Doing things just to say they did them...

So, I went to today's City event which was said to be a platform for citizens to give input about possible needs of the City, which in a later blog article was then said to be an OPEN HOUSE for the Economic Development Department. I wrote an earlier blog piece stating I was happy that at least the City is "trying" to meet the resident's half-way, but after arriving at the venue, the America On Wheels Museum, at 5:50pm and finding people already packing and out the door, I was kind of disappointed. I mean it's bad enough that the event was from 4pm - 6pm on a Monday when most are just getting re-acclimated to the working week and at a time when most are just getting off of work and/or getting their households together, but to not stay the whole time for the public's sake is ridiculous. (I actually had several people who were on their way call me and I had to tell them to go home because the "party" was already over.) An associate of mine actually did attend earlier and said it was a lively atmosphere. He said you were given color-coded stickers, depending on your residency location, and then you entered the room and approached several booths that had a list of issues and whatever you thought was the most pertinent issue listed is where you placed your sticker. He felt there was no real discussion of issues and most of the city representatives were involved in their own conversations. Unsure about everyone else, but I am tired of the City doing events that are inconvenient, poorly promoted, and, seemingly,only attempting to attract or not attract a certain demographic. Many may disagree, but I can only go by what I have witnessed and experienced over the years I have lived in Allentown....

Allentown residents' input sought for citywide community development plan

Interesting and, at least, it's a start, but from 4:30pm - 6:00pm ? Most people aren't settled from their jobs until 6:00pm due to traffic, families, kids, dinner preparation... They should have multiple times to choose from, in my opinion. It's a BIG city with various lifestyles. And don't say "we can't please everybody", because you represent the residents, so it's your job to do everything possible to TRY....
So, PEOPLE, please do what you can to get there and MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD and get your OPINION / IDEAS DOCUMENTED !


Read the article and get the WHO, WHAT, WHY, and WHEN.....

 http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2013/06/allentown_residents_input_soug.html

HERE'S WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT US....

An associate and I attended a LV Chamber event a month ago and explained to some of the key people in the  PPL  arena project that many who live less than a block away have no clue what is going on with the arena or any of the projects. We keep hearing about opportunities/benefits but no one literally knows of any...
The person I spoke to stated they put all of the information into the Morning Call newspaper and I told them candidly, no one really reads it anymore and not everyone has the internet, computer access, or is willing to come to their office for  meetings. This person did tell me there would be plenty of employment for those in the inner-city and my associate and I became excited, because THIS is the information we were hoping to take back to the community. The person went on to say that there would be a need for security guards, waiters, dishwashers, etc and I guess we kind of looked at them with a blank stare. My associate, Darnell, was the first to speak and stated, " We have 3 degrees between the 2 of us and we wanted to know what type of law practices, accounting firms, marketing companies, etc would be available and hiring because there are many  inner city adults and young people who do have degrees and certifications, believe it or not, and are looking for professional opportunities. Of course there was alot of back pedaling and apologies made, but in the end, it truly showed how many people view the Center City Allentown residents... There is nothing wrong with blue collar or trade jobs but please offer young people other options, also, and don't limit their abilities due to with pre-conceived notions and stereotypes.....