Category: Lehigh University

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

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.

  • 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

Sunrise on the SouthSide (4): Commercial Vitality

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

Sunrise on the Southside

Chapter 2: Commercial Vitality

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.

Images of Domaci, Godfrey Daniels, Joe’s Barber Shop, Color Me Mine, Lit, Banana Factory, etc.

  • The Domaci owners aren’t alone in their belief in South Bethlehem. While there are still empty storefronts to be filled, the South Side in recent years has attracted numerous entrepreneurs who have staked their success on a neighborhood they believe to be on the rebound.
  • Peron Development opened Five10Flats, an apartment and retail building, in 2018 on Third Street between Fillmore and Buchanan streets, across from Northampton Community College. The six-story Gateway at Greenway Park building was developed at Third and New streets, offering offices and retail space, including the top-floor restaurant Zest with its panoramic views.
  • Lehigh is an anchor tenant in the Gateway building, along with St. Luke’s University Health Network. The university relocated about 145 employees there from several campus locations, including its controller’s office, real estate services and the development and alumni relations offices. Additional Lehigh staff work a few blocks away in the Flatiron Building on Broadway.
  • You could look at it as moving Lehigh’s staff off campus, or you could view it as blurring the borders between campus and the town,” says Lehigh President Simon. “If you go into a lot of urban universities, [the borders are] blurred, and there are some buildings that have a lot of university employees and some that have businesses, and yet the campus still has an identity. But both can coexist in a very productive way.”
  • “I love being a part of this community,” [Color Me Mine owner Tara Nagabhyru] says. “I saw so much potential here.”
  • Like other business owners, Nagabhyru praised the efforts of the SouthSide Arts District, which pumped up the events calendar in its efforts to attract people to South Bethlehem. Also, Nagabhyru says, people like longtime business owner John Saraceno, who owns the building across the street and operates Saraceno Designs on the second floor there, offered practical advice and extended support when she opened her doors.

 

Sunrise on the SouthSide (3): A Clean and Safe Environment

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

Sunrise on the Southside

Chapter 1: A Clean and Safe Environment

After a short break, Gadfly would now like to continue the slow walk through Lehigh University’s high quality production  “Sunrise on the Southside,” focusing today on chapter 1, “A Clean and Safe Environment.”

This 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.

The SouthSide Ambassadors — those people in the yellow uniforms cleaning streets and sidewalks!

Who are they? Where did they come from? Why are they there? What do they do?

Since the program was created in 2014 in partnership with Lehigh and the Bethlehem Economic Development Corp. (BEDCO), the Ambassadors have expanded their footprint on the South Side with support from the Community Action Development Corp. of Bethlehem.

  • “In a lot of people’s minds, it’s not clear who [the Ambassadors] work for, whether they work for the City of Bethlehem or whether they work for Lehigh University. And to me, that is a successful way to view it. They are out there to make the South Side better.” (Lehigh president John Simon)
  • Seven days a week in the South Side’s core commercial district, the Ambassadors are on the job from 7 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. Morning details focus on sweeping the sidewalks in an 18-block radius, pulling weeds from tree beds, picking up leaves, sprucing up. Later in the day, the Ambassadors focus on safety issues. The Ambassadors also provide plenty of hospitality—helping visitors with parking meters, directions and restaurant locations.
  • “Listen, it was pretty rough down here. It was dirty. Street lights were out. Curb lines were just covered with garbage, out almost 16, 18 inches from the curb. That doesn’t seem like a big deal when you’re in it every day, but when it’s gone, what a difference it made. Things have changed considerably. ” (Ambassadors Operations Manager Hector Lopez)
  • “Now we are starting to see a change in [people’s negative perceptions of the South Side] just because the sidewalks are clean.” (Lehigh assistant vice president for community and regional affairs Adrienne McNeil)
  • McNeil works with Lehigh’s Office of First-Year Experience on Faux Friday, when first-years eat at South Side restaurants as part of the effort to get them to check out the core business district. Last fall, she says, about 1,100 students participated.
  • Then, on the first Friday in October, McNeil leads one of Lehigh’s 5X10 (five programs over 10 weeks) series. Participating students meet her at Farrington Square, then they walk together to the Color Me Mine pottery place on Third Street, where they can make plates, bowls and mugs imprinted with the Lehigh logo. “Part of that is just showing them that Third and Fourth streets are close,” she says. “It’s a fun thing for them.”

 Gadfly invites comments on this powerful Lehigh public relations document as we go.

Sunrise on the SouthSide (2)

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

Sunrise on the Southside

“We are are linked at the hip. The students who come to Lehigh have to call Bethlehem home. I want them to see themselves as part of the community and to participate in the community. The residents of Bethlehem have to see Lehigh as one of the major employers and a strong academic institution. That links to the ability to attract businesses and jobs. So I think it’s a very symbiotic relationship.”  (Lehigh president John Simon)

“We all just want to work together to benefit the community of South Bethlehem, to benefit the city, to benefit Lehigh. So it’s a win-win.” (Our mayor Robert Donchez)

Last time we took a look at the lead video in Lehigh University’s high quality production  “Sunrise on the Southside,” and Gadfly would like to continue a slow walk through the entire project over several posts.

This project comes 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.

Begin with consideration of these examples of the symbiotic relationship between Lehigh and the City from the Lehigh project’s intro page:

  • the downtown manager position [Missy Hartney]
  • the SouthSide Ambassadors, the gold-and-blue-clad security officers who remove litter from sidewalks, clean away graffiti, assist visitors with directions and provide a host of other services
  • the Lehigh University Police Department, who work in concert with Bethlehem police and other organizations to keep neighborhoods safe
  • two city code enforcement officers, whom Lehigh financially supports, who inspect off-campus properties that students and others rent to make sure they are up to code
  • members of the Lehigh faculty affiliated with the South Side Initiative who offer a number of courses that examine the area’s architecture, history and evolution, and work to archive the area’s culturally rich and diverse history
  • Initiatives include Lehigh’s Move Out Collection Drive and the Great South Side Sale, where students’ discarded items at the end of an academic year are recycled for sale and profits are funneled back into community programming for local school children

The project has seven “chapters,” and we’ll gradually focus on each one. But, for now, chew on the above for a stimulating overview.

Gadfly invites comments on this powerful Lehigh public relations document as we go.

Sunrise on the SouthSide (1)

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

SS sunrise 1
“Sunrise on the SouthSide” is a striking promotional web project produced by Lehigh University. We will surely want to look at this powerful work in some detail over the course of several posts.

But to start our examination let’s look at the extremely well done lead video of the project, which has this caption:

“Lehigh University, its partners in the community and the City of Bethlehem join forces to foster South Bethlehem’s resurgence. In the two decades since local steelmaking operations ended at the Bethlehem Steel Corp., the South Side of Bethlehem is having its moment.”

This Lehigh video (and the project) remind us of a lot of good things.

“This is our home for four years.” — Lehigh student

“As someone who grew up on the South Side, we’ve been talking about redevelopment and revitalization of South Bethlehem for 30 years, and now it’s happening.” — Mayor Donchez

“[Bethlehem], just a fun place overall . . . and then the newness and vitality that the youth of the University brings.” — Warren Clark, local shop owner

The Lehigh strategy: 1) a Southside clean and safe, 2) participation in the schools, 3) economic development, and 4) neighborhood stabilization. — Lehigh Administrator Fred McGrail

“We’re really working together to make South Bethlehem a home for Lehigh University students. . . . We want potential students to come to Lehigh University because of the downtown and because of Lehigh University.” — Missy Hartney, Southside Arts manager

“If all you had available to you while you were in school had to come from the campus itself, it’s a very limiting experience.” — Lehigh President John Simon

“The Southside is our community, and we have a duty and responsibility to the community that we are a part of.” — Lehigh administrator Carolina Hernandez

“Lehigh has been very involved with the Hispanic Center . . . and one of the donors for the Fowler Community Wellness Center.” — Victoria Montero, Hispanic Center

“Students . . . weren’t necessarily venturing down into South Bethlehem, and then that’s the reason for the Ambassadors.” — Lehigh Administrator Adrienne McNeil

“I’m a believer that if you care deeply about the City, you are going to move people into the City.” — Lehigh President John Simon

“I think it’s incredible that Bethlehem’s getting such a second chance.” Warren Clark, local shop owner

In some ways South Bethlehem really is a great comeback story. . . . There’s a great sense of pride in South Bethlehem and always has been.” — Lehigh Administrator Fred McGrail

“I think the entire City today realizes the great partnership we have between Lehigh and the City of Bethlehem.” — Mayor Donchez

“Everything that we do is truly with each other.” — Lehigh administrator Carolina Hernandez

“We’ve only just begun.” — Missy Hartney, Southside Arts manager

“We are now stepping off the Hill. We are growing more into the community. . . . and the community almost seems brighter because we’re taking care of each other.” — Lehigh student

The proposed Packer Ave. Promenade

(Latest in a series of posts relating to Lehigh University, the Southside,
and neighborhoods)

“Lehigh University proposes to have the City of Bethlehem vacate the portion of Packer Avenue from Webster Street to Vine Street to create a pedestrian corridor.”
 – Lehigh Traffic Study

Gadfly is confident that we have all at one time or another been traveling on Packer Ave. through the Lehigh campus and experienced the hazardous crossing right at the main entrance.

Especially at class change time, students and faculty flow en masse up and down across Packer Ave., sometimes almost oblivious to traffic.

Students coming down the hill often flow with such force and determination that you are reminded of one of the falls in the Jim Thorpe area.

Students going uphill have the primal focus of salmon going upstream to spawn.

While students sometimes seem oblivious, drivers run the gamut from impatience to anger.

It’s not a good scene.

For this and other reasons having to do with a new physical plan in operation for the campus, Lehigh (as Gadfly first noted in the student newspaper back in March) is exploring seeking approval from the City to make Packer between Adams and Vine a promenade.

The safety concern would be eliminated.

And one can see good things in such a plan from Lehigh’s perspective. A promenade would help unify the lower campus buildings and fit right in to the (laudable) goal of a walking campus.

At a meeting two or three weeks ago, Gadfly heard the Mayor say there was no definite decision yet, but the positive thing he saw was a better flow of students down to the 4th St. businesses. So, at first blush, good for the City economics too.

In early May, a group from a Lehigh graduate class studying this proposal made a presentation to our Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), primarily, I think, to recommend use of their assessment tool — Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) — to complement existing planning processes in new development projects.

Active Gadfly follower Peter Crownfield seems to have been involved in the assessment (see the conclusion to the executive summary), and I am sure we will hear from him.

Here is the complete PowerPoint presentation: Packer Promenade – Sustainability Council.

And here the executive summary:

001

002

Per Gadfly usual practice, let’s look at the primary sources before we editorialize and criticize.

But Gadfly had in mind then at the EAC presentation and has more in mind now with the South Bethlehem Historical Society May 22 letter about the impact of “progress” on the Southside still bubbling on his brain things like impact on the residential neighborhood, consultation with neighbors, and the dreaded “Lehigh sprawl.”

So join me in chewing on the Packer Ave. Promenade proposal.

Lehigh’s Health, Science & Technology Building begins (25)

(25th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Groundbreaking for the new Lehigh Health, Science, and Technology college at the corner of Morton and Adams is imminent.

Lehigh 1

The presentation on the web link above is stunning. Savor that video.

You might remember Gadfly having his pee warmed by Lehigh’s construction of three new buildings on parking areas, resulting in a loss of over 500 parking spaces, pushing some parking off campus.

Lehigh now has a parking lot for faculty and staff in the area of Founder’s Way and 3rd St. There will be bus service between the lot and campus. Maybe it has already started.

(You will have already noticed the big Lehigh Transit buses on Mechanic St. turning south [up] New St.)

Reminds me that I never did find out where the lower-paid contract workers (cafeteria, cleaning, grounds staff) were accommodated in the parking reorganization.

And reminds me that we need to talk about the Lehigh plan in potencia for closing Packer Ave between Brodhead and Adams for a pedestrian mall.

As well as the refurbishing of the entrance into Lehigh from 3rd St. at the bridge to Campus Square at New and Morton.

Lehigh — on the move!

Lehigh Northside parking lot mystery partially explained (24)

(24th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Deep Throat surreptitiously (good SAT word) passed Gadfly a new document regarding the new Lehigh University parking plan that contains the following bullet:

  • There will be a commuter lot added on the SteelStacks/Sands property off of Third Street and Founder’s Way, and a shuttle serving this commuter lot. More details about the commuter lot will be shared with the campus community by the end of March. The university will be funding the cost of this space, so there will be no cost to the employee to use this lot.

So why the big mystery?

Why couldn’t Lehigh simply say, yes, Gadfly, we announced in September and said nothing different until this week that there would be a Northside Commuter lot but actually it’s a commuter lot on the southside now — 3rd and Founder’s Way.

Instead they played dumb, as if there were no off-site commuter lot, and got Gadfly’s pee all warm.

No doubt a good reason for stiffing me. No doubt above Gadfly’s pay grade. Big business.

In the recent document, Lehigh indicates they have made some changes. They indicate that the first come/first served system has been dropped, and people on lower campus seem assured now of parking close to their workspace. Sounds like “bumping” has been eliminated or diminished.

Lehigh is, of course, still silent about the contract workers — Sodexo, ABM, BrightView, etc. They are not Lehigh employees, and thus are not referenced, though they clearly must be affected by the parking reorganization, and are separated out as such in the Lehigh July 2018 parking study (p. 16 if my notes are correct).

The 3rd and Founder’s Way lot is 3/4’s of a mile from Farrington Square at the bottom of lower campus, about the same distance as the “mythical” Northside lot.

Thus, I still don’t have an answer to my basic question of what’s happening with this lower-paid group, at least some of whom no doubt are Bethlehem residents and taxpayers.

But even if they aren’t Bethlehem residents and taxpayers, are the lower-paid workers being, as it were, “forced” to suffer some hardship to park off-site because they can’t afford the parking fee?

Remember that Lehigh has made a conscious decision to build on parking lots, losing approx. 500 spaces.

I keep saying that there may be no problem, but I’d like somebody who has thought about these people to tell me so.

Lehigh obviously made changes in the original program because of legitimate concerns, stiff questions, and resistance from faculty and staff on campus.

The contract workers probably have no similar voice or power.

Are they being treated fairly?

Wait till Monday! (23)

(23rd in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

The Northside Commuter Lot mystery.

Anti-climax.

Gadfly did not speak at the Planning Commission yesterday.

Deep Throat advised him to hold his water for 96 hours.

To look for Lehigh to speak to the campus community Monday.

Questions to be answered.

 

Gadfly asks time before the Planning Commission today (22)

(22nd in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Thursday, March 14

Brent, Darlene, and members of the Planning Commission (except Ms. Cohen, for whom I do not have a permissible email). Lawyer Durso has been copied through her firm’s web site.

Good People:

Take #5

I understand that the Wind Creek Sign Waiver Request is on the agenda for today — apparently a visible sign that the long-awaited casino transfer is near. Exciting times. Great.

I didn’t hear that the Lehigh matter would be added to the agenda, but then again I see that I didn’t ask for notice so that I could prepare if it were possible for me to make a presentation. Let me ask now. Is it possible that we can re-visit 124 E. Morton today? Can I be recognized?

As more evidence that something is amiss in seeming City and Lehigh professed ignorance of this off-campus parking option before the PC: in an Oct./Nov. “additional FAQ’s” document, Lehigh answered these questions regarding the “Northside Commuter Lot” from concerned members on campus.

1) “Will there be a bike share location available at the North lot?” (You will remember that I believe it was Lawyer Durso at the very end of the 2/21 meeting who emphasized bikes as part of the solution in relation to the questions I raised. But the answer was no help from bikes here.)

2) “Will the North Lot shuttle schedule be expanded over time to accommodate people who work outside the designated hours?”

3) “How long will the wait be for the North Lot shuttle?”

4) “If the Commuter lot option is selected, where will staff park during Musikfest, Celtic Fest . . . ?”

Can there be any doubt that the Northside Commuter Lot is a definite part of the Lehigh parking plan though it was not included in their parking study presented to the City?

I remind you that Lehigh has announced plans to commence the first-come, first-served sign up system April 1, and on Feb. 26 the Lehigh representative announced to the Mayor’s South Side Task Force that construction on 124 will begin in June.

Now is the time to get some inconsistencies straightened out.

I hope to hear from you about today’s meeting.

Ed Gallagher

probably the last time to set the record straight (21)

(21st in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Tuesday, March 12

Brent, Darlene, and members of the Planning Commission (except Ms. Cohen, for whom I do not have a permissible email). Lawyer Durso has been informed of my request below through her firm’s web site.

Good People:

Take #4

Since I have provided all parties with access to substantive materials that indicate that a Northside Commuter Lot, though not in the parking plan submitted to and approved by the City and apparently unknown to the Director of Planning and Zoning, is part of the Lehigh parking plan rolled out to employees in September 2018,

and since Lehigh has announced plans to initiate its parking plan around April 1,

and since Lehigh’s implied denial of the very existence of that lot in their thinking about making up for lost parking spaces on campus made me look rather foolish in front of the Planning Commission, the public, and the press,

I respectfully request that 124 E. Morton be added to the agenda for the Thursday March 14 meeting.

It will probably be the last time to set the record straight before Lehigh’s plan becomes operational.

Ms. Heller and Chairman Melosky, I will be glad to make a presentation based on the presence of the Northside Commuter lot in Lehigh documentation if that is permissible.

Ed Gallagher

Will the Planning Committee reconsider the Lehigh Northside issue? (20)

(20th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

from the Planning Commission meeting 2/21/19

The gadflies of the insect world are nasty, pesky critters. Your Bethlehem Gadfly of the homo sapiens world is surely earning his sobriquet (good SAT word) with this thread on Lehigh University.

And you may be tired of it.

What’s your beef, Gadfly Gallagher?

There are two elements to this “case” bound to engage a gadfly:

1) what seems like conscious and willful inconsistency between Lehigh’s statements and the actuality

2) what may be (not sure) potential unfairness to the “little guy”

In relative briefness, let me lay it out once again:

Lehigh is constructing three major buildings on existing parking lots and, in total, by its own published figures is thereby losing 518 existing parking spaces on campus, almost the equivalent of the new New St. Garage. Lehigh’s July 18, 2018, parking study, approved by the City, indicates that Lehigh meets all zoning requirements and that all lost parking space will be absorbed on campus. That claim of absorbing all lost parking spaces on campus was affirmed by Lehigh before the Planning Commission, even when questioned by Gadfly at a meeting.

However, when Lehigh rolled out its new parking plan in a September 10, 2018, memo to employees and in perhaps a score of large and small group meetings with employees in the Fall, there was in the plan an off-campus Northside Commuter Lot at 123 W. Lehigh St., ¾’s of a mile and a good 15-minute walk from Farrington Square at the very bottom of main campus – a lot not mentioned in the July study submitted to the City. In the documentation circulated on campus to employees, bus service from that Northside lot to Farrington Square, where employees can connect with other buses to their work location, is described.

It seems clear from Lehigh documentation that all parking demand cannot be satisfied on campus and that the Northside lot is part of several elements to resolve that shortfall. In addition, the new Lehigh parking plan involves an annual fee of $500 for most spaces close to work locations. Some people might choose to park in the Northside lot because it is free. But it’s possible that others – among them Bethlehem residents and taxpayers – will be forced into that lot because they can’t afford the fee.

The fundamental problem, though, is that neither Lehigh or the City has recognized the inclusion of the off-campus lot in testimony before the Planning Commission, despite clear, overwhelming evidence that it is part of the Lehigh plan. Gadfly would like to see the existence of the off-campus lot recognized before the Planning Commission at which time any potential unfairness to Bethlehem residents and taxpayers can be addressed. There may be no unfairness, but we won’t know that without focused discussion.

Well, that wasn’t so brief, was it?

So here’s audio of the public comment section of the 2/21 Planning Commission meeting:

  • in the beginning “with-it” PC members do ask about parking
  • Gadfly makes his soulful pitch for the underdog (min. 1:20)
  • the Lehigh lawyer responds (min. 6:55)
  • there is a brief interchange between the lawyer and Gadfly (min.8:20)
  • astute PC members question again, and City official Ms. Heller resolves the discussion for the PC (9:20)
  • an astute concerned PC member, though, suggests an addition to the main motion before the vote, indicating still some uncertainty about parking (min. 12:25)
  • also comically (to Gadfly anyway) interesting is the Lehigh lawyer implying bike parking as part of the solution to the specific question about the specific kinds of people Gadfly is concerned about (min 13:50)

Lehigh plans to begin parking allocation around April 1 (3 weeks) for a July start to the new plan.

The Planning Commission meets next this Thursday March 14.

If anything is to be done, the time is now.

As you might note from his last letter to Lehigh, the City, and the PC, Gadfly has asked that the authorization given at the 2/21 meeting be revoked till the issue of the Northside lot and potential unfairness to City residents and taxpayers is thoroughly aired.

A Northside Commuter Lot for Lehigh U? Let’s make sure fairness is in play (19)

(19th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

This is the 3rd email in Gadfly’s recent conversation with the involved Lehigh and City parties over this puzzling issue of Lehigh’s “Northside Commuter Lot” and its possible negative effect on lower-paid Bethlehem residents and taxpayers who work at Lehigh.

Saturday, March 9

Brent, Darlene, and members of the Planning Commission (except Ms. Cohen, for whom I do not have a permissible email)

Take #3

There is a discrepancy here. The most obvious reason is that Lehigh has in some fashion (not a lease) made arrangement to use the Bethlehem Parking Authority Lot, discussed it openly with Lehigh employees as an option in their new parking plan, but not told the City, since Ms. Heller has no knowledge of it. But there are other possible interpretations as well.

My suggestion would be that the Planning Commission revoke its 2/21 approval till Lehigh explains the discrepancy, at which time the possible impact of bumping or forcing lower-wage Bethlehem residents, taxpayers, and voters into the Northside lot may be explored fully. There may be no problem, but let’s be sure.

The College of Health at 124 E. Morton is a major undertaking and a great additional distinction for the University and the City. The Mayor just highlighted it in Thursday’s “State of the City” address.

That new College and fair practices for lower-wage Bethlehem residents and taxpayers are not incompatible. Let’s just pause and make sure fairness is in play.

Here is evidence to consider–

Direct quotes from recording of the 2/21 Planning Commission mtg:

1) The Lehigh lawyer (so sorry, I don’t have her name): “[Lehigh has done] a study to prove and confirm to the city that with all these projects that would be coming both proposed now and what may be coming in the future that there’s adequate parking through out the campus based on the zoning ordinance requirements. That is public record here at the City, so whether Mr. Gallagher took the opportunity to review that, I don’t know. The lot that he’s talking about that there be a lease of some City lot does not exist, so the comments about lower income, lower whatever he’s trying to describe parking in that lot, there is no leasing of that City lot. And that is not even part of the parking study. The parking study took into account existing projects as well as the projects proposed. . . . There is no leasing of the lot with the City. All I can say is the lot you are claiming Lehigh is leasing is not under lease. . . . It’s not in the Comprehensive Plan. It’s not in the plan the City reviewed.”

2) Darlene Heller, Bethlehem Director, Planning and Zoning: “So that there will be some satellite parking spaces, none that I know of on the northside. . . .”

From the Lehigh Parking Study referenced above:

1) “The commuter lot is located on Goodman Campus [over the Mountain, Stabler Arena locale] with frequent bus service.” (32)

2) “Lehigh University intends to make use of off-site parking as an option for non-residential students at the Goodman Commuter lot.” (41)

From Lehigh U material on web site Sept 2018 and used as basis for widespread campus discussion throughout the Fall:

— see the attached image from the Campus Parking Map from the Lehigh U parking regulations document showing notation for Northside (other areas in the documentation reference bus service from the Northside lot to Farrington Square)

Northside 3

From personal conversation with a score of current Lehigh employees on Friday:

— everybody I talked with is aware of the Northside Commuter Lot in the mix of parking locations in the new plan

Assoc. VP Stringfellow and other Lehigh reps perhaps closer to implementation details of the parking plan than the Lehigh lawyer were present 2/21 but did not participate in discussion, though led to do so by Ms. Heller. Stringfellow is signator to the Sept 10, 2018, document that was circulated on campus that is the basis for my concern.

Ed Gallagher

Why still the mystery about a Northside Commuter Lot for Lehigh U? (18)

(18th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Gadfly did some research in the City Hall vaults for this follow-up message.

Thursday, March 7

Take #2

Brent, Darlene, and members of the Planning Commission (except Ms. Cohen, for whom I do not have a permissible email)

On 2/21 the Lehigh lawyer (sorry, I did not catch her name) “invited” me to look at the July 18, 2018, parking study submitted to the City.

I did. And, indeed, it has nary a mention of a Northside Commuter Lot. Which is consistent with the first testimony I heard from Lehigh when I inquired whether all lost parking spaces could be absorbed on campus. And was told they could.

So how does that square with the appearance of the off-campus Northside Lot on this document on the Lehigh web site and in conversations with Lehigh faculty and staff in the Fall when news of the parking changes was rolled out?

See the Northside Commuter Lot mention on the lower right of this Campus Parking map.

In fact, here is a blow-up of that lower right corner of the map clearly showing the presence of the Northside Commuter Lot in the Lehigh parking plan:

Northside 3

Why before the Planning Commission is the existence of this lot not recognized?

The 2/21 Lehigh lawyer was careful to say that Lehigh has no lease for that lot. But she did not say that Lehigh wasn’t using it.

Is Lehigh using that lot? Has that use been approved? Why the mystery?

Ed

Lehigh University’s Multi-Modal Culture (9)

(9th in a series of posts on Walkability and Bikeability)

A Gadfly tip o’ the hat and wave o’ the wing to follower Tony Hanna (Redevelopment Authority Director) for recommending the work of Jeff Speck on this subject. Gadfly is reading Speck’s Walkable City books now.

Gadfly followers will recognize that he is engaged in a bit of a beef with Lehigh University over the possible negative impact of the new parking system on the lower income strata of workers, some of whom, no doubt, are Bethlehem residents, taxpayers – and voters.

But

that new parking system is the result of a laudably ambitious plan to foster a multi-modal culture on campus.

See: A New Mobility Ecosystem

“Lehigh University’s Connections Plan will reduce the reliance on the automobile for on campus travel, promote ridership and expansion of the Lehigh University transit system and encourage health and wellness through walking and cycling, resulting in a more collaborative, less congested, and more sustainable environment for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors alike. The Connections Plan will seek to accomplish the following thematic goals:

  • Foster a multimodal culture
  • Achieve environmental sustainability
  • Enhance health & wellness
  • Minimize investment in new parking structures”

For more details, see the links on this main Connections page to The Pedestrian Experience, Transit System, Parking System, and Mobility Solutions for such specific sub-goals as:

  • Create a car-free zone of nearly 39 acres in the academic core of campus bounded by Packer Avenue, Taylor Street, University Drive, and Brodhead Avenue
  • Provide convenient, timely, and comfortable transportation options to eliminate vehicle dependence in the core of campus and provide access to all existing parking facilities
  • Limit vehicular access and parking throughout the core campus and establish the car-free zone
  • Partner with the public and private sector to deliver various transportation, carpool and ridesharing options (LANTA/LYFT/Enterprise).

Drilling down on the Pedestrian Experience, we find:

Pedestrian Experience

So there’s gonna be free Lanta, carpooling, car-sharing, bike sharing, etc., etc. – all kinds of things!

Gadfly has many followers on the Lehigh campus. Would anybody like to comment on this plan? It’s quite ambitious. Lehigh is built on the side of a hill (and I’ll bet somebody can tell us what degree of slope). Does the plan look good from your ground-level? Or how about other followers who are expert in such plans – is Lehigh on track?

“We’re lacking transparency here” (17)

(17th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

John Marquette is a retired librarian/archivist, author, historian, and a resident of Bethlehem. His current project is focused on the restoration of the interior of the Archibald Johnston Mansion in Housenick Park. 

Gadfly:

Regarding your post on Lehigh Northside parking, here is a map of the environs of 123 West Lehigh Street.

123 W. Lehigh

The lot is generally vacant except during Musikfest. Police officers sometimes use it for bike training. Why isn’t a traffic study being conducted for the added volume to the streets feeding into this lot? A new crossfit facility has just been permitted at Conestoga and Union. The Conestoga and Spring intersection is famous for traffic collisions (though I have no statistics to corroborate the statement). The main parking lot for Moravian’s Priscilla Payne Hurd campus is less than 200 yards away. And the neighbors (me, for example, plus the condo owners on Lehigh and Spring Streets) have not been notified of the proposed use. We’re lacking transparency here.

John

John: The answers seem so easy, I don’t understand why Lehigh just doesn’t give ’em. It has always just seemed odd to me that with what at first glance/thought seems like such a big campus, that Lehigh needs to push parking so far away.  And, if it is true that Lehigh is using that lot — remember, they are not saying so, even though it’s in the material distributed to faculty and staff — then there is still the issue of a bus running apparently at both rush hours that will probably need to stop somewhere in the “canyon” of New St. between 3rd and 4th before heading to Farrington Square.

a class-based parking system (16)

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.

(16th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Gadfly, Thanks for your attention to this ongoing issue. I have one point of clarification.

When Mr. Stellato asked where the 124 cars would go, and the response was a nearby garage, there are two options that come to mind. First, the top floors of the garage behind Maginnes Hall are currently reserved for students, and I think they plan to eliminate the student parking there so that the entire lot can go to faculty and staff.

Second, there is oodles of space in the new Benner Garage on New Street. I’m talking about the garage for which there was not a demonstrated parking demand, but which was built anyway with publicly backed bonds, in order to accommodate Dennis Benner’s desire to have parking for his new building at the corner of 3rd and New Street, which is now attached to the garage by a glass walkway built over a public greenspace. Now it would appear that the garage was built in part to accommodate Lehigh University’s need for new parking spaces. Of course, none of this was admitted at the time, although the University never opposed the construction of the garage, which is oversized and attached to an oversized building — completely out of scale with the Historic District.

So as long as you are trying to determine the impact of the new parking scheme on low-income folks, you really need to consider the imposition of a poorly located garage attached to an oversized building that has really just destroyed a key gateway to the south side, making it look like an ugly institutional setting rather than a historic city. And the developer continues to ignore the restrictions put on the building, backed by 5 members of city council who will apparently let him get away with anything, and a mayor who is willing to take the blame for anything the guy does wrong.

This garage, which will likely be at least half full of Lehigh University parkers, brings a lot of traffic right into the heart of downtown Bethlehem. It has created a canyon effect on the New Street and on the greenway, and because it has its own fancy restaurant (a destination in itself) and coffeeshop on site, it does not appear to be helping the local businesses much at all. Why would people leave the building when they can get everything they need on site and then take a glass walkway to their cars in the new garage?

As you know, the Bethlehem Parking Authority went into significant debt to build this garage for Benner and (apparently) Lehigh. The consequence is that everyone’s parking rates and fines will be raised. We knew this at the time and argued that the primary user of the garage should pay for it, since the parking study did not convincingly show demand for it. The inequity starts there.

In order to address the problem you raise, of the remaining need for parking pushing lower income people at Lehigh to the north side lot, parking fees at Lehigh should be attached to salary, so it is just as easy as my department coordinator to pay for a spot in the garage outside her office as it is for me.

Leave it to Lehigh to cook up a class-based parking system, rather one that is equitable.

Best, Breena

Still seeking info from Lehigh (15)

(15th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)
Monday, March 4, 2019

Brent, Darlene, and members of the Planning Commission (except Ms. Cohen, for whom I do not have a permissible email)

To reiterate my comments at the 2/21 Planning meeting. I am concerned that Lehigh’s decision to do substantial building on parking lots might negatively affect low income Lehigh faculty and staff and contract workers for Sodexo, BrightView, and etc. — people who may be Bethlehem residents and taxpayers.

The attached document was distributed to the Lehigh community in September. I attended three follow-up sessions on campus. I had personal contact with Mark Ironside and the Lehigh Transportation manager in November.

Contrary to the impression given by the Lehigh lawyer 2/21, there was no doubt in any of these documents, meetings, and contacts that Lehigh was using a “Northside Commuter Lot” at 123 W. Lehigh St., and running a bus from there to Farrington Square on lower campus.

The Lehigh lawyer 2/21 made the point that Lehigh has no lease for northside parking, making it sound as if there was no plan for Lehigh people to park there at all. Given the knowledge and experience I had, frankly, I was rather dumbfounded. I checked with BPA. Indeed, there is no lease. But there was/is no question in any of the documents, meetings, contacts about use of that lot.

Take a look at the attached document. Lehigh is losing 518 spaces, partially making up that loss to “respond to a reduction in parking supply” by utilizing 150 spaces in a “Northside Commuter Lot.” There, in black and white, is what I have been focusing on.

The clear impression I have is that the Northside Commuter Lot is necessary. Some people might choose to park free there and take the bus or walk the 3/4 mile to campus. That’s good. Yes, Mr. Malozi, Lehigh has an ambitious and laudable walking and public transportation plan. But I am concerned about those who will be bumped or forced off-campus by inability to pay the $500 on-campus parking fee or simply lack of space for everybody on campus.

For it looks to me there will be a kind of hop-scotch going on. Mr. Stellato cogently asked where the cars displaced at 124 will go. The answer was to the nearby Lehigh parking garage. But then the follow-up question should have been, where will the cars in that now-filled lot go?

There may be no problem. I am simply seeking clarity. At a Planning meeting last year, Lehigh said all displaced parking would be absorbed on campus. I questioned that, and it was so affirmed. Then, to the contrary, comes the Northside Commuter Lot in documents and meetings by Lehigh itself.. So that statement does not seem to have been true. And now the Lehigh lawyer made it sound, frankly, that I was making up the plan to use the lot. As if it were not clearly in the documentation and in the air during conversations among affected persons on campus.

The new Lehigh parking plan is to be rolled out in April. I think the city needs to know whether lower-income Bethlehem residents and tax payers might be unfairly impacted.

There may indeed be no problem, no issue. Many contract workers work after 4PM, for instance, and can park on campus. Maybe many contract workers already walk or take the bus or car pool.

My question(s) might be easily answered. These matters might have been thoroughly thought through. I think we should hear the answers. But it seems to me like Lehigh is avoiding.

At the previous Planning meeting where I brought this issue up, the Lehigh lawyer at that time (a different one) and I ended in an almost comical cliched stand-off. He said Lehigh had done everything right legally. I said there’s a difference between law and concern for people.

How will Lehigh’s new parking plan affect low income Lehigh faculty and staff and contract workers for Sodexo, BrightView, and etc?

I will write about this later in the week on Gadfly, in case anyone would like to respond before then.

Be well–

ED

All quiet on the Lehigh front? (14)

(14th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Tim Hyland, “Lehigh Breaks Ground on Bridge West Residence Hall.” Lehigh University News, December 19, 2018.

Jacqueline Palochko, “Lehigh University breaks ground on 720-bed dorm.” Morning Call, December 19, 2018.

Gadfly hasn’t posted on Lehigh for over a month. You may have forgotten the issue he’s been watching out for. (Reminder that you can always catch up on earlier posts on topics through the menu under the image on the front page of the blog or under Topics on the sidebar).

Some recent and planned Lehigh new construction, like the one covered in this morning’s articles, is on parking lots (120 approx spaces lost by this construction), forcing Lehigh to obtain parking from the Bethlehem Parking Authority across the river on the north side of town.

On the face of it, that’s kind of bizarre — 3/4’s of a mile from the closest, lowest edge of campus. But the issue Gadfly is concerned with is whether Lehigh’s lowest class of worker will be forced to park there inconveniently (adding time to the work day, etc.) after testifying at 2 City hearings that their parking studies showed that they could accommodate all the lost parking on campus.

Gadfly has asked that Lehigh discuss the impact of their parking decisions on those workers before construction goes much further so that the City is aware that there might be a significant negative impact on workers who are City residents.

Gadfly thinks that the next major project is the College of Health described in the above articles as opening Fall 2020. Not too far away. So Gadfly assumes there will be presentations at City meetings soon.

  • It has occurred to Gadfly that bouncing concerns off the Mayor’s Southside Task Force might be a good idea, but he has not been able to work their meetings into his schedule. And he can’t find contact info for chair Roger Hudak — if any followers can help with that, much appreciated.
  • Gadfly filed Right to Know requests with the Parking Authority for leases on that “Northside Commuter Lot” and was told there were none. Strange. Maybe too early for leases? Just a verbal commitment now?
  • Gadfly was curious about busing from the Northside lot (on Lehigh St., just west of the Fahey Bridge, adjacent to the Wooden Match). What size bus it would be and where it would stop on the Southside. Would, for instance, the bus go straight on New till stopping at Farrington Square? If so, where would it stop in that narrow stretch along the new building and garage between 3rd and 4th Sts. I could get no answer on that from the Transportation guy. No decision yet.
  • Also, I wondered about the new bus loop (square?) from Morton to Adams to Mechanic to New to Morton. That will be a Transit-sized bus. Big. I wondered about it turning on some of those streets and where the stop would be. Sounds like the stop will be in the bus pull-off on Mechanic St. Gadfly worries a bit about the left turn from Mechanic onto New. We all have seen the awkwardness of the buses turning right there — trying to get into traffic with a wide turn and often jamming traffic. Getting across traffic with a big bus turning left looks like potential jamming too at times. But the Transportation guy said planning was not definite when I talked with him a month ago.

Are there any Gadfly followers with ears closer to the ground who have anything to add about what’s going on? Is all quiet?

Lehigh Grad Students speak up (13)

(13th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

As Gadfly has reported earlier here, the tuition-paying undergraduate students raised a stink about an early phase of Lehigh’s Path to Prominence planning that brought an immediately placating response from the Lehigh Administration.

Gadfly was not at all concerned with undergraduate students, virtually all of whom live on campus and who have tremendous leverage to apply to get fairness.

Gadfly has been concerned about a large segment of graduate students and about such low-wage staff as maintenance, grounds, cafeteria workers, and so forth, many of whom may be Bethlehem residents/taxpayers.

Gadfly has asked for transparency on the impact of the new parking plan on such people.

Lehigh Grad Student Senate letter

Now, however, see the linked Nov. 7 letter from the Lehigh Graduate Student Senate to the Lehigh Administration about graduate student concerns about parking inequity under the new plan.

(Gadfly especially encourages you to read the direct quotes from grad students in Appendix B of the letter. Gadfly loves the raw voices.)

The graduate students have political power to bring to bear against the Lehigh Administration, they are using it, and it is to be hoped that Lehigh will recognize that these voices, previously overlooked like the undergraduates, will be heard.

So maybe Gadfly need not be very concerned about the graduate students. We’ll see.

But what about maintenance, grounds, cafeteria workers, and so forth, many of whom may be Bethlehem residents/taxpayers?

The undergrads (dollars) and grads (teaching classes, running labs) have chips to play within the system.

Gadfly doesn’t think these others do.

They are low pay. Without representation. Replaceable.

We won’t see letters to the Administration from them.

(Many, if not all of them, may not even technically be employees of Lehigh – which makes matters worse.)

There may be no problem. But the undergrad and grad brouhaha’s indicate flaws in Lehigh’s planning.

So Gadfly is asking for more information, for more transparency, before the City grants any further approvals.

And he has now spoken twice at City Council meetings, hoping to raise consciousness about his concerns.

One of the ways you measure a just society is the way it treats its most vulnerable people.

“Lehigh-Affiliated” not “Lehigh” (12)

(12th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Lehigh Breaks Ground for SouthSide Commons

SouthSide Commons changes living conditions as construction begins

Gadfly doesn’t know how he missed it.

The new SouthSide Commons – the stunning complex of buildings on the west edge of the Lehigh campus that snakes down Brodhead from Packer toward 4th St and will house 400+ students – is not a Lehigh dorm but a “Lehigh-affiliated” apartment complex.

SouthSide Commons

Gadfly assumed that SouthSide Commons was a “Lehigh” dorm. In the first press release Gadfly saw about it at ground-breaking time, it was termed “an apartment-style residence hall.” Residence hall.

However, the University architect “said Lehigh leased the land for SouthSide Commons to collegiate housing developer EdR, which will own and operate the building for 50 years.”

That land is leased to a developer.

Gadfly is not sure if there is anything to make out of this. But his antennae have been up since a follower several posts back in this sequence raised concern about “Lehigh sprawl.”

And Gadfly knows there has been a concern about developer impact on the community for a long time.

Gadfly – who has no business sense – wonders why Lehigh is building another dorm, solely its own, within sight of SouthSide Commons, which is being run by a developer, at exactly the same time.  Just asking.

SouthSide Commons has a rental office on Adams St. and a fancy web site. Take a look!

The key question:
Is there a difference for the community between Lehigh as landlord and a developer as landlord?

And is there a difference for a community between Lehigh as a neighbor and a developer as a neighbor?

The developer said such projects tend to be good for the community: “When a university grows . . . the local neighborhood and the city in which it resides also feel a positive impact.”

“Let’s face it,” the Lehigh president said, “parking lots make lousy borders. Neighbors shouldn’t be separated by large stretches of asphalt, and universities should not be separated from the community in which they reside by a large stretch of asphalt. SouthSide Commons will help change all that.” He said the new residence hall will create new possibilities for how students interact with the surrounding community.

Gadfly thinks what the president is thinking of is economic impact. For that is what was on the Mayor’s mind: “The partnership between the city and Lehigh University is strong and is instrumental to the future prosperity of South Bethlehem. This facility will bring more foot traffic and attention to South Bethlehem’s businesses as the revitalization of the South Side continues to move forward.”

Good for the business community.

Is there another community affected?

What are those neighbors thinking about?

Just asking. May be all good.

Gadfly just wondering because of his belated realization of this significant change in Lehigh’s housing system.

Lehigh students: University action “blindsided the Lehigh and Bethlehem community” (11)

(11th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

Remember that what Lehigh does on its own campus is its own business. That is not Gadfly’s concern. But this thread began with Lehigh’s need to secure (way) off campus parking as a result of its major expansion plans.

Gadfly has been asking for transparency about how that off-campus parking affects lower-paid employees, some of whom will be Bethlehem residents and tax payers. There may be no issue, but, then again, at this time there is not enough information to tell.

This on-campus brouhaha about housing shows Lehigh suffering from bumpy planning.

And intensifies the need to hear further from them before more City decisions are made affecting the surrounding and wider Bethlehem community.

Gadfly would expect that the pious sentiments about listening, and sharing, and including, and “transparencying” expressed in the “Dear Lehigh Student” letter linked below would also apply to the class of people perhaps affected by the parking decision.

——————

Use these articles for a recap of the Lehigh housing flap:

Jessica Hicks and Musa Jamshed, “Trembley demolition eliminates on-campus housing for upperclassmen next academic year.” Brown and White, October 29, 2018.
Housing Services says “no on-campus living options for juniors and seniors during the 2019-2020 academic year.” “The email presents SouthSide Commons, a private apartment complex partnered with Lehigh, as an alternative to on-campus living.” Students would pay more at Southside Commons. “It is unclear at this time if Lehigh will offer students forced to live off-campus additional financial assistance.”

Madison Hoff, “Student Senate demands response from President’s Office regarding housing issue.” Brown and White, October 30, 2018.
Student Senate sends resolution to Administration demanding more information: “The resolution said the email sent out ‘blindsided the Lehigh and Bethlehem community’ It also expressed concerns for lower income and international students, pricing of off-campus residences and overcapacity of Greek houses, among other issues.” The Senate sent surveys to students and parents. “This resolution encompasses the voice of the entire student body.”

“Dear Lehigh Students,” memo from John Simon, President, and Patrick Farrell, Provost, October 31, 2018.
Apologizes for the Housing Services memo. Indicates Administration has heard the “thoughtful and legitimate concerns, ”heard the “individual and collective voices,” pledges “an open dialogue and transparent process which engages students,” incorporation of “student input.” “All voices are important and have been greatly appreciated.”

Sarah Epstein, Alexis McGowan, Jordan Wolman and Jessica Hicks, “Trembley Park remains open for upperclassmen through 2020.” Brown and White, October 31, 2018.
President’s office sends email to students reversing the Housing Services email. No change in process for student housing in Trembley. Not clear on whether there will be changes for other residences. Other offices unaware of President’s email, causing confusion on campus. Residence Hall monitors told not to talk with the press, “or their positions may be affected.” Greystar, the real estate company that runs Southside Commons (the new complex on Brodhead Ave.) was not aware of the original Housing Services email, pleads ignorance. Housing in Southside Commons would be $2400/yr. more.

A Lost Neighborhood (11)

(11th in a series of posts about Lehigh University)

(See also our thread on Neighborhoods)

 Nicole Radzievich, “Bethlehem’s lost neighborhood rebuilt.” Morning Call, May 14, 2015.
Lehigh University, Still Looking for You: A Bethlehem Place + Memory Project
PICTURES: Bethlehem’s lost neighborhood

Good things happen to Gadfly.

He had been researching Mary Pongracz. Reputed to be worthy of charter membership in the Bethlehem Gadfly Hall of Fame.

Gadfly has a department here on the blog called “Gadfly History,” where we will memorialize and immortalize local gadflies. Currently in the department are posts on Stephen Antalics and Bill Scheirer.

Gadfly is looking to do a piece on Mary.

While researching Mary, Gadfly found Nicole’s above-linked article on “Bethlehem’s lost neighborhood.”  It whacked him ‘tween the eyes.

Neighborhoods have been on Gadfly’s mind (we have a thread so-titled and threads on Northside 2027, and the Rose Garden, etc.), and the ominous phrase “Lehigh sprawl” (conjuring up some hydra-headed monster) from the anonymous poster #4 in this series has been pinging just below his consciousness.

Enter “Bethlehem’s lost neighborhood.”

The web site — “Still Looking for You” — is fascinating. Go there!

The “lost neighborhood” is “the solid, working-class neighborhood community that once existed within the borders of Vine and Webster streets and Morton Street and Packer Avenue.” Now Lehigh University campus.

With trembling hand, Gadfly quotes at length from the “Lost Neighborhood” section:

During the 1950s, Bethlehem’s the neighborhood between Packer Ave, Martel, Morton and Webster Streets was a bustling community that was home to local families, small businesses, two schools, and communities of faith, and it surrounded a growing Lehigh University that was contemplating expansion. In the early fifties, Lehigh began its expansion by purchasing land in the neighborhood using “straw buyers”—for example, the secretary at the university’s law firm—to obscure the university’s interest in acquiring land for expansion and keep property-owners from raising prices. Throughout this time period, the federal government’s urban renewal plan encouraged cities to promote development through the acquisition of blighted properties and their subsequent demolition and redevelopment. Urban renewal provided a potential mechanism for university expansion at Lehigh. By the late fifties Lehigh had acquired a critical mass of local properties and the City of Bethlehem agreed to request federal urban renewal funds to acquire the other homes in the neighborhood. Vague federal guidelines required cities to identify targeted areas as “blighted” before they could receive federal money for “slum clearance.” Taking advantage of this vague designation, the city condemned entire blocks by identifying just a few properties on each one as evidence of urban blight. Residents recall that many of the rundown properties had been acquired by the university early on in its expansion planning, and had been neglected, with peeling paint, overgrown weeds and bushes, and broken sidewalks. Homeowners, led by businesswoman and Vine Street resident Anna Pongracz spoke out at City Council meetings and accused the university administration and trustees of deliberately seeking the “blighted designation” for the city blocks needed for campus expansion. As the project unfolded into the early 1960s, some residents fought to save their homes and the neighborhood from acquisition through urban renewal while other property owners were happy to sell their homes. Once houses were condemned and families had moved, demolition workers tore down both run down properties and well-maintained homes, gardens, and yards at a rate of five houses per day.

Is there any wonder that Lehigh’s latest off-campus “moves” are causing community palpitations? Memory glands are twitching.

Let’s keep asking (forcing!) Lehigh to be up-front about what they are doing.

If this memory nugget has anything to do with the parking issue with which this thread started, it is that Lehigh has not always been mindful of lower-class City residents and taxpayers.

A shout-out for this wonderful web site to my former Lehigh colleagues Julia Maserjian, Rob Weidman, Kimberly Carrell-Smith, Scott Gordon, and Vincent Munley.

Lehigh University recognizes the need to hear “all voices” (10)

(10th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

 “What have we learned today, Squidward?”

SpongeBob SquarePants

Just reading the headlines will tell you the story:

Jessica Hicks and Musa Jamshed, “Trembley demolition eliminates on-campus housing for upperclassmen next academic year.” Brown and White [Lehigh University], October, 29, 2018.

“There will be no on-campus living options for juniors and seniors during the 2019-2020 academic year, according to an email sent from Housing Services on Monday. . . . According to the email sent to rising juniors and seniors, the first phase of the Bridge West residence hall project was approved this past week, which will include the demolition of the Trembley Park apartment complex. The time between Trembley’s demolition and the completion of Bridge West will present a shortage in supply for on-campus housing in the next academic year.”

Sara K. Satullo, “Lehigh to upperclassmen: We’re out of cheap dorms so you’ll need to live off campus.” lehighvalleylive, October 31, 2018.

“Lehigh University sophomore Rebekah Nicholas is considering dropping out of school after the university dropped a bombshell in her email inbox Monday. . . . Lehigh is tearing down the Trembley Park apartment complex, located at 68 University Drive, to build its Bridge West residence hall project, which was approved by the Bethlehem Planning Commission earlier this month. The demolition and construction is leaving a shortage of on-campus housing for the upcoming academic year.”

Sara K. Satullo, “Oops! Lehigh University doesn’t have a dorm shortage.” lehighvalleylive, October 31, 2018.

“The news of the on-campus housing shortage was met with swift action by Lehigh students, who organized a Path to Poverty Campaign, a coalition of more than 10 student clubs and organizations, protesting the housing switch. The name is a nod to Lehigh’s Path to Prominence, which aims to increase Lehigh enrollment by 1,000 undergraduate and 500 to 800 full-time graduate students over seven years.” 

Daniel Patrick Sheehan, “Addressing housing uproar, Lehigh University says residence hall won’t be demolished this summer.” Morning Call, October 31, 2018.

“All voices are important and have been greatly appreciated. We are committed to an open dialogue and transparent process which engages students and helps us make decisions that best serve our campus community,” said Lehigh President John Simom and Lehigh Provost Patrick Farrell.

—————–

A few years ago Gadfly was babysitting some of the grandkids, watching SpongeBob we were, when we heard “what have we learned today, Squidward?” and laughed and laughed.

Because it wasn’t far distant from what Gadfly had been saying and they had been hearing throughout their penitential session of my care.

Immediately “what have we learned today, Squidward?” was incorporated into family teaching-moment vocabulary, especially when something dumb was done that shouldn’t be repeated.

And don’t think the kids haven’t turned it around and used it on the adults. Gadfly has faced that humbling question more than once.

Well, what did we learn today about Lehigh University?

We learned that top minds in the country with eyes skyward raising a billion dollars on the Path to Prominence were blind to some important components – human components — right under their feet. The students.

What did Lehigh University learn today?

That they must commit or re-commit to an open dialogue and transparency that includes students:

“In the past 24 hours, you have raised thoughtful and legitimate concerns ranging from timing of the message, to availability of comparably priced housing options, to a need for greater transparency in Lehigh’s master planning efforts,” the email [from Simon and Farrell] states. “Your individual and collective voices have shared personal stories and sets of circumstances that guide, and even dictate, student housing decisions. You have also shared your thoughts on how this week’s announcement might affect our broader residential community. All voices are important and have been greatly appreciated.”

Wow!

You gotta love it! The witty and resourceful students – some of the brightest and some of the most affluent in the country – immediately organized a Path to Poverty to sarcastically mirror the Path to Prominence.

Just beautiful! They had power, knew it, and used it.

Now as Gadfly has said in this sequence of posts several times, what Lehigh does on its own campus is its own business.

But this flaw, this blindspot in the Path to Prominence serves to highlight the possibility – and Gadfly reiterates, it may only be a possibility – of another flaw or blindspot in reference to the (pretty far) off-campus parking that will probably be the fate of lower-wage’d workers, some of whom will be City residents and tax payers (some of whom may not be technically Lehigh employees).

All Gadfly has been asking is “transparency” in regard to these people before the City makes any more decisions. We hear the City wasn’t aware of Lehigh bumping these students off-campus. Is there anything else the City hasn’t heard about?

If there are flaws in a BigPlan, they will probably be at the bottom of the plan. BigPlanners are magnificently farsighted. They will leave to others lower, often far lower in the chain of command to figure out how to make things work on the ground.

Like where everybody is going to park.

The people Gadfly is talking about don’t have power (tuition dollars), don’t have a voice, aren’t organized, may be easily replaceable, and are therefore especially vulnerable.

Lehigh has recognized “a need for greater transparency in Lehigh’s master planning efforts.”

Lehigh has listened to “individual and collective voices [that] have shared personal stories and sets of circumstances.”

Lehigh has firmly stated that “All voices are important and have been greatly appreciated.”

But have they heard from everybody? That’s all Gadfly is asking.

“What have we learned today, Squidward?”

One of the ways you measure a just society is the way it treats its most vulnerable people.

Why does Lehigh outsource? (9)

(9th in a series of posts on Lehigh University)

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:

When speaking about effects on low-paid employees, I think it also is important to discuss why a significant number of people who work at Lehigh (and many other colleges & universities) are paid less than living wages. Most are in jobs such as building, landscape, & dining services that are outsourced to private companies. Why?

Do the institutions lack the management competence to manage these operations themselves? Does outsourcing allow the university to distance itself from substandard wages & benefits? Are jobs outsourced to avoid having to provide free tuition to those employees or their children?

(Incidentally, when people from SEIU were in the Lehigh Valley about 10 years ago to organize Sodexo workers, Lehigh tried unsuccessfully to ban them from the campus, giving tacit support to the underpayment of workers by Sodexo.)

Peter Crownfield