South Bethlehem community

meeting report
02.23.2022
─

Submitted by the PA Project for Civic Engagement

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Background
Lehighvalleylive.com and the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley sponsored this community
forum as a follow-up to Edged Out, the news site’s multipart, in-depth series on the stresses
and tensions that burgeoning development on the Southside has brought to the
tradition-laden, diverse neighborhood.

The event was held at Northampton Community College’s Fowler Family Southside Center
on East Third Street. Thanks to the college and its staff for their attentive hosting.

More than 130 people took part in the forum, including Mayor J. William Reynolds, several
key members of his staff, plus all seven Bethlehem City Councilpersons, six of whom
attended in person, with one participating via Zoom. The other attendees were a mix of
Southside residents (the largest cohort), plus some local businesspeople, human services
providers, and regional advocates.

The PA Project for Civic Engagement (PPCE) was asked to design a dialogue process for the
event and to lead the breakout sessions using its trained moderators. Five veteran PPCE
moderators plus three student moderators from the University of Pennsylvania facilitated
the six breakout groups.

Sara Satullo’s work on the Edged Out series was supported by a fellowship from the
Annenberg Center for Health Journalism at the University of Southern California, which also
provided some conceptual support for this community forum.

The flow of the evening

Sara Satullo welcomed the overflow crowd, gave a brief summary of the background and
findings of the Edged Out series, and outlined the purpose of the forum. She said her hope
was to give South Bethlehem’s residents and businesspeople a fresh chance to voice to
their elected leaders their hopes and fears about the neighborhood’s future, while
benefiting from a more free-flowing environment than a formal government meeting.

As participants partook of the offered food spread and said hello to friends, they were
invited to post responses to three prompts posted on easels set up around the room:

● What do you love about South Bethlehem?

● You know you’re really from South Bethlehem if …
● What could make you move away from Southside?

A summary of the responses to those prompts, posted via Sticky Notes, is offered in
Appendix I to this report.
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After Satullo’s welcome, Brian Armstead of PPCE explained the goals of the breakout
groups and reviewed the ground rules for the dialogue, which were:

● Listen, it’s as important as talking.

● Everyone participates. No one dominates.
● Disagreement is fine. It’s fruitful. When it arises don’t try to paper it over, or to win it.
Explore it.
● Try to build upon what others say.
● Consider the possibility that your information might be incomplete, and that
everyone has some expertise that can add to the dialogue.
● Notice who’s not in the room and try to imagine what they might say if they were.
● Listen, and pause before speaking.

Participants were sorted into breakouts when they arrived, using a system of numbered
nametags. One councilperson was assigned to each group, while the mayor was free to
roam among groups.

The turnout was almost double what had been expected based on registrations just two
days before, so the breakout groups, ideally intended for 12-15 or so people, mostly had 25
or more. But participants were generally very good about following the ground rules,
keeping their remarks brief and leaving space for others to chime in.

In the breakouts, the moderator teams led participants through the following sequence of
prompts:

1. Participants introduced themselves, sharing their responses to the “What do you

love about South Bethlehem?” icebreakers.

2. Then the participants were each asked to list one hope or fear they had about the
future of South Bethlehem, and to pay attention to the relative number of hopes
and fears articulated.

3. Next, they responded to this prompt – which was made real by the presence of a
councilperson in each breakout: “Imagine you found yourself in an elevator with key
city officials. Knowing you had only about 30 seconds to get your point across, how
would you complete this sentence: What I most need you to work on for my family and
my community this year is ….”

4. Finally, the group was asked both to consider three existing ideas and contribute
new ones for how to spend Bethlehem’s remaining $10 million in stimulus funds in a
way that would address South Bethlehem’s needs.

When each breakout group had a healthy list of ideas up on the wall, each participant was
given 10 colored dots and told they could “spend” the dots any way they saw fit to show
support for ideas i.e. ranging from one dot on 10 ideas to putting all 10 dots on one
favorite idea. Each person also was offered the chance to place one red dot on an idea
they really disliked or thought deserved no stimulus money.
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At the end of each breakout, the councilperson in the room got a chance to summarize and
respond to what they’d heard from participants. When the group returned to the main
room for a concluding plenary, Mayor Reynolds did the same for the whole group.

