Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, I missed it last time around, so I'm glad for the redundancy.
Complaining about topics resurfacing on message boards seems to me like complaining about people talking about the weather. It's just going to happen again and again. Searching past discussions is only useful if you're looking for some specific info-- it's no encyclopedia. New people will come in and out, and similar conversations will recur.
That reminds me, I had some leftover Old Forge Pizza for lunch, and it was TASTY. I think I'll start a thread about its merits.
I wouldn't have posted that except for the fact that it was WELL hashed out last time, and the thread seemed like a just a means for another Doherty hate rant.
I wouldn't have posted that except for the fact that it was WELL hashed out last time, and the thread seemed like a just a means for another Doherty hate rant.
I don't "hate" Doherty. I agree in theory with his notion that sprucing up the city's libraries, parks, downtown, etc. will attract more of the "creative class" back to the city from the suburbs to whence they fled during the city's steep decline from the 1970s-1990s, but at some point a line has to be drawn between "public" ventures and "private" ventures and the appropriate funding sources for each. 1/3 of the city's households currently earn at least $50,000 per year. That's probably amongst the highest rates for an urban area in Pennsylvania. Similarly 1/5 of the city's households live in poverty. That's probably in-line with the rest of the state. The more well-educated, well-heeled people we can attract back into the city limits from the suburbs, the more revenues we reap through the wage tax and through boosting property values, hence the more money available to spend on neighborhood improvement projects. The better educated the city is overall, the more likely it will be to attract QUALITY employers like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Glaxo-SmithKline, Merrill Lynch, Google, etc. instead of crumby employers like Burger King and Wal-Mart.
Scranton has a very bright future ahead of it, but its largest hindrance is its own residents who attack its potential at every juncture. The dog park was an overinflated waste of money---$300,000 for a park that has been done for $30,000 elsewhere? The library's price tag is too hefty for the city to stomach at this point in time. Supporting more niche boutique/bistro/espresso bar/gallery-oriented development in downtown is useless unless it is COMPLEMENTED by loft housing catering to young urban professionals who will PATRONIZE those aforementioned establishments. Do you think the typical Pinebrook resident is going to be sipping a latte while window-shopping for Vera Bradley handbags after critiquing some art at "Fancy Fartsy Pants Gallery?" People from Waverly will. People from Glenmaura will. Some people from Green Ridge will. That's about it.
Scran, you weren't the person I was referring to. I think you have been pretty balanced in regards to the Mayor; unhappy about spending, but supportive of the goal and what is necessary to move the area forward.
One area that I think needs improvement would be the planning and zoning of any new construction in what should be called historic districts, so that we do not lose any more treasures or see a generic one story building among other two and three story gems. We are very close to being past the point of just being happy someone is investing money and allowing them to build what and where they want. This should apply to some neighborhoods as well. We talked about sidewalks not too long, why not offer a grant program that would cover maybe 30% of the cost of new sidewalks to assist homeowners, and have the city negotiate a reduced rate in exchange for volume with several businesses who blacktop or lay concrete? I think many would take advantage of that.
Scran, you weren't the person I was referring to. I think you have been pretty balanced in regards to the Mayor; unhappy about spending, but supportive of the goal and what is necessary to move the area forward.
One area that I think needs improvement would be the planning and zoning of any new construction in what should be called historic districts, so that we do not lose any more treasures or see a generic one story building among other two and three story gems. We are very close to being past the point of just being happy someone is investing money and allowing them to build what and where they want. This should apply to some neighborhoods as well. We talked about sidewalks not too long, why not offer a grant program that would cover maybe 30% of the cost of new sidewalks to assist homeowners, and have the city negotiate a reduced rate in exchange for volume with several businesses who blacktop or lay concrete? I think many would take advantage of that.
