If things are so bad in NEPA, why do people stay? (York: homes, quality of life)

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by SWB

I was happy to see that a gay couple from Manhattan had purchased the old mansion on the NW corner of Jefferson & Mulberry in the Electric City and are now renovating it into a showplace. I was happy to hear that a group of investors from New York City is opening a new night club in Downtown Scranton.

The gay couple is not from NYC, Mr. Blackledge is from Scranton and is a graduate of Scranton Prep.

[MermanMike]

Dan do you know if it is going to be a B&B or something, or just a private residence? I noticed the construction the last time I was going through. It's a beautiful building

[Retired Law 08]

Originally Posted by SWB

Count me in here to defend the incoming NY/NJ transplants. I've been trying to avoid this conversation the past few days hoping that the absence from my ranting (which I realize often comes off as nails screeching across a chalkboard), but I just came back online to the forum to notice that even though I've left the fighting has simply shifted away from me and onto others!

People in NEPA need to stop pining for the "good 'ole days." The days of corporate behemoths like Techneglas providing very high wages to folks without any business skills or formal education are over as NAFTA has heralded a new era in America in which the American worker must now make himself or herself more competitive than EVER to sell themselves to a dwindling pool of quality employers. The days of hopping a trolley from Dunmore to Downtown Scranton, the Vaudeville Capital of America, are long gone as urban sprawl has become widely-embraced in our region (for better or for worse). The days of shopping at an independent book store like the Tudor, buying gourmet dog treats at independent dog bakeries like Poochie, buying fishing supplies at places like Ray's Bait & Tackle, etc. are becoming extinct as these new suburbanites are deciding through consumer sovereignty that they'd rather hop in their SUVs to park at a big-box store than to keep little 'ole ma and pa at the corner store in business, leading to the death of independent merchants. The days of seeing deer roaming Montage Mountain are long past; now the nuevo riche of Glenmaura scream "Ahhhh!!! Kill it! Kill it!" if they see even a squirrel run through their lavishly-landscaped backyards, forgetting completely that the region's massive land consumption since 1980 has created far fewer and fewer natural habitats.

Changes are occurring, and they are now occurring quite rapidly; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's population is now growing again for the first time in many decades. Even long-range Census projections hadn't forecasted the Poconos to start hemmoraging their transplants into Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties for many more years. The BosWash Corridor has already engulfed the formerly independent Lehigh Valley and the once-alluring Pocono Mountains, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the next logical region to be engulfed. We can't just put up a giant brick wall that says "Go home, transplants!" We can either accept that our region's population is going to start growing exponentially and plan ahead for it in terms of building new schools (i.e. North Pocono), improving our infrastructure (i.e. widening of I-81), drawing up urban growth boundaries to promote our existing neighborhoods in our boroughs and cities over our outlying suburban townships, etc. or we can continue to whine and bicker, which .

I, for one, would LOVE to have more people move to Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties, and I'm very, very grateful that folks like coartist88, Chefkey, Karnak (wherever he might now be), loveinbloom, etc. are ignoring all of the horror stories they've likely heard about this region being a depressed dump and are instead optimistic about its potentially vibrant future. We need to take these people and multiply their numbers by 1,000, not shoo them away. These are the same people who have the financial resources available to them to purchase homes in our area and update them with new vinyl siding, roofing, landscaping, etc. (boosting values of adjacent properties), may decide to open downtown business ventures, wish to become politically active, etc. Why bring down those who want to see this area thrive? I don't view them as threats. On the contrary I was happy to see that a gay couple from Manhattan had purchased the old mansion on the NW corner of Jefferson & Mulberry in the Electric City and are now renovating it into a showplace. I was happy to hear that a group of investors from New York City is opening a new night club in Downtown Scranton. Not all of the transplants are bringing "trouble" with them; many are just seeking a better quality-of-life than to which they are accustomed.

