What is this Street like? (Philadelphia, Allentown: apartments, rental, insurance)

[clamster]

I am looking at a house in the 400 blcok of W Liberty St, Allentown, PA. Can anyone tell me what this street is like? Thanks.

[wonka27]

I'm sure with a good bulletproof vest it is quite nice ;-)

[JohnZ963]

Unless you're a drug dealing thug, on public assistance, or looking to get into the slumlord business, I suggest you look elsewhere. This is one of the most rundown, poverty-stricken, crime-ridden areas of the valley. If it's the only area you can afford to buy in, you're better off renting somewhere else.

I used to own a rental property a couple blocks away from there. I never went there without a concealed weapon, and one night I almost had to use it. One of the neighborhood heroin junkies figured out I had a lot of cash in my pockets after collecting the rent, and you can figure out the rest.

[markas214]

Dead center of the war zone.

[PA.Dutchman]

If you move into that neighborhood you should have a Living Will and keep it in your wallet.

The positive side is that you are close to Sacred Heart Hospital and many victims are able to walk there from gun shots and stabbings.

We lived there years ago it was a very European neighborhood. All were good Catholics and were faithful to their Church. It was well kept and clean. That all changed. They finally had to move a Memorial Fountain to the Veterans killed in World War II it was so badly vandalized.

[PA.Dutchman]

I am less and less sure there is a Good Area of Allentown to move into.

We have several friends who moved here from New Jersey to the West Park Neighborhood. Truly a jewel of an area years ago. Our friends have had nothing but trouble! .

Gangs of youths from the High School on 17 Street fight there several afternoons a week after school. A Pit Bull has been running wild through West Park for nearly a month on and off. Police have NOT caught it or its owner. People are avoiding going there to enjoy the park. One dismissal time on the Police Scanner a hispanic youth was chasing another youth with a Machete. I listen to this call myself

Another friend moved to 25 th and Livingston the first night she brought her NEW Toyota home she woke up to find it on blocks and all her wheels and tires gone. It took the insurance 2 weeks to replace it with matching new wheels and tires because it was a new car.

My Aunt and Uncle lived in a beautiful rancher on Federal Street on the South Side of town. Someone threw a BRICK through their front window. They are in their 80's and don't have an enemy in the world.

Wegmans had someone robbed in their parking lot a year ago. It worked hard to keep it out of the paper. Employees at PPL have been assaulted and robbed in their multi story parking deck at 9 th and Linden Sts. several times.

No there are no safe and good areas of Allentown. Last summer they broke into the Seniors cars at the Seniors Apartments at 1440 Walnut Street. They stole these handicapped Old Seniors "Handicapped Parking Permits" The AAA said this is the number one thing now to steal and sell Handicapped Parking Permits.

That tells you what kind of people live in Allentown. I have lived in the same area for 61 years. In the last year we had two murders within a block of us. The first one I actually heard the shots then turned on the scanner and listen to police find the body.

But I worked with people for 35 years who came from North of Allentown, over the Beautiful Blue Mountain and crime was now relocating to their towns. Hazeltown and Scranton are NO better then Allentown.

Karen Breyer our PA. State Representative stated in our Morning Call Newspaper that Allentown is NOW the hub of crime and drugs between Philadelphia and New York City.

[voivod]

Originally Posted by clamster

I am looking at a house in the 400 blcok of W Liberty St, Allentown, PA. Can anyone tell me what this street is like? Thanks.

i lived at 4th and allen years ago. libery sounds familiar. is it close??

[PA.Dutchman]

Understand I have lived in Allentown all my life. We even lived at 4 th and Liberty for two years. We were able to get out as the neighborhood dissolved around us.

It had been a good area until around 1975, then it went down hill fast.

I listen to a Police Band Scanner many nights when I am on my PC.

There are gun shots being reported at least once maybe twice a week. Cars are stolen, drugs are dealt, people are shot all around that area of Allentown.

Three gangs are now active in Allentown and this area has many gang problems. The Cripps, Latin Kings and the The Bloods are all here, occasionally a report of the MS-13 gang trying to move it is reported.

Recently they were able to close a tavern that was often a gathering place for these creatures. But it took a shooting and stabbing one night at the tavern to bring that about.

Emmaus PA. had been a haven of rest, a smaller town south of Allentown. Last summer some thugs from Allentown assaulted and beat up some Emmaus youths in Emmaus for no reason whatsoever. That is why I say I am not sure you will find a place without crime already there or moving into it.

My cousin lived near the Allentown YMCA, they had really nice home and neighborhood. Then one night a man from New York City was stabbed and bleed to death on their front porch. No one knows what he was doing in that area to this day, but it was suspected as a gang thing.

My cousin and his family moved to Upper Macungie, they weren't done unpacking when someone robbed their home.

Their neighbor is a bad person. They may have been better off back in their own home. They paid a lot of money to move to Upper Macungie only to find that you can not remove yourself from the crime wave that is now taking the Lehigh Valley.

Schnecksville is North of Allentown PA on Route 309. Last summer a crime wave hit this village. Old ladies were being robbed weekly and other home owners. Someone found out this town was in another century and no one had really prepared their homes for break-ins or robberies.

They ended up bringing the PA. State Police in. Now Schnecksville is locked up tight and guns are replacing front porch rocking chairs.

No if you move to PA, or relocate to this area frrom another part of PA. be prepared. You will need a security system and a good place of worship.

[loose cannon]

Do not listen to these naysayers. Move to 4th and Liberty. If you do not deal drugs, you will have no problems.

[PA.Dutchman]

Clamster, you have four or five people who don't even know you trying to spare you a very bad move to 4 TH. and Liberty.

Loose cannon is the only one who thinks you should move there.

Ask someone you trust and know, this is not a good area! You may have trouble getting rid of the place after you purchase it as well.

If you have children it would be an even worse choice.

I don't know where Loose Cannon lives, but we live in center city Allentown. It has been my home for 61 years.

I DON'T RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE, FRIENDS OR FOES.

Allentown is not a good place to raise a family or live. You have to be on alert 24/7. Everyone of our cars has been broken into and our home twice. As soon as we are retired we are gone. We don't want to start a new mortgage at our age, but when we retire and we can get out we are.

A couple years ago a young man was murdered outside the mayors home at 11 th and Turner, the next November another was murdered at 11 th and Hamilton (our main street) a block away from the mayor. In the past year another was murdered at Poplar and Union and again at Spring Garden and Poplar. All those murders were within two and half blocks of our home. We had NO MURDERS in this area before these.

All of these victims were people who relocated here. Our PA State Senator Karen Breyer stated in the media "ALLENTOWN IS NOW THE HUB OF DRUGS AND GANGS BETWEEN ALLENTOWN AND NEW YORK." You don't want to move into Allentown, unless you are a drug dealer or gang member.

A man was stabbed to death at Jordan and Liberty near the school last month. That is very close to the place you are asking about. Two young children going to school found the dead man at Jordan and Liberty in the morning while going to school.

Do you want your children to find a dead man walking to school one day?

P.S. Yesterday Allentown had another murder in the A.M. of Saturday morning, a young man was stabbed to death. Our Eight for this year. In the afternoon I was coming down Hamilton Street, our main Street. Police were all over 12 th and Hamilton a second man was stabbed at 12 th and Hamilton. Both happened the sameday in Allentown, the second victim was just walking home, he is in critical condition.