Each moderating team recorded on an easel running notes on a group’s dialogue as it

unfolded. Each team has distilled those notes into a report on its breakout group. These
six reports are included as Appendices 2-7.

Cross-cutting themes and takeaways

● For a group of moderators who typically work in Philadelphia, the depth of affection
Southsiders have for their neighborhood – and the similar ways of expressing that
love of place that occurred across breakout groups – was quite striking. Diversity
was seen as a key strength for the Southside, not a flaw or a challenge – which is not
always the case in other places. Every group mentioned the neighborhood’s
tradition of welcome to newcomers, alongside the sense that neighbors in the
Southside look out for one another. A few acknowledged the irony that a prime
source of tension now on the Southside is the reluctance to welcome the latest wave
of newcomers i.e., affluent college students and millennials, because they are seen
as unlikely to respect or fit into the neighborhood’s fabric. Also getting much
affection were the area’s restaurants, arts traditions, hillside views and the
much-loved Greenway.

● Lack of affordable housing – and the fear that long-time Southsiders will soon be
priced out and be forced to move – was a dominant theme all night. Many in the
group look to the new administration to develop a more multifaceted and
aggressive strategy to build the store of affordable housing. The affordable housing
issue was seen as tied organically to two other big concerns for participants:
homelessness and chronic mental stress from rapid change, job anxiety and
housing anxiety. One group suggested a “tiny houses” program as a way to address
both affordable housing and the plight of the currently homeless.

● A significant minority of participants raised concerns about the vagueness of the

rhetoric around goals such as “affordable housing,” “sustainability” and “diversity.”
They wanted clearer definitions of what those ideas mean in practical terms – which
they called essential to having effective plans to meet a goal such as “more
affordable housing.”

● Parking, parking, parking. A thirst for swift and practical solutions to parking and
traffic woes fit into a larger theme for many residents: Wanting the city to get better
at handling the basic blocking and tackling of city governance. Stricter code
enforcement – particularly for student housing – was a related theme.

● Views were mixed on new development, but many longtime Southsiders were
adamant that they are not against growth per se. They said they just would like the
city to ensure that new housing, new retail, and new restaurants meet the needs of
current residents, not just of students or high-income newcomers. They’d also like
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to see a program to ensure that jobs based in new developments are open to, or in
some measure reserved for, Southside residents. “Job-seeking and job-keeping” was
cited by a school district staffer as key skills that the youth of Southside need to
learn so they could take advantage of opportunities that development brings.
● One concise comment from a breakout group participant anticipated a key part of
Mayor Reynolds’ message to the group in the concluding plenary. In words that
distilled one of the central tensions of the evening’s discussions, this person said:
“The city must find a way to accommodate people who want to live here without
destroying what it is that’s attracting them in the first place.” In other words, the
traditions, the sense of welcome and neighborliness, the diversity, the walkability,
and affordability of the place.

● Responding to the prompt about what city officials need to do, the sentiment “more
of this” got voiced repeatedly i.e., “this” meaning active engagement, listening and
co-production of solutions with the community.

● In the colored-dot voting, scoring well across groups were ideas for increasing the
supplies of affordable housing and jobs, for helping people cope with mental stress,
and for sharpening the focus on basic quality of life issues such as code
enforcement and parking. The idea of a new community center sparked debate and
a number of red dot votes in several groups.

Final Thoughts
The strong sense of love and active engagement that Southsiders have for their community
was apparent in the turnout, the lively but respectful dialogues in each breakout, and the
large percentage of people who stayed to the end of the two-hour event. For visitors from
a more cynical city, the sense of community from this group was impressive and moving.

While the city government received some criticism for fumbling public-private partnerships,
for weak attention to practical quality-of-life steps, and for being too tepid in supporting
affordable housing, the general tone was one of optimism about the new administration
and reconstituted City Council. Few brickbats were aimed at the council people sitting in
on the sessions and the elected officials expressed appreciation for the ideas and
sentiments that they heard from citizens.