Is Green Ridge even designated as an officially-recognized "historic district?" What about parts of the Hill Section? The entirety of Downtown should be one as well. Unfortunately for every one upstanding preservation project like the rehabilitation of the old white mansion into the Colonnade there are two projects like the demolition of the entirety of the southerly side of the 300-400-blocks of Lackawanna Avenue for the Mall at Steamtown. Given the alternating one-way streets of Scranton's grid-shaped downtown it would be pretty easy actually to close off a block or two here and there to create attractive pedestrian plazas similar to what I photographed and commented on in prior threads about Ithaca, NY's downtown. Creating attractive street scapes is one way to entice new businesses to come to our community. Scranton could actually learn about this from Wilkes-Barre; its street light system downtown is very, VERY attractive now. Moving above-ground utilities underground in Scranton's downtown and historic district areas would be a good move as well.
Supporting more niche boutique/bistro/espresso bar/gallery-oriented development in downtown is useless unless it is COMPLEMENTED by loft housing catering to young urban professionals who will PATRONIZE those aforementioned establishments.
It's coming, it's coming. The Connell Building will provide quite a few downtown apartments once completed, and other projects are underway, albeit slowly. It's certainly a delicate balance; you need to have some number of shops and boutiques downtown in order to attract people to live there, and especially to get people to even invest in building/renovating places for those tenants to live.
We've almost got the bones, hopefully we will weather the current financial crisis, and can start putting on the meat.
Regardless of wherever I eventually plant myself I hope to be a downtown-dweller until I'm ready to start my own family. This may be Scranton if the firm I'm interviewing with on Monday thinks I'm a viable candidate. This might be Syracuse, NY or Philadelphia, PA if the governmental office I interviewed with this prior Monday is generous enough to offer me a position. This might be Wilkes-Barre if another firm I'm interviewing with in a few weeks gives me a second shot after turning me down for an internship due to strong competition. I'd like to experience loft living. I'd like the unique industrial aura of duct-work overhead. I'd like a small balcony with just enough room for two chairs and an end table to place a small CD player on so that my better half and I could sip wine at night while relaxing to some good music as we overlooked the city lights (I'd especially love a loft in Scranton directly across Courthouse Square from the "Electric City" sign, but I know that's unlikely to happen). A loft overlooking the Susquehanna River in the Hotel Sterling in Wilkes-Barre would be nice as well, as would a skyline view loft in Center City Philadelphia. I'd like being able to walk to work, church, restaurants/bars, shopping, parks, etc. instead of having to drive to everything as I do now out here in the suburbs (especially as rising gas prices continue to cause me economic hardships).
I know they're "coming." These lofts have been "coming" to Scranton for 10,000 years now. Several years ago I sent an e-mail via the web site of Normandy Holdings to inquire about Jefferson Pointe, pretending I was an interested buyer. I never received a reply. One would presume that any shrewd business person would at least have the common courtesy to respond.
Regardless of wherever I eventually plant myself I hope to be a downtown-dweller until I'm ready to start my own family. This may be Scranton if the firm I'm interviewing with on Monday thinks I'm a viable candidate. This might be Syracuse, NY or Philadelphia, PA if the governmental office I interviewed with this prior Monday is generous enough to offer me a position. This might be Wilkes-Barre if another firm I'm interviewing with in a few weeks gives me a second shot after turning me down for an internship due to strong competition. I'd like to experience loft living. I'd like the unique industrial aura of duct-work overhead. I'd like a small balcony with just enough room for two chairs and an end table to place a small CD player on so that my better half and I could sip wine at night while relaxing to some good music as we overlooked the city lights (I'd especially love a loft in Scranton directly across Courthouse Square from the "Electric City" sign, but I know that's unlikely to happen). A loft overlooking the Susquehanna River in the Hotel Sterling in Wilkes-Barre would be nice as well, as would a skyline view loft in Center City Philadelphia. I'd like being able to walk to work, church, restaurants/bars, shopping, parks, etc. instead of having to drive to everything as I do now out here in the suburbs (especially as rising gas prices continue to cause me economic hardships).
Syracuse would be a good choice....its a little bigger version of Scranton, probably much more affordable cost of living than Philly.