I never saw a city with such an identity crisis as Scranton. Its residents scream out for progress, help, change, prosperity, etc., yet when the prospect of it finally DOES come onto the radar, the residents en masse stave it off (hence all of the anti-University of Scranton, anti-downtown, anti-business, and anti-"creative class" ranting at the council podium, even though re-establishing Scranton as a white-collar center for the region is a GREAT first step on revitalizing it, as has been experienced in many other similarly-sized cities). People want lower taxes. Lowering taxes requires increasing the tax base. Increasing the tax base requires hyping up the city's image. Hyping up the city's image requires shutting up the "Doomers", naysayers, Pilcheskys, etc. Yes, the city is mired in political problems. However, what "good" does it do to the city's overall prospects of attracting new residents if they're scared off en masse to the suburbs by all of the negativity and whining? I just don't understand it, Dan. People were widely-outspoken about the Connors Administration as well, and they WILL be just as widely-outspoken about Scranton's future mayor (be it Spindler, Evans, Franus, or whomever) as they were about Doherty. You people are ALWAYS bitter about your government---at least much more than any other municipality in the region. Mayor Leighton takes MUCH less heat from the general public than Mayor Doherty does from you all, yet his city's violent crime rate is out-of-control in relation to Scranton's, his city's residential neighborhoods (save for a few) are distressed-looking in relation to Scranton's largely well-kept residential neighborhoods, etc. The people in Wilkes-Barre even bitched less about the Valentine's Day Blizzard than you all did. Nobody wants to move to a city where all the people do is *****, *****, *****. They want to move to a city where it looks as if a recovery is imminent so they'll enjoy appreciating home values, a revitalizing downtown area to walk to and patronize, and an overall improving quality-of-life for their families.

For every one "booster" in this area there are two VERY vocal detractors, hence negating ANY potential progress that could be made. The population will grow in the long-term regardless of the area's "image" because it still has the dirt cheap housing, cheap property taxes, large lot sizes, low crime, good schools, etc. that the NJ/NYC transplants lust over and are having an incredibly difficult time securing, but they'll be less inclined to promote the area to others, invest further in the area, etc. if they perceive this sense of hopelessness and despair that is so prevalent everywhere I and everyone else my age turns. I'm a future investor in the city---a city where I hope to purchase and renovate a home in, pay taxes in, open a downtown business in, serve in a neighborhood association in, attend graduate school in, raise children in, serve on a PTA in, etc. I become irked at the prospect that it could all go to waste if a city teetering between rebirth and collapse opts for the latter because the residents simply fear change.

well said and thanks for the support

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by MermanMike

Dan do you know if it is going to be a B&B or something, or just a private residence? I noticed the construction the last time I was going through. It's a beautiful building

Its supposed to be a event center. Weddings, corporate get togethers and parties. I'm not sure if it will be a B&B. I watched the interview with Paul and his partner on ch61 not to long ago and I don't remember any talk about a B&B but I could be wrong.
The project is going to take some time because they are adding a addition to the building on the right side and refurbishing the inside. The 3rd floor used to be a ballroom in the good ole days but since the 40's has been converted to apartments. Not really sure what their plans are for that but its going to cost a fortune. I know they said that satbilizing the 3rd floor overhang with the new columns was a unforseen cost and I think that it might have set the budget back abit.

[loveinbloom]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

Well you know the first I do tell my son every morning before school is to make sure that he does pick on any kids from out of town. After he is done taking their school money he usually eats their lunch then pushes them to the ground.

Don'y worry though, because he only does it to the kids from northern New Jersey.

Paul I'm only reading the first, middle and last sentences if that helps bud.

Your sarcasm is NOT appreciated. I did not say you and yours behave that way!. Honestly how do you think belief systems and norms become intergenerational?

I am done with this topic and will no longer respond. I think I made some valid points. I know there is no use in trying to change someone’s opinion. Adults only change when and if they want to.

Have a good day.

[MermanMike]

Thanks...I googled the guys name and found a site they set up. You can look at their floor plans. I guess the addition is going to be pretty extensive. Says they planned to be done by May of 08, but that seems pretty unlikely considering what it looked like the last time I drove by...maybe a month ago.

[CHS89]

I stay in Scranton because I'm scared of the radioactive spiders that have taken over around Honesdale.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by CHS89

I stay in Scranton because I'm scared of the radioactive spiders that have taken over around Honesdale.

Sure, but didn't you hear that the "ICN" is importing ill-tempered mutated sea bass to Scranton?

[CHS89]

I've even seen them in action

[FightinPhils]

^^^that's a good one!

Send one to Pilchesky's house for a lenten Friday dinner.