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What? From the get-go most of you thought this was a "pie-in-the-sky" endeavor that was going to fall flat upon its face in a trail of broken promises and pipe dreams. Now it's been proven a success, and instead of giving credit where credit is due you all choose to attack the messenger? I'll never understand the obsession so many of you have with seeing your downtown NOT improve. Your city overall can NOT get better unless you invest in your core.
I would like Scranton to improve, but it's never going to be the city you want it to be. A trendy, hip, happening city, that's not Scranton, so accept it and see how you can improve Pittsburgh, because guaranteed in a few weeks after moving there, you'll be moaning about something and looking for ways to improve it.
Once its actually open and lasts with all it units rented for a year, then maybe it will be considered a success.
Great. One year from opening day I am going to repost this quote in a new thread and demand you say "RestonRunner, I was wrong and you were right." In fact, when I post that thread I expect EVERYONE on this sub-forum who is anti-progress to post that same exact quote. I'll come to collect that payment one year from this weekend.
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Originally Posted by weluvpa
There is still plenty of time for problems and issues to arise and tenants to not move in or move out once they realize that the downtown is dead, not dying, but DEAD.
1.) I'm pretty sure prospective tenants had already familiarized themselves with their surrounding environs BEFORE signing a lease. If they knew the Downtown was "dead", as you put it, then why would they have taken a unit in the first place?
2.) You can't just "move out" if you've signed a lease. I don't know how it is in NEPA, but at least from my experiences in NoVA you need to pay two-month's rent as a penalty for terminating your lease prematurely. At the very least a disgruntled tenant would post an ad on CraigsList to try to find someone to take over their lease; they wouldn't just vacate their units. Apartment buildings by nature are very transient, so I don't know why some of you expect people to want to plant down their roots in a rental unit. If these were condos with a high rate of turnover, then I could see the issue.
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Originally Posted by weluvpa
The 500 block was a success in your eyes, you couldn't stop going on about it, well still feel that way? Its empty.
Yes. I still do feel as if it's a success. Is it better to have gorgeous vacant buildings all over your Downtown or trashy-looking vacant buildings all over your Downtown? As long as so many of you Scrantonians prefer Dickson City and Moosic over your own city's commercial offerings you're never going to see a mass influx of independent merchants. Once more people are living Downtown, then more retailers and restaurateurs will follow suit.
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Originally Posted by go phillies
Nope....that's putting the cart before the horse. You need to invest in the neighborhoods, keep residents here, and attract new residents, and then the "core" will revive. "If you build it, they will come" is failed policy. Make the neighborhoods safe and clean with at least competitive taxes with surrounding communities, and the whole city will be better off in the long run, including downtown.
Please leave community and economic development to those who are well-versed on the topic. Nobody wants to live in a supreme neighborhood that feeds into a ghastly Downtown with nothing to offer. If I were to move to Scranton as a new resident I'd want to be PROUD to showcase my city's core to visitors, not embarrassed. I specifically chose the community I live in now because it has at least quasi-walkability and quasi-urbanity (by Fairfax County, VA standards). My friends chose to also live within walking distance to a "town center"-like environment. Nationwide the trend is for people to start moving back closer to cities. Why this trend still hasn't "caught on" yet in Scranton is beyond my realm of comprehension.
Build a solid core, and that core will begin to radiate its effects outwards to adjacent neighborhoods as more people want to live near the "action." It's called gentrification.
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Originally Posted by Magritte25
Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF? Paul, you have NO creedence downing others for not living here when YOU CHOOSE NOT TO.
Says who? Queen Magritte? I really have to laugh at the provincialism in NEPA. "You don't live here, so you can't have an opinion!" Do you really think anyone takes any of you seriously when you say something like that?
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Originally Posted by go phillies
Exactly....its like a divorced guy still showing up to complain about what his ex-wife is doing.
But we better watch or this thread will degenerate into another RR pity party.
"Another RR pity party?" How so? What typically happens is you all gang up on me with your Doomer pack mentality, I defend myself, then a certain moderator who shall remain nameless deletes all my posts, lets most of yours stand, and posts a biting reply of her own in a huff and a puff. Heaven forbid someone tries to defend their dissenting point of view on this sub-forum.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magritte25
I don't mind when former residents of the area post here because they know what the area is like and such. I do, however, have a HUGE issue with someone who moved away because he (a) couldn't find a job here, (b) found the culture unwelcoming to his alternative lifestyle (though I have friends who disagree with him there) and (c) thinks the overall tone of the area is negative, then turning around to complain about CURRENT residents stating the same things!!!
I don't get it.
I don't get it either, Queen Magritte.
(a) I don't understand why you think I "couldn't find a job here." First off, I DID have a job offer here, and if I had applied elsewhere I'm sure I would have found a position as well in my field since it is a very "hot" field, even despite the Great Recession. I didn't move to NoVA because I was unable to find a job here.
