Quote:
Originally Posted by EastSideHBG
I would have agreed with you up until say the last 3 years or so, many of the Allentown people I know work in NY now and no longer in Philly. Their families have moved into the area from NYC and with random meetings through business and what not I have found more and more connections to NYC and the pendulum seems to be swinging. Using Allentown for an example, is an extra 30 miles that big of a deal when you can be in one of the epicenters of the world? This is where I go back to saying there needs to be some thought to CSAs and not just what things look like on a map.
Good points!
|
I'd say the only logical reason why the Allentown people work in NYC as opposed to Phila has to do with one thing: MONEY!!! Especially considering that NYC is the financial and economic capital of the country, if not the world!!! The travel time from NYC to Allentown is 90 minutes, while from Phila to Allentown, it's 60 minutes, yet more people are commuting from Allentown in NYC. Why so??? Because for one, since Allentown is now a Latino majority city (mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican), most of the Latinos came mainly from NY and NJ, as well as other groups who migrate here for lower taxes and quality of life, another factor why the CSA puts the Lehigh Valley with NYC rather than with Phila.
And finally, I feel that the outdated leadership of the PA legislature hasn't kept up with the PA citizens and the trends that are happening within the state. We're practically the only state in the Northeast (another exception is maybe Maine), in which both the Senate and the House are both Republican controlled!!! The rest of the states from NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, and MD have at least some form of Democrat control somewhere in the legislative branch. NY Dems have control in the House while the GOP controls the Senate. In PA, theres really no such thing as a third party or independents in this state, it's either Republican or Democrat!!! Gov Wolf hasn't really changes anything except raise some taxes nor has he shook up anything in the Capitol like Rendell did when he became governor.
Imagine if all we had to drink as far as soda is concerned is Coke or Pepsi, but no 7Up nor no Dr Pepper!!! That's how it is in PA!!! Also, I indirectly blame SEPTA for removing intercity rail service in the 80's to the 90's and operating a glorified bus service to outlying communities such as Pottstown, West Chester, and Newtown, while other agencies such as the MTA, NJ Transit, and the MBTA were operating
even at a loss of profit!!!
Out of all the cities on the East Coast, Philadelphia and PA seems like the least innovative, the least progressive, and the least visionary place here right now. Just look at how we treated Garrett Miller and his proposal to give Phila not only the tallest building in America, but also attract a major corporation in Phila. Not the Main Line, not King of Prussia, and not Fort Washington,
THE CITY AND COUNTY OF PHILADELPHIA!!! By god, we could've had TD Bank, Black Rock, GSK and hell even Verizon, or better yet General Electric (especially considering that NBC is now owned by Comcast, of all companies), but because of the greed and jealousy of a few people (looking at Comcast, Liberty Property Trust for not building the Comcast Center into a 1000+ ft tower and later building a substandard tower with a cheating spire, Vince Fumo, former mayor michael nutter, the residents of Kennedy House, other NIMBYs and Negadelphians in the city, and some of clueless forumers on SSP), we don't have the skyline we should be having as we speak.
The Cira Centre South is the best project we have right now, especially the FMC Tower!!!! The Schuylkill Yards project is another great proposal and one in which I believe can host the first 3000+' supertall at the former site of the Bulletin Building, although the Cira 3 kinda displaces that proposal by one building and there's no intercity bus station that's been proposed thus far, but otherwise, it's a very visionary concept. The Market8 proposal, while I disagree with putting a casino on Market East and agree with placing 100K sq ft in order to attract a major department store (hello Macy's), is a very good start at revitalizing that currently struggling retail strip. I also believe in creating another smaller CDP at 5th and Market, and expanding that area with skyscrapers since people are so enthralled in expanding our skyline from University City to the Delaware Waterfront, including a 1000+ ft supertall, at least one (the Independence Tower???) nearby Old City!!!
I'm still not in accordance with the CITC, and it has more to do with just the copycat design (NBC Tower in Chicago and the amenities of the former ACC) and the industrial-inspired design from LPT, but the fact that the site was supposed to be for the ACC and LPT and Comcast waited and manipulated to city and state gov't to not allow 18th and Arch to be developed, even though the ACC was fully approved by the city and the state, as well as former state senator and current convict Vince Fumo siding with the Kennedy House NIMBYs and trying his best to mothball what should've been a testament to the city's greatness, tells me that even though we were competitive in the latter part of last decade, right now, in this decade, we still have our Negadelphia inferiority complex and this time it has absolutely nothing to do with the 5th largest city in America not does it have anything to with being sandwiched between the NYC and DC area, great cities in their own right, but this time it seems like this inferiority complex stems from the fact that when it comes to grand projects like the ACC, we can't get things done and have to either settle for second best or worse, mediocrity!!!
Prev
Linear Mode