While complaints about Lehigh and unruly students certainly were voiced, animosity
towards the university seemed relatively muted, with several people expressing hope that
Lehigh might be moving toward a more cooperative and engaged stance.

Most participants seemed to enjoy and derive some satisfaction from the dialogues, while
being good about observing the ground rules. While many expressed a hunger for “more
of this,” that was often accompanied by suggestions that the agenda for future events
should be less diffuse, more focused on one or two issues that could be explored in depth,
with an eye to identifying real solutions.

The turnout and the tone were a tribute to the credibility and impact that the Edged Out
series from lehighvalleylive.com had in the eyes of Southside residents and city officials.
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The forum extended the sense the series had generated that, at long last, the authentic
voice of the Southside was being heard.

The PA Project for Civic Engagement team – senior moderators Brian Armstead, Harris
Sokoloff, Josh Warner, Guillermo Lopez Jr., Chris Satullo, student moderators Connor
Gibson, Lindsey Perlman, and Clara Papenfuse, plus project managers Linda Breitstein and
Eileen Kenna – appreciated the opportunity to be part of this inspiring event.
We’d also like to thank Nicholas Falsone, Alyssa Passeggio and Delia Marrero of
lehighvalleylive.com and New Jersey Advance Media for their invaluable help in staging the
forum and recording notes in breakout groups

Respectfully submitted,

March 4, 2022

Chris Satullo

Co-Director, PA Project for Civic Engagement

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Appendix I: Comment boards from forums

You Know You’re From South Bethlehem If….?

Your kids’ friends from high school were not allowed to drive “across the river.”

You remember the Bethlehem Steel drop forge going off and the house shaking.

You remember going to the College Theater.

You know what it’s like to hear “Oh, you live on the Southside.”

You go to the Portuguese festival hosted by Holy Infancy.

You can’t find parking on your block.

You went to 5 and Dime to shop.

You know where the underground stream is at the top of Hayes Street.

You know where the hole in the fence is at Yosko to get your handballs back.

You know where the free parking is where you won’t get towed.

You identify houses by all the names of the families that lived there.

Why Do You Love Living Here?

The people it has welcomed. The history it tells. The peace it gives. The future it offers.

The food, culture and people (in that order because … priorities)

It’s a very relaxed zone. I feel safe!

Diversity and community.

Diversity, arts, topography – love them all.

Friendly folks; great ethnic mix.

Born and raised in South Bethlehem; love the summer concerts and great atmosphere.
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Diversity of neighbors, the small town plus urban feel, the historic landscape, the eclectic
architecture.

Diversity, awesome restaurants, great walking trails, great bars, plenty of festivals,
emphasis on the arts; free shows and activities for family; resources for improvement.

The Greenway and the diversity.

What Could Make You Leave South Bethlehem?

Rising cost of living.

Rise in crime.

Weakening of the school system.

Lack of an affordable place to live.

Failing to hold onto neighborhoods due to lack of enforcement of quality of life ordinances.

Lehigh overrunning the entire Southside.

Decisions being made without involving the people and leaders here in Southside.
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Appendix II-VII: Breakout Group Reports

MODERATOR NAME(S): Guillermo Lopez, Delia Marrero, Group 1.

DESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION AND TONE OF YOUR GROUP:

13 people: Eight women, four men, seven residents of the South Side, three city officials,
three advocates or social service people, three of the people did not speak English. We
were able to interpret the dialogue into Spanish as we went along so they could follow the
general flow of the conversation. Council President Michael Colon joined this group.

WHAT THEY VALUE ABOUT THE SOUTHSIDE (COMMON THEMES):

● The diversity.

● Walkable areas.

● How everybody knows each other.

● How everybody looks out for each other.

KEY HOPES AND FEARS:

Hopes:

● Never change different faces and nationalities.

● To find affordable housing.

● That Lehigh listens to its residents.

● Hope to give my baby a home and a future in the Southside.

● Crime remains low, streets clean and safe.