P.S. Aren't you the same person who is currently investigating relocating out of Wilkes-Barre because you fear your husband can't find a job here once he graduates?
(b) Just because YOU have LGBT-oriented friends who have never experienced discrimination here doesn't mean others' experiences will not deviate from that "norm" you have implied. I HAVE been subjected to slurs, numerous times, as I've run along Main Street in Avoca for exercise. I had a bottle thrown at me once from a passing car in Dupont. I had to endure a surly middle-aged clerk at an ice cream parlor give my ex-partner and I a dirty glare when I told her we were "together" (as in to put both of our orders on my tab). You can stick your head into the sand like an ostrich as much as you'd like, but homophobia is still very much alive and well in NEPA, and I'm not one who will stand for it any longer.
(c) Huh? English, please? I'm complaining about other people complaining about negativity? No. I'm complaining about how much the chronic negativity and pessimism in this area forever damns its chances at an economic recovery. Like it or not "boosterism" and "image-boosting" (yes, "cheerleading") works WONDERS to help eradicate negative misconceptions about your area, making it prime for redevelopment. Look at Pittsburgh, which just topped YET ANOTHER list---"Best Place to Relocate To".
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Originally Posted by weluvpa
I love party's!!!!!!!!
I love people who aren't here by choice and choose to grind axes instead of trying to squeeze lemons to make lemonade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magritte25
Where is YOUR investment Paul? Oh that's right. It's in NoVA and soon to be in Pitt. Pfffttt. Put your money where your mouth is.
Coming from the woman who is moving out of Wilkes-Barre? You people really make me laugh sometimes. Even if I were to move back tomorrow, rent a loft in Scranton, and open my own firm you'd all STILL find a reason to be petty and resent me. "You're too young to have an opinion that matters", "You haven't lived here long enough to have an opinion that matters", "You aren't a native of Scranton so your opinion doesn't matter as much", etc., etc. There's always something.
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Originally Posted by CHS89
When people disagree with his opinion, Reston's posts come of as whiny b*tchfests, nothing more. (And for the record, I'm not coming out and calling the POSTER a whiny b*tch, just his posts.)
For the record, I'm not calling this particular poster a snarky curmudgeon, just his posts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHS89
Most? Try three or four. MOST of us took a "wait and see" attitude.
Where was all of the encouragement and support for this project since its inception? Where is ANY of the support for the impending renaissance of Downtown Scranton? (Crickets chirping). Let's see how far your city gets with such a lack of civic pride, boosterism, or faith from its own residents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHS89
Care to elaborate? What is it exactly that is proving the success? Are these units actually occupied? Are the tenants actively contributing to the local economy? REPEATING MY QUESTION......How many of these units have YOU rented?
1.) Why does it matter how many units I PERSONALLY have rented? I can hazard a guess to say NOBODY would EVER want me to move to Scranton anyways, which is why I'm going to work on helping to rebuild Pittsburgh (and have encouraged friends to likewise move there to join me when DC burns them out, too).
2.) Why has everyone still been unable to admit that being nearly at full leasing prior to the move-in date is evidence of a project being successful?
3.) I'm sorry. I forgot most people rent units without ever having any intention of moving into them. The developer just got a bunch of friends to make false Facebook profiles to drum up support for his project, and they all agreed to rent his units while keeping them vacant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sues1
I would like Scranton to improve, but it's never going to be the city you want it to be. A trendy, hip, happening city, that's not Scranton, so accept it and see how you can improve Pittsburgh, because guaranteed in a few weeks after moving there, you'll be moaning about something and looking for ways to improve it.
I don't WANT Scranton to be SoHo or TriBeCa. I just want Scranton to NOT be replete with abandonment, blight, and neglect on every block while more trees come down constantly in South Abington Twp. for cul-de-sacs to house the "wage tax refugees" (who ironically don't realize that they are likely paying property taxes in Abington Heights that are so much higher that they negate the benefit of escaping the wage tax, anyways). I want to see Scranton "bustling" again, but we don't need Whole Foods, Cheesecake Factory, Williams-Sonoma, and other "yuppie" chains to get to that point. We just need people to have faith again that the city CAN turn around. It can't stay in dire straits forever. Scranton is now where Pittsburgh was in the 1990s---just getting its act together after hitting rock bottom. 15 years from now Scranton will be in a much better position, just like Pittsburgh is now.
VarmintBlaster just poked his nose into the Pittsburgh sub-forum to make a pitch for the suburbs over the city because the city has a 3% earned income tax while most suburbs only have a 1% tax. The lower property taxes and lower commuting costs of living in the city MORE THAN ACCOUNT for that 2% savings in wage taxes.
For the record, I'm not calling this particular poster a snarky curmudgeon, just his posts.
If the shoe fits, eh, little boy?
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Originally Posted by RestonRunner86
I just want Scranton to NOT be replete with abandonment, blight, and neglect on every block...
