Most Honest Appraisal Of Allentown's NIZ I Ever Read!

      Kudos to WFMZ-TV69

They've posted the most extensively researched details concerning the NIZ both positive & negative I've ever come across.



"Pawlowski said 925 jobs have been created in the center-city NIZ. “That’s 925 jobs that didn’t exist before. Sixty-two percent of those jobs have gone to Allentown residents.” He added by now that number might be higher.

“Those numbers are antiquated at this point,” maintained Gerlach. “In the service industry, there’s a high level of turnover. People move, people quit, people get fired.”

She said most jobs being offered in the NIZ to city residents living in or near the NIZ are not full time and don’t pay enough for people to save up for a house. “Most of them are part-time or on-call,” she said. “They definitely are not family sustaining.” She also said most jobs in the PPL Center arena, centerpiece of the NIZ, are on-call positions. “They’re not even part-time.” When there’s no event in the arena, there’s no work.

She knows a member of the arena event staff who has been earning $7.25 an hour since the arena opened last year."
I don't know what inspired them but I am truly grateful to WFMZ-TV for taking the time in researching this more then any of the other media in this city has done up until this date. I'm sure it will provoke a lot of discussion. Check it out.