● Stays a safe clean space where people can live, eat and play.
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● More activities for children.

● Activities for ESL children.

● Expand food access.

Fears:
● Fear of change (loss of diversity).
●
● Leaving out the aging.

● Not able to find a home.

● Not able to find a job.

● Lehigh won’t listen.

● Not being able to provide for child.

● Transiency.

KEY MESSAGES TO CITY OFFICIALS:

● More help for seniors.

● Lower property taxes.

● $250k vs $25k Affordable Housing fee in lieu of affordable housing.

● Help us find affordable housing (3 people in 1 bedroom).

● Simplify process to access housing/work/language signage.

● What is the long-term strategy to protect residents?

● Continued resident participation that is inclusive of all residents.

● Require outlying areas to get more involved in affordable housing (we can’t make
land; stop warehouses).

● A user fee for developers who are not of the city

TOP FOUR IDEAS FOR SPENDING STIMULUS FUNDS:

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1. Low-income housing.

2. Educational training workforce development.

3. Community Center on the Southside.

4. Adaptive Reuse. Office buildings that are empty turned into affordable housing.
(Since many people work from home now.)

ANY IDEAS THAT GOT RED DOTS:

Two red dots for adaptive reuse

MODERATOR NAME(S): Josh Warner, Clara Papenfuse, Group 2.

DESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION AND TONE OF YOUR GROUP:

Group 2 had 21 people, with three observers from City/County councils. The group ranged
widely in age, with a few members in their 20s, and one teenager, along with a majority in
their 30s to 50s, and a few folks aged 60 or above. Group 2 was primarily female, with only
about a quarter of the group comprised of male participants (around five).

The Tone of Group 2 was lively, with a lot of heart, solidarity, and hope for the Southside of
Bethlehem. About 1/3 of the group came with their passions about the Southside that they
shared and discussed during all the prompts. Another third were more limited in their
sharing, and spoke up when the topics suited them. The last third were mostly just curious,
and either shared sparingly or not at all beyond the icebreaker and hopes/fears.
Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith sat in on this group.

Group as a whole was very kind toward one another

A strong sense of community was obvious: I know your street! I ate at your restaurant! Etc.

WHAT THEY VALUE ABOUT THE SOUTHSIDE (COMMON THEMES):

Common themes around valuing the Southside included neighborhood cohesion, a sense
of family and community, the diversity present, and the commercial/retail business district.

Restaurants were particularly valued; one long-time restaurateur was present, and many
folks mentioned the food and food diversity as a strong point of the Southside.

Housing affordability was a huge value mentioned by most of the group throughout the
evening, though this was most often mentioned in the context of “losing” affordability or
housing options—particularly for families.
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Ultimately, an underlying value throughout the conversation was the character of the
Southside – physically, economically, and socially. Most in the room felt apprehensive
about the trends toward student housing, large developments, and the push from Lehigh
U, as they saw these as threatening to the character and cohesion of the Southside.

KEY HOPES AND FEARS:

Fears:
● That families will be pushed out, and only students and richer households will
remain. The folks living in Southside Bethlehem won’t be able to stay.

● That we’ll “lose cohesion” as a neighborhood.

● That we’re already “too far gone” as a neighborhood (re: changes to student
housing)

● We keep pushing new things and new people into the neighborhood. It’s getting
unbearable – the influx of people and cars.

● That homes will become unaffordable. We are losing single-family homes to more
rental conversions or out-of-town investors and developments.

● We’ve lost important greenspaces too.

● That whatever comes from this meeting will be yet another “study or plan sitting on
a shelf.”

● That because of all the activity, the Southside becomes unwelcoming to outsiders
[combo hope and fear].

Hopes:
● Hope to enforce the rules we already have in place (re: quality of life issues, parking,
development).

● That we end up doing something truly positive for the Southside Business District.
○ The City should be doing more here (e.g., the age of the public benches
around the bus. district).

● That the new diversity within City Hall will yield positive changes for the Southside.
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● That Lehigh U. and the City begin to truly collaborate with each other – a “town &
gown” relationship.

