festival sites!

But see below, you’ll find the Festival events all over town.

A few time slots still available.
Contact Gadfly if you want to book something for your front yard.

National Museum of Industrial History

The Greenway

Touchstone

BAPL

Charter Arts

Zoellner

Single Sisters’ House

PBS

Cafe the Lodge

Ice House

Sigal Museum

Miller Symphony Hall

Godfrey Daniels

Color Me Mine

Payrow Plaza

Festival UnBound

$$$$ for Banana Factory plazas

(8th in a series of posts on Banana Factory Expansion)

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

This Banana Factory project, which Gadfly senses is much appreciated and anticipated by all, rolls along nicely!

Banana Factory plaza

Nicole Radzievich, “Bananas were once warehoused here. Check out the artsy plazas pitched at this south Bethlehem spot now.” Morning Call, September 17, 2019.

One plaza would feature seating wrapped around large sculptures and other outdoor art located around the corner from the artsy south Bethlehem business district. The other would be an outdoor classroom where students in preschool classes or after-school programs would be able to learn about the arts while adults could paint en plein air in a space featuring more sculptures and artwork.

Those proposed plazas, part of a larger $15 million to $18 million expansion of the Banana Factory, got a boost Tuesday when state Sen. Lisa Boscola announced that a $100,000 recreation grant will go toward funding the plazas. The state also awarded $60,000 for the Whitehall Parkway Pavilion Rest Area development, $25,000 for the Special Needs Park equipment upgrade project, and $70,000 to Lafayette College for the Easton Art Park master site plan.

ArtsQuest, the nonprofit behind the Banana Factory and festivals such as Musikfest, hopes the proposed plazas will continue to draw people to experience the arts in what is a vibrant community amassing on the South Side, spokesman Mark Demko said.

He said ArtsQuest hopes to break ground on the expansion project by the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021.

Earlier this year, ArtsQuest received word it would be getting $500,000 from the state’s Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program for the expansion of the Banana Factory.

The 80,000-square-foot Banana Factory expansion, dubbed a community cultural center, will include an arts-based preschool program, more classes for people of all ages, a black box theater and more at the location of the current Banana Factory, 25 W. Third St.

Festival UnBound

Recommending this blog on sustainability by a Bethlehem native

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Gadfly has started to follow the Radical Moderate blog by Alison Steele, a Bethlehem native and Liberty grad: “The purpose of this site is to document my exploration of different ways to reduce my own footprint.”

Alison is Director of Community Programs & Advocacy at Conservation Consultants, Inc. in Pittsburgh.

Her recent post is on a climate change scarf!

Gadfly remembers that Brian Hillard of our Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) met her on the conference circuit and reported on their conversation.

Give the work of this local daughter of “former-hippie parents” a look!

It’s Sunday, September 22, do you know where your local Climate Action Plan is?

Festival UnBound

Student climate strike in Bethlehem (and around the world)

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(The latest in a series of posts relating to the environment, Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan, and Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Council)

Gadfly couldn’t attend. Comments invited from those who did. Did followers have any kids or grandkids who were there?

Sarah M. Wojcik and Kayla Dwyer, “Global Climate Strike inspires Lehigh Valley residents, students to rally against inaction on climate change.” Morning Call, september 20, 2019.

Madison Bold doesn’t see how her attendance score in high school is going to matter if a threat as massive as climate change is left unchecked. Bold, 16, a sophomore at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, was among about 20 students who left class Friday to join protesters of all ages in Bethlehem’s Payrow Plaza as part of the global climate strike, inspired by a Swedish girl the same age as Bold. Millions attended the event around the world, including a handful of locations around the Lehigh Valley.

At Lehigh University’s front lawn in Bethlehem’s South Side, students used a bullhorn to persuade peers to join them in their march to City Hall. There, Lehigh students joined more than 150 others gathering to show support for action on climate change. “Skip your classes! Save the planet! Join millions!” organizer Connor Burbridge shouted to students shuffling past. A few stopped to watch before moving along, but more and more found their way into the growing cluster of students.

Even so, the turnout – roughly 100 by 1:30 p.m. when the group marched across the Fahy Bridge to Payrow Plaza – thrilled organizers. Oliwia Krupinska, a Lehigh senior studying astrophysics, had no sense of the response at the university. The event was organized by various groups in an intentionally decentralized fashion, but that made it hard to understand the reach.

Students called on each other to make small, personal changes to effect change: Drive less, cut down on meat consumption, start composting. Students were encouraged to refrain from viewing the issue from a partisan lens and take ownership in whatever parts of campus or community they are – be it in their communication classes or mechanical engineering courses.

Student leaders also called on Lehigh University to enact policies and practices, such as banning single-use plastic on campus and divesting university finances from the fossil fuel industry, to combat climate change.

“It’s our job to hold our own school responsible,” Krupinska told the students gathered.

A group of environmental policy graduate students said they had no classes during the planned march. But given their course of study, suspected they’d get in more trouble if they didn’t join the mobilization.