AND. IT. IS. NOT "replete with abandonment, blight, and neglect on every block"!!! I think even Dan would admit that much. Way to overstate things in an attempt to make a petty little point that is completely off base.
That loud whooshing sound is your credibility leaving the room.
Little boy? Presuming the "89" in your screenname is the year you graduated high school, then that means you were probably born in the 1970-1972 era, which puts you in your late-30s to around 40. I'm 23. That's not THAT much of an age gap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CHS89
AND. IT. IS. NOT "replete with abandonment, blight, and neglect on many blocks"!!! I think even Dan would admit that much. Way to overstate things in an attempt to make a petty little point that is completely off base.
That loud whooshing sound is your credibility leaving the room.
There. I clarified my position. Scranton DOES have a very weathered, neglected, and distressed appearance to it in MANY neighborhoods where elderly people who can no longer afford to properly maintain their homes also refuse to move into nursing homes to let a new buyer breathe new life into their residences. For those who are going to pounce on me for being "insensitive towards the elderly" also bear in mind that once I become too aged or destitute to either properly maintain my home or even drive for that matter I plan to move into a nursing home and surrender my driver's license, respectively.
WTF? Paul, you have NO creedence downing others for not living here when YOU CHOOSE NOT TO.
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Originally Posted by Magritte25
I do, however, have a HUGE issue with someone who moved away because he (a) couldn't find a job here,I don't get it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magritte25
Where is YOUR investment Paul? Oh that's right. It's in NoVA and soon to be in Pitt. Pfffttt. Put your money where your mouth is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RestonRunner86
(a) I don't understand why you think I "couldn't find a job here." First off, I DID have a job offer here, and if I had applied elsewhere I'm sure I would have found a position as well in my field since it is a very "hot" field, even despite the Great Recession. I didn't move to NoVA because I was unable to find a job here.
P.S. Aren't you the same person who is currently investigating relocating out of Wilkes-Barre because you fear your husband can't find a job here once he graduates?
From another thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by RestonRunner86
Any particular reason why you're looking to leave the Diamond City? I thought you were happy in Wilkes-Barre?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magritte25
My husband is looking for a job now that he's graduated and we are looking at different areas if he can't find something here in NEPA.
Just to clarify things, Magritte, you take issue with people who choose not to live in the area in order to find employment elsewhere while simultaneously researching other areas yourself to live in to find employment elsewhere? Care to shed some light on what seems to be some very hypocritical statements here?
4For those who are going to pounce on me for being "insensitive towards the elderly" also bear in mind that once I become too aged or destitute to either properly maintain my home or even drive for that matter I plan to move into a nursing home and surrender my driver's license, respectively.
You know what I find pretty interesting about most of you? Most of you can never admit it when you're wrong, even when there is growing evidence pointing towards that being a distinct possibility. I'm only human. I've made my fair share of misjudgments and mistakes in my life, and whenever I do I ATONE for them. I admit to being wrong. I'm not above apologizing when I've erred. I've NEVER seen most of you admit when YOU were wrong, nor have I EVER seen anyone apologize when they've been out-of-line. Why is this? Why are so many of you "above" being wrong?
For the record I've also experienced a healthy dose of that here in NoVA, which prompted me to write a VERY stinging Facebook "note" last night that ruffled a LOT of feathers and provoked a LOT of thought. I was right, though. When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. When many of you (or them) are wrong, I'm still wrong. I've had a lot of people give my a cyber-high-five in "real life" for that harsh Facebook note, and I stand by my convictions there. Anyone care to elaborate as to why YOU are all so infallible?
P.S. I already know not to expect a flurry of "You were right. I was wrong." posts a year from now when the Connell Building is still open and still housing tenants who are spending their dollars Downtown, but that doesn't mean I won't hold people accountable for it when the time comes.
The credibility of being an actual resident of Scranton; born, raised, educated within city limits. I actually own a home in Scranton, not "I can see the city lights from my parent's home in the next county". I pay taxes to the city. I raise a family here. I have actually done, not talked about doing.
I'm serious, George. I saw an article a few weeks ago in which a 92-year-driver ran over an 88-year-old man in a motorized wheelchair (or vice-versa) in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, and my heart sank. Quite likely neither one of them should have been operating their vehicles unsupervised in a busy urban environment because neither had reflexes that would be quick enough to prevent an accident like that from happening when if younger people were in the situation the impact would have likely been able to have been avoided. I hear all the time about seniors who have to choose between heating their homes (often very LARGE older homes that they've lived in for years---mostly empty) or paying for medicine. If they downsized perhaps they COULD afford their medications?
I know I still have a long ways to go until I'm an octogenarian myself, George, but when that time comes I'll do what's best for the commnity---sell my home and turn over my car keys and license. I'm not that stubborn to want to be a burden upon anyone by not being able to keep my home up to neighborhood standards or by hitting my gas pedal instead of my brake pedal and smashing through a storefront (a constant occurrence in NEPA when I lived there).
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