● That more dialogues and conversations like tonight’s event will take place.
○ We need to generate ideas from inside the Southside – from the voices of
people from here – rather than “outside experts” telling us what to do.

● Hope to develop a sustainable solution to our homelessness issue.

● Hope that the character of Southside can remain welcoming or opening to outsiders

KEY MESSAGES TO CITY OFFICIALS:

● Need to do more to promote and support businesses to the commercial districts
○ What are we doing to attract businesses?
○ We need to do a lot more to help businesses maintain their presence – to
stay in business here. Especially the small business owners and
entrepreneurs

● The parking issue is a problem; please solve it!

○ I’m a senior, and now I can’t park near my home anymore. Arriving home at
9pm and then having to walk 3 blocks is very difficult for me.

● The density is a problem, and it can be scary walking at night.

● Stop over-development in our already-congested neighborhoods!

● Ensure that our feedback and the issues present in Bethlehem are being sent up to
the County level. Better collaboration back and forth here.
● Let’s look at the Zoning Code again, and start promoting other kinds of housing
options.
○ The code is inflexible, and we can’t build the smaller kinds of housing that
would keep prices affordable and would work for families and Southside
residents.
○ The “historic look” of Southside can’t be upheld or built under the existing
code.
○ One participant noted that the city’s and residents’ desire to maintain the
“historic look” means that most developments and zoning/building options
are resisted or rejected.
○ Existing tension between keeping the Historic feel vs. allowing different
scales/styles of housing.
○ Development at a smaller scale could allow more residents without
drastically reshaping the neighborhood.

● Please do something about the rising crime in the area.

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○ Several businesses robbed recently; one of them twice.

○ We need more police presence and enforcement of codes/laws—especially
as related to vandalism and property maintenance.

TOP FOUR IDEAS FOR SPENDING STIMULUS FUNDS:

1. Piloting several projects that highlight new forms of affordable housing (e.g., A.D.U.s,
carriage houses).
a. Along with including many more affordable units in these projects (and
others) with a guaranteed length of time that units remain affordable.

2. Promote affordable housing.

3. Hiring additional code enforcement officers or capabilities.

4. Investing in City Parks and Pools – both big and small. And invest in quality
maintenance too.

ANY IDEAS THAT GOT RED DOTS:

The Community Center in the Southside received the most red dots.

The sentiment was that the idea was too vague, and a concern about why the priority
wasn’t to better fund the community centers already there. A Lehighvalleylive reporter
came in at one point and noted that current centers such as the Southside Boys and Girls
Club are closed and now privately-owned whereas a government-funded one could more
reliably serve the community. That statement had a mixed reception.

“Updating and renovating the business district” also got a few red dots. The “hiring code
enforcement” issue (#3 on the Top 4 vote-getters above) also got one red dot.
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MODERATOR NAME(S): Brian Armstead, Alyssa Passeggio, Group 3.

DESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION AND TONE OF YOUR GROUP:

There were 20 participants. Most were residents of the Southside.

● Two also worked at Lehigh University (but made it clear they did NOT speak
for the University)
● Two City Council members (Hillary Kwiatek and Rachel Leon. Kwiatek was
virtual.)
● Three participants worked for the city administration.
● A few participants owned businesses and were also residents.

WHAT THEY VALUE ABOUT THE SOUTHSIDE (COMMON THEMES):

● The diversity (people, food, culture, buildings, places to go).
○ “The patchwork quilt.”
● The people/close knit community.
● The Greenway.
● The “feeling” of the community.
● The historic fabric.

KEY HOPES AND FEARS:

Fears:
● Neighborhood will vanish as a result of student rentals.

● Erasing the history.

● Focusing on things that aren’t important instead of things that are. (i.e. fuzzy things
like diversity instead of jobs.)

● People being edged out of the community.

● People who want to raise a family will not be able to find a place.

● Vague definitions will prevent a comprehensive plan.

○ i.e. People talk about “diversity” or “carbon neutral” but don’t define them.
○ Leads to misunderstandings.
○ Also leads to adopting policies based on “fuzzy” goals.

Hopes:
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● Better able to accommodate families (housing, jobs, services, etc.)

○ Making it so families can survive and function.

● Affordable housing (more/better job of providing it).

● Embracing the history without shutting out future residents.

● Learn how to listen and engage with one another.

● Clean up the space (“it’s gotten dirty with trash all over.”)

KEY MESSAGES TO CITY OFFICIALS:

● Find a way to accommodate people who want to live here without destroying what it
is that’s attracting them.

● Address evictions.

● Focus on root causes, not band-aids. Affordable housing and living wages.

● Address housing issues.

○ Housing issues are regional issues.
○ Housing deficits are across all income labels (not just in “affordable housing”).
○ Base the issues and solutions around facts, not just opinions or perspectives.

● City is full of smart people with experiences. Need to listen to more voices. Ask for
people to participate. How you ask and where you hold the conversations are
important. Just ask for people to help and be involved.

● “We’re all in this together.”

● Attract good companies to create good jobs.

● Stop focusing on good sounding issues and focus on nuts and bolts issues.

● Find and use the data that shows that historic preservation and conservation are
economic drivers for cities.

● Keep our city clean. Take pride. (Trash along city roads has increased).

TOP FOUR IDEAS FOR SPENDING STIMULUS FUNDS:

1. Promote affordable housing.
a. Create program to support local developers interested in small-scale
projects, rehabs and conversions for affordable houses and rentals.
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b. Money for energy audits and inspectors to help make homes safer, more
energy efficient and less expensive to maintain.
c. Ordinances to hold landlords accountable.
d. Facilitate formation of an affordable housing collaborative to research and
develop solutions:
i. Organizations, developers, residents;
ii. Creative AND data-based;
iii. Hire someone from the community?

2. Prevent or lower the number of evictions.

a. Help renters pay rent and get more time before evictions (or assistance to
place them somewhere else).
b. Pilot a right-to-counsel program to stem the tide of evictions.

3. Support for the elderly.

4. Other
a. Homeless shelter.
b. Create greenspace and reduce the amount of concrete.
c. Incentives to increase minimum wages through businesses, internships etc.

ANY IDEAS THAT GOT RED DOTS:

Focusing on greenspace (the person feels it is a diversion from the “real” issues, like jobs
and making it so families can stay there.)

MODERATOR NAME(S): Lindsey Perlman, Connor Gibson, Group 4

DESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION AND TONE OF YOUR GROUP:
Our group consisted primarily of Southside residents, including people who had just
moved into the area within five years, and people who have been living here their whole
lives.

The group ranged in age from around mid-20s to late 80s, though most of the
participants were middle-aged; the group was also very racially diverse. The majority of our
group were renters, while one lady identified herself as a landlord.

The group was very passionate about the topics that we discussed, and while many
members expressed grave concerns about the future of South Bethlehem, most of them
remained optimistic about the future of the town and the new mayoral administration.
Councilwoman Wandalyn Enix joined this group.

WHAT THEY VALUE ABOUT THE SOUTHSIDE (COMMON THEMES):

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● Many group members had been living in the Southside their whole lives and
returned to raise their own families in the area. Generally, they felt really attached
to the communal spirit of the area.
● Some members praised the diverse nature of the Southside in terms of ethnicity,
and felt that the increased diversity in the area was very valuable.

KEY HOPES AND FEARS:

● Group members hoped that the Mayor’s administration and other city officials could
find a permanent solution to the problem of homelessness in the city, which they
said had gotten worse in recent years.

● Many group members hoped that the Mayor’s administration could take a more
proactive approach towards promoting affordable housing in the area.

● Other group members called on the city to do a better job of regulating landlords in
the Southside and making sure that they adequately responded to repair requests.
There were lots of concerns about predatory landlords going unchecked by the
government.

● Many group members expressed concern that the new housing developments being
built catered to a younger demographic. They wished that new housing
developments would be more child and family-friendly, with extra bedrooms and
space for children.

● Almost everyone in the group expressed strong concerns about the “destruction” of
the culture and neighborhood feel of the Southside area. Many of them felt that as
more Lehigh University students moved into the Southside, they were losing their
sense of belonging. Some residents said that their housing blocks used to be
composed mostly of Southside residents, while now they were filled with Lehigh
students. Other residents expressed concern about their noise complaints not being
taken seriously for residences on their blocks.

● Group members hoped the Southside could become an area where residents felt
accepted rather than pushed out by high housing prices.

KEY MESSAGES TO CITY OFFICIALS:

● “We need affordable housing, and we need it now.”

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● Instead of building more luxury apartment buildings for young professionals,

prioritize the construction of family-friendly apartments and residences that have
more rooms and space.

● There needs to be more effort devoted to limiting the homeless population in the
city.

● Regulate predatory landlords who are not responding to residents’ requests for
repairs and maintenance.

TOP FOUR IDEAS FOR SPENDING STIMULUS FUNDS:

1. Provide the public library with more funding. The public library already acts like a
community center for many Southside residents. A member of the group was a
librarian who explained all of the community services they offer, such as
professional clothing drives that provide homeless individuals with clothes to wear
to interviews. Instead of building a new community center, fund the library so that it
can provide these services.

2. Consider a “tiny home” project for the Southside’s homeless community. Tiny homes
will get the homeless population off the city streets, provide them with a stable
place to live with some privacy, and are cheaper than other housing alternatives.

3. Create a city hotline that residents at risk of losing their homes can call for guidance.
The hotline would also be used by residents who are in search of affordable housing
or who have concerns about predatory landlords.

4. Prioritize the construction of family-friendly housing over luxury apartment

buildings for young professionals.

ANY IDEAS THAT GOT RED DOTS:

● Create a community center. Residents felt that the library already functioned like a
community center, and so this was unnecessary. They also expressed concern about
whether the community center would cater to the neediest members of the
community or the members who were already well-off.
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● Provide the homeless population with mental health support and services like
counseling. No group member expressed public opposition to this idea, so we can’t
be sure what the rationale behind this was.

MODERATOR NAME(S): Harris Sokoloff, Group 5.

DESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION AND TONE OF YOUR GROUP:

There were about 24 people in my group at the start, plus four to six observers. This
number fluctuated throughout the forum as people got up to grab a bite to eat, talk with
others, etc.

The ages of participants seem to range from late 20s to 60s, with men slightly
outnumbering women.

Councilwoman Dr. Paige Van Wirt sat in on this group.

Participants engaged freely and actively with each other throughout the evening, chiming in
with comments, building on each other’s ideas and, not infrequently taking someone’s idea
and pointing out some of the history behind what people were noting.

This was particularly true toward the end of evening when there was a rich discussion of
the need for a community center. While most/all agreed on the need for a community
center, one participant received a great deal of support when he noted that a community
center would only be successful if there were youth and adults to use it. There was fear
that given current building/ ownership/ rental trends, that might not be possible. One
person poignantly noted the community once had all of the things residents wanted to see
return.

WHAT THEY VALUE ABOUT THE SOUTHSIDE (COMMON THEMES):

● Community: neighbors, sense of community, walkability, small town feel, small
locally owned business and eateries.

● Culture, arts, history, including historic buildings (e.g., Hoover Mansion).

● The people: diversity, young people.

● Culture/fine arts, school.

KEY HOPES AND FEARS:

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Hopes:
● South Side will remain a draw for immigrants.

● Be family friendly.

● Youth (and community) will have positive engagement with the police.

● Greenway will be expanded.

● Continued growth.

● At least 25% of all new construction will be affordable housing (15+ people said “me
too”).

● Aging homes/properties will be repaired.

● Walkability (safety) for youth (15+ people said “me too”).

● Better parking ((10+ people said “me too”).

● Fix traffic issues (safer for children and adults to walk) (10+ people said “me too”)

Fears:
● Housing will remain/become more unaffordable ((16+ people said “me too”).

● We will not maintain historic buildings.

● Tall buildings will dominate.

● Traffic will remain bad/worsen.

KEY MESSAGES TO CITY OFFICIALS:

Note: we didn’t get something from everyone. Here’s what came up:

● Retain affordable housing.

● Reduce real estate taxes.

● Stop replacing historic buildings with 9 story buildings.

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● Need a bus route to NCC.

● More youth community centers and maintain neighborhood parks.

● Revise zoning to be more respectful to residents.

● More landlord regulations (and enforce current ones).

● Stop being beholden to developers.

TOP FOUR IDEAS FOR SPENDING STIMULUS FUNDS:

● Equitable and safe transportation for access points. (HS, NCC, jobs) (16 votes)

● Community center needs to provide mentorship (full spectrum) for adults

and children. (15 votes)
●
● Park improvements/maintenance. (14 votes)

● Mental health services. (12 votes)

● Community center to increase parent/family involvement. (12 votes)

ANY IDEAS THAT GOT RED DOTS:

None
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MODERATOR NAME(S): Chris Satullo, Group 6

DESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION AND TONE OF YOUR GROUP:

A group of 22-to 25. A diverse mix, ethnically and vocationally. A third of the group
consisted of Latinos who’ve lived a long time on the South Side. Another substantial group
were white SouthSide lifetime residents.

There were four SouthSide business people with very different views on development and
growth from the lifelong residents, but some differences among one another on how
effective city government has been. There were four or five advocates/community
organizers, and one female Lehigh student, who said she was there “to learn” and said little
after the opening introductions.

State Rep. Steve Samuelson sat in as did Councilwoman Councilwoman Kiera Wilhelm.

WHAT THEY VALUE ABOUT THE SOUTHSIDE (COMMON THEMES):

● Diversity was cited numerous times.

● One particular example of that: It’s vibrant, it’s diverse, it’s noisy. I love all of it.

● Living up on a hill – the views!

● Community-oriented place.

● Welcoming to newcomers.

● People look out for one another.

● It’s protective of itself.

● Resilient.

● There’s nobody who doesn’t care about the community; it’s active and involved.

● Walkable.

● The restaurants; great pizza.

● You can get well-educated here; there’s arts and there’s an intelligentsia.

● ArtsQuest; music.

● The Greenway.
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● It’s like SoHo in London!

● So much economic potential!

KEY HOPES AND FEARS

Hopes:

● The fabric will endure.

● A community that manages to include mixed incomes.

● We’ll lift up our youth.

● We’ll solve our parking and traffic woes.

● Improve the ability of our youth to be job-seekers and job-keepers.

● Educational opportunity continues to be celebrated.

● Improve public-private partnerships to do things like take care of and leverage the
Greenway.

● The universities will start to make robust PILOTs.

● The people will protect what it took generations to build.

● People will feel empowered – and that the Council is listening.

Fears:

● Gentrification.

● Do we have the soil where BIPOC businesses can flourish?

● Lack of development follow-through – we’ll have grandiose plans that always fall flat.

● Crime will rise.

● The Hispanic community will not be able to afford to live here.

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● My neighborhood will grow more transient (i.e. more student housing).

● Lehigh will not offer good cooperation.

● Economic development will continue not to be understood as a boon to the

community.

● The city will continue to treat us on SouthSide as second-class citizens.

● Bethlehem will continue to be its own worst enemy.

KEY MESSAGES TO CITY OFFICIALS:

(This question did not get this group’s juices flowing)

● Please take actions to reduce the cost of living and the costs of doing business.

● Please make growing the amount of affordable housing your No. 1 goal.

● Do more of what we’re doing here tonight; make productive engagement with the
people of the city a habit.

TOP FOUR IDEAS FOR SPENDING STIMULUS FUNDS:

1. Define affordable housing in a sound, understandable way, then execute a plan to

create more of it. 24 dots

2. Engage and support local businesses – give small business development grants and
incubator support to homegrown businesses. 23 dots

3. Address parking and traffic problems. 11 dots

4. Work with Lehigh and city to encourage home ownership – renovation grants,
mortgage/down payment assistance etc. 10 dots

ANY IDEAS THAT GOT RED DOTS:

None in this group