“This is also about showing solidarity with youth around the world,” Clopton said. “I think it’s important that Lehigh and little cities like Bethlehem join this conversation. It’s just as important for places this size to stand up and fight back.”

“This gets people together to network and start conversations,” he said. “And for young people, getting them this experience is important. Chanting can be contagious. Once you do it, people want to come back to it. We all have it in ourselves to be leaders.

It’s Saturday, September 21, do you know where your local Climate Action Plan is?

Festival UnBound

Sunrise on the SouthSide (5): Long-time Believers

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(Latest in a series of posts about Lehigh University and the Southside)

Sunrise on the Southside

Chapter 3: Long-time Believers

John Saraceno is among a core group of business owners and lifelong residents who have long believed in South Bethlehem’s potential. For decades, Saraceno pushed to make city leaders more attentive to the South Side and reached out to university officials to encourage more involvement.
With the South Side already struggling when he first launched his design business in the 1980s, he helped form a SouthSide Merchants Association and created events to draw people into the community. He renovated the 1929 building that houses his business, the Lit coffee shop and other entities. And before the SouthSide Ambassadors took hold, he picked up trash and swept gutters in front of his property.
“There’s a lot of good things that have been going on for a long time,” Saraceno says. . . . “There are pieces falling into place. It’s just a progression of steps that were taken over the years.”
The merchants group that Saraceno helped found has evolved into the SouthSide Arts District, a revitalization program that works to improve economic conditions in the core business district. . . . Among the many events are Spring on the SouthSide, First Friday, the Out to Lunch Concert Series and the Screen on the Green community movie night at the Zoellner Arts Center’s gardens.
Each year, the non-profit SouthSide Film Institute also hosts the SouthSide Film Festival, which celebrates independent films from around the world. And the Bethlehem Farmers’ Market at Farrington Square brings in locally grown foods Thursdays from May through October.
The district’s design committee promotes the physical art visible on the streets (brightly painted murals, lively flower pots, funky bike racks).
As the SouthSide Arts District moves forward with its initiatives, South Bethlehem’s history looms large. “With everything that we’re trying to do to advance into the future,” Missy Hartney says, “we still have a big respect for the past and making sure that … we’re not tearing down our history.”

Festival UnBound

Festival in a fortnight!

(4th in a series of posts on Touchstone Theatre)

Who are we now that the Steel is gone?

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

If this video doesn’t make your hair curl, your nose bleed, your palms sweat, your piggies wiggle, and your loins leap, then you are following the wrong blog!

VOLUNTEERS – We’re looking for a monumental volunteer brigade to help us power ten days of community-wide creations! Interested in getting involved? Email mike@touchstone.org or fill out the volunteer form on our website.

“STEELBOUND” SCREENING – Curious about the production that inspired it all, Touchstone and Cornerstone Theatre’s Steelbound (1999)? Join us for a screening of that unforgettable production, as we prepare to celebrate where we are twenty years later. Steelbound will play at the National Museum of Industrial History on September 25, with opening remarks by Hank Barnette, former CEO of Bethlehem Steel beginning at 6:30p.

HAPPY HOUR AT APOLLO GRILL – Our friends at Apollo Grill are kindly hosting a happy hour to benefit the festival! Join us Thursday, September 26, 5:00-7:00p, where you can enjoy munchies and drink (and the company of the Touchstone Ensemble). We’ll have a raffle basket, and $1 from every Jack Daniels drink goes toward Festival UnBound. A delicious way to support art! Learn more here.

JOIN US IN SONG – Like to sing? We are seeking Touchstone friends to be in a Pop-Up Choir, led by the Valleys Kira Willey, for the Opening and/or Closing ceremonies – since we hope you’re already planning to be with us for performances, why not have a hand in making art as well? Please go to our Google sign-up here to indicate your interest and availability.

Keep the “flavor” of locally-focused retail

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

Although she’s lived in Bethlehem for almost 20 years, Carol Burns’ new career as a freelance marketer is giving her an opportunity to “discover” her hometown. She volunteers for several arts-related organizations, and her newest adventure is dipping her toe into local politics and community organizations.

Gadfly:

And these numbers just reflect the resident side — how about all the proposed new retail spots? Will they be affordable for local businesses — or will we see an influx of “name brand” companies that can afford the rent? To me — no pun intended — the “flavor” of Bethlehem retail is that it is so locally-focused. I’d hate to lose that.

Carol

Yes, note that the local “Factory” is planned for first-floor retail at the Polker.

Boom times?

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

So, apropos of much Gadfly traffic lately, one follower asks:

Where are all these deep-pocketed tenants — residential and retail — going to come from?

Forsooth, we’re looking at one helluva lot of new apartments coming online.

Gadfly — dancing with the downsizing devil — may be looking for one.

But he’s not deep-pocketed.

Is Bethlehem a deep-pocket magnet?

Mr Connell — of the Garrison development we have most recently been discussing — mentioned that he’s engaged a study. I wonder what it will show.

Take a look at this list of apartments (numbers may be off):

548 — Martin Tower
74 — New/Garrison
33 — 548 N. New
120 — Boyd Theater
40-50 — Skyline
33 — Polk St.