I don't "hate" Doherty. I agree in theory with his notion that sprucing up the city's libraries, parks, downtown, etc. will attract more of the "creative class" back to the city from the suburbs to whence they fled during the city's steep decline from the 1970s-1990s, but at some point a line has to be drawn between "public" ventures and "private" ventures and the appropriate funding sources for each. 1/3 of the city's households currently earn at least $50,000 per year. That's probably amongst the highest rates for an urban area in Pennsylvania. Similarly 1/5 of the city's households live in poverty. That's probably in-line with the rest of the state. The more well-educated, well-heeled people we can attract back into the city limits from the suburbs, the more revenues we reap through the wage tax and through boosting property values, hence the more money available to spend on neighborhood improvement projects. The better educated the city is overall, the more likely it will be to attract QUALITY employers like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Glaxo-SmithKline, Merrill Lynch, Google, etc. instead of crumby employers like Burger King and Wal-Mart.
Scranton has a very bright future ahead of it, but its largest hindrance is its own residents who attack its potential at every juncture. The dog park was an overinflated waste of money---$300,000 for a park that has been done for $30,000 elsewhere? The library's price tag is too hefty for the city to stomach at this point in time. Supporting more niche boutique/bistro/espresso bar/gallery-oriented development in downtown is useless unless it is COMPLEMENTED by loft housing catering to young urban professionals who will PATRONIZE those aforementioned establishments. Do you think the typical Pinebrook resident is going to be sipping a latte while window-shopping for Vera Bradley handbags after critiquing some art at "Fancy Fartsy Pants Gallery?" People from Waverly will. People from Glenmaura will. Some people from Green Ridge will. That's about it.
You're right. The typical Scranton resident will not support those things you mentioned. This is isn't Greenwich Village or TriBeCa. This city is too small to be like that, not enough people. I wish the mayor would realize this and stop putting all his eggs in one downtown basket and park. The residents can't take much more of the "Doherty Debt".
Is Green Ridge even designated as an officially-recognized "historic district?" What about parts of the Hill Section? The entirety of Downtown should be one as well. Unfortunately for every one upstanding preservation project like the rehabilitation of the old white mansion into the Colonnade there are two projects like the demolition of the entirety of the southerly side of the 300-400-blocks of Lackawanna Avenue for the Mall at Steamtown. Given the alternating one-way streets of Scranton's grid-shaped downtown it would be pretty easy actually to close off a block or two here and there to create attractive pedestrian plazas similar to what I photographed and commented on in prior threads about Ithaca, NY's downtown. Creating attractive street scapes is one way to entice new businesses to come to our community. Scranton could actually learn about this from Wilkes-Barre; its street light system downtown is very, VERY attractive now. Moving above-ground utilities underground in Scranton's downtown and historic district areas would be a good move as well.
I absolutely agree that getting certain areas of the city designated as historic districts would be great. But in my experience, securing such designations is often a grass roots effort--i.e. it begins and is eventually accomplished through the efforts of individual citizens who go out and drum up support for the designations. For example, there is an historic bridge not far from my home in NY state that might have been torn down recently were it not for the fact that a group of citizens got the bridge designated as an historic landmark several years ago. Because of that designation, when a new bridge was required, the old one was repaired and preserved for those who are on foot or riding bikes; a new bridge, for cars, was built beside the old one. Both bridges are located beside a brand new boat-launching ramp on the Susquehanna River. The new bridge makes traffic flow more smoothly and the lovely old bridge and boat launch will help attract tourists to a particularly beautiful stretch of the river. If the old bridge had been scrapped and the launch had not been constructed, the new bridge would have been just one more way for folks to drive through without even thinking about stopping to check out what the area has to offer.
I wouldn't have posted that except for the fact that it was WELL hashed out last time, and the thread seemed like a just a means for another Doherty hate rant.
Now there's a thread that'll recur again and again AND again.
(I like this "OK" guy-- seems more sarcastic than to me...)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
to me...)
