Insights and observations on the redevelopment and revitalization of post-industrial towns on the Route 422 Corridor in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

When the Administrative Elite Goes Silent

When I graduated from college with a BA in Political Science, my father helped me get an appointment as an intern for the AFL-CIO in the Industrial Union Department (Old CIO). I was excited to start a career and was assigned to work on an education program explaining the new Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1971.

Disrupting The Administrative Elite

In my last few columns, I have discussed how things work in government. In my August column, I discussed how the administrative elites can make problems disappear through interpretation. In September, in my interview with Phoenixville philanthropist Manny DeMutis, I discussed how environmental issues impacting local beaver habitats in the revitalization of Phoenixville impacted potential development.

Phoenixville Revitalization — Interview with Manny Demutis

(The following is an interview Barry Cassidy conducted with Phoenixville developer Manny Demutis in Cape May, New Jersey on September 8, 2024.)

Q. Why are you spending a lot of time in Cape May?

We own the Inn of Cape May, an ideal summer setting. I have a house close to the hotel and provide oversight when needed. I try to blend as much work time as I can into days at the beach.

Q. Saw the live band out in front of the Inn last night. It seems like you drew a nice-sized crowd out there.

Understanding the Administrative Elites

I remember attending meetings with my peers in economic development and being told I could not do what I was doing. I know that sounds odd, but it is true. I have always tried to be creative when doing economic development. I gained expertise because I would read the regulations and examine the process for getting things done. My theory was that if there is a form to ask if you can do it, you can do it if you meet the criteria.

City Downtowns Contracting

The conversion of office space to housing is not just a potential wave of the future but also a promising avenue for real estate developers and business owners. This trend, while requiring the satisfaction of existing leases in some cases, also presents a unique opportunity in the wake of the remote work shift that has affected downtown businesses across America. More housing would put more people on the street.

The Rise of Vintage

While in London for the Phillies game, my wife and I had a little bit of free time to shop and dine out. In Chelsea, we visited the John Lewis Department Store. It was a full-blown department store with electronics and appliance departments. I think it was six floors packed with goods. In the ladies' clothing section, I took a seat while my wife browsed the English fashions.

Filling Vacant Storefronts After the Pandemic

I am currently in Portland OR on my cross-country journey to evaluate the recovery from the 2021 lockdown. I was deeply impressed by the transformative power of innovative strategies and the strategic use of ground-floor retail. These approaches are not only breathing new life into the towns but also fostering a sense of optimism and advancement.

Downingtown Property Owners and Residents to Address Flooding

As a property owner in Downingtown for the last twenty years or so, I have experienced three floods that have affected the community. They all caused a lot of damage, and it took a long time to recover. The flooding during Hurricane IDA was particularly devastating.

The thing about Downingtown is that, in many cases, if it is not raining, there is no problem, and it is time to move on. I tried to work through the process to address flooding issues and found the process onerous locally.

Establishing a “Sense of Place”

When Fred Kent created and ran the Project for Public Spaces, he inspired me with the placemaking concept, and I became very interested in learning. He was somehow ousted later, and the group of 400 people he put together internationally collapsed under new management.

I always remember what he said about how you can only hold someone’s interest for about 100 feet when they are walking in a downtown setting. Figure twenty-five feet per storefront would be like four storefronts in terms of distance.

The Second Round of Lockdown Study

I plan on another nationwide evaluation of downtown vacancies due to the 2021 lockdown. This time, I will leave a few days before I did in 2021 and hope it does not get upper 90s temperatures in some of the locations, as I encountered in 2021.

I will also be able to have solid data on office vacancies in many of the big cities during this round. Still, I can also quickly determine the office vacancies in some small towns that I need to rank in the system.

Opinion — Globalization and Change

There has been an effort on behalf of some to initiate a global agenda in the United States. After all, we are part of the world, and we are all brothers and sisters. Global barriers are breaking down, and there is an effort for people to consider themselves citizens of the world, rather than a particular nation.

Change is in your Mind

I always try to broaden my horizons. I did not care too much for school when I was young. I also did not do well. Most of my attention was not geared toward academic achievement. Most of the kids in my New Jersey High School were hovering around 97 – 99 percent on whatever that test was that measured our intelligence, while others like me did not score as well.

Changes in Health Insurance

Yet another change in Health Insurance is on the horizon. I was looking at the proposed plans, and there seemed to be one common thread — the 40 percent excise tax is coming my way. People like me are looking at a one-year total of about $342 billion in increased taxes. As before, there is no help for me on the horizon. I am part of the old system and my kind of plan is now scorned.

Unaligned Primaries in National Elections

Last month I wrote an article concerning the use of Unaligned Primaries to help broaden the pool of candidates for selection at a local level.

Change the Elector Process

I realized the other day that I am on a vast array of mailing lists from far left to far right, and pretty much everything in the middle. I did receive something about a month ago that made me wonder about the entire process of selection.

Hoops of Change

I have been given the liberty to change my column to write about CHANGE. I believe that I am the only officially recognized agent of change in Pennsylvania. I have the necessary skill set to write about change. Elements of change are everywhere around us, as we interact with media, institutions and individuals. I hope to be able to comment intelligently about changes that happen to and around us. Some of what I write is going to make people uncomfortable, but that is what change is all about.

Sanctuary Cities Downtown II

Two months ago I wrote an article about wage slavery in the downtown, and just recently there has been a nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” protest illustrating my point.

I wrote:

Being the grandson of an illegal Italian immigrant who had trouble with the law, I have sympathy for the plight of the illegal immigrant. I also realize that in the cities, the economy, to a certain extent, relies on the ability to cheat the illegal immigrant on matters of wage, hours and conditions of employment because they have no redress in those matters.

Promotions, Law Enforcement and Merchant Backlash

The Main Street process has four points: Economic Restructuring, Organization, Design and Promotion. Promotion is always the one that has been my favorite, even though the economic restructuring is what everyone wants in the end.

Promotion is key in the strategic repositioning of the downtown. It is something to do when you come to a town. It is a draw for people to come to a downtown. For many people, it is what they think of the downtown.

State of Main Street Pennsylvania

Happy New Year to all the readers of this fine publication. I would like to start the new year with an update on the Main Street program.

Sanctuary Cities Downtown

In a past article, I discussed the potential for labor abuse involving illegal aliens in the downtown. The lack of redress of grievances based upon illegal immigration status leads to abuse in many instances. They are a large supplier of day labor for food service facilities and “hitching post” type parking lot labor availability sites, the most famous of these sites being the Acme parking lot in Manasquan New Jersey.