And what has Gadfly overlooked?

We are creeping toward 1000 new “luxury” apartments.

Is that realistic?

Will an oversupply drive the price down into Gadfly’s range?

So big that we might have to put on an extra Councilperson to handle the work!

Festival UnBound

Widening the circle of commentary on Garrison St.

Festival UnBound
Ten days of original theatre, dance, music, art and conversation designed to celebrate and imagine our future together!
October 4-13

(5th in a series of posts about 11 and 15 W. Garrison St.)

After the Garrison St. neighbors spoke, two champions emerged for their cause.

Bruce Haines

Haines is a litigant in the latest chapter of the highly divisive 2 W. Market St. issues that Gadfly has covered extensively (see the link to 2 W. Market on the sidebar) and sees this issue through that lens as another example of “true commercial intrusion” into neighborhoods tacitly then visibly supported by the City. The developer has a “great project,” but it’s in the wrong location. Striking to Gadfly is the practical point that a vote yes is a vote for an open door. Since the rendering of the project shown at the meeting is only tentative, the final project could be “anything,” a fate Haines underlines with some nasty examples. “This is about integrity,” Haines says, and repeats it so often that Gadfly looked up the definition to make sure he knew what Haines saw as the transcending issue: “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.”

This is a deja vu all over again.
Remember 2 W. Market St.? This is commercial intrusion into residential neighborhoods. It’s plain and simple.
Except instead of being in the historical district, it’s a wonderful community on Garrison St.
It’s a community. It’s a neighborhood.
Certainly that’s a great project [the developer’s], as they even acknowledged, on New St. and around to the commercial business district as it exists today.
There’s not a house on that street that fits the variances and the codes, but at the end of the day, they are all residences.
So, how familiar is this? Here we have an individual coming to redo a zoning change again. We don’t have the City endorsing it. They’re sitting neutral. They’ll wait till the 11th hour like they did for 2 W. Market St., and then they’ll weigh in to make sure you understand how you’re supposed to vote.
And are we then pretty soon going to have Sand Island named after Mr. Connell or his business?
What we’ve got here is true commercial intrusion.
I really feel for these neighbors, and I’m going to stand up for them.
Because if you go ahead with this, you are marching down the the exact same path you marched with 2 W. Market St.
Now we are hearing the CB [Central Business district] . . . doesn’t apply on a local street so on Garrison she [City Planning administrator Darlene Heller] didn’t tell us what could go there . . . the largest bar and restaurant in the city . . . the biggest Hookah lounge, the biggest tattoo parlor . . . who the heck knows.
I think this is a great project. I’m not here not supporting a great project for the City.
Just put the project in the district where the project belongs which is the Commercial Business district, and leave these neighbors alone, and leave their businesses alone.
So what this is about is the same as 2 W. Market St., and if you keep going down this path, it’s about integrity.
This is about integrity. The whole thing is about integrity. It’s the integrity of our zoning code, which [the City administrator] won’t stand up to defend . . . It’s the integrity of our neighborhoods, and it’s about integrity of government.
You’re marching down the same path that will have you in court for 5, 7 years, the same as you’re going to be for 2 W. Market St.
This is a travesty, and you guys should need to squelch this from the beginning.
Not only that, you’re buying a pig in a poke. You’re going to change the zoning . . . and you don’t even know that you’re going to get this project.
Once it’s CB, it can be anything.
We know that the majority of Council believes that economic development outweighs neighborhoods.
If you were to approve this CB without it being attached to this project or conditional . . . you’re really done a disservice to this community.
[applause]

Stephen Antalics

Looking and sounding much like an Old Testament Jeremiah, Gadfly #1 speaks, as he always does, with rhetorical and moral brevity and clarity: whose will should Council serve, the public or the private? There’s the question that applies to not only this case but to a span of cases this Gadfly #00 has covered over the past year. To Antalics, the answer is self-evident.

There’s an old adage that says government of, for, and by the people, and it seems that’s been lost.
It’s almost like governance in spite of the people.
Bruce [Haines] is exactly right. The key word is integrity.
Integrity is expressed when the will is recognized and supported.
It then becomes whose will.
We have on many occasions intelligent concerned people who love the City come here and testify after intensive research why something shouldn’t happen.
But the people come forth who have private interests, which is fine . . . as long as private interests do not impinge upon the will of the people, the people who chose you to represent their interests.
So the question is, whose will are you going to serve?
And this question has come up much too often.
The will of the people or a private individual.
My sympathy for these people who spoke, because they represent the core of the City, decent people who love the City, and enjoy living in the City.
And what you can be doing here is depriving them of their way of life, uprooting them, forcing maybe some to move out of the City because they came here for that simple reason.
So, I think it’s very clear what has to happen here.

So, “where’s your head at” on the rezoning of the houses on Garrison St.?

Festival UnBound

The Bethlehem Gadfly

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The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

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The Bethlehem Gadfly

Who are we now that the Steel is gone?

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

Who are we now that the Steel is gone?

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly