Friends -
I’d like to redirect your attention to the developing mistake on East Fourth Street in south Bethlehem. You can refer to my previous post for the background on this one. Basically, though, Mayor Reynolds has the guts to develop affordable housing for working people on the city block-sized parking lot across the street from St. John’s Windish church. In my opinion, that would be a great site for such a project, considering that a substantial portion of the south Bethlehem population would be income-eligible for those units (ie rents would require incomes of about $55,000 annually). There was also a proposal to turn the block into a European-style plaza while meeting the parking needs of surrounding businesses and homes.
It has long been clear that the aging congregation does not have a lot of concern for what the city wants to happen to the space. In fact, the congregation appears to favor selling the property to the big nonprofit university a few blocks away.
I would like to be clear about the options here.
If the city buys the property, this community gets the following benefits:
100+ desperately-needed affordable apartments.
A slight easing of pressure on prices of the real estate nearby due to added supply.
New available parking spaces.
The property placed back on the tax rolls.
If the university buys the property, this community gets the following alternative benefits:
Who the hell knows? Lehigh has a history of promising that it cares about this community. However, my experience is that they will inform the city what it plans to do after that decision is made.
The school has hinted that it would put campus security there. Sure, that’s what we need - a university-sponsored law-enforcement bastion that says to the neighborhood and anyone passing through that you should be scared to death to live there.
Because Lehigh is tax exempt, anything they put on that site will not generate the tax revenue the city would get if the property were developed for housing.
Also, the neighborhood would get deeper penetration of students into its quiet streets.
If Lehigh cared as much as it says it does about these neighborhoods it would stop putting pressure on the price of the property and withdraw its offer.
To the new president and Provost: there is an opportunity here for you to voluntarily do what’s right for the poorest neighborhoods in south Bethlehem. Cooperation and collaboration are good strategies when dealing with City Hall and the neighborhood surrounding the school.
And, finally, to the trustees and the alumni, we would invite you to remind your new leadership that recruiting students works better when you have a healthy relationship with your neighborhood. Colleges located in urban war zones tend not to do very well.
Let’s hope Lehigh and the church do the right thing.
