mid-rehab ugly on Ferry?

I've been watching this house for quite a while now, and I must say it's got to be one of the slowest moving rehabs I've seen (besides my own, of course).

It looks like someone has gone to great lengths to shore up the failing porch posts and roof line, but what's the next step? If I recall correctly, there used to be siding on it that was pulled off (YAY!) but things are moving slow.

I guess I mean I'm not being critical, really, just hoping that this rehab really turns out special. It's a great house, a single looking to be about 150 years old, between a row of white tin siding and the Ugly Green Giant. Click on the picture and check out how ornate the porch roof is, or go take a look if you're in the neighborhood.

City starts using the grant money

672 Pine St

733 Ferry St

Express Times article

Even though Noel beat me to it, I wanted to post about this today.

this should be good for the city, assuming they get some real contractors in there who 1., know what they are doing, and 2., respect old homes. too many contractors have no clue about historical value and what is and isn't 'proper'. you CAN rehab an older home sustainably and 'green'.
the Pine st property really has a lot going for it; lots of room, AND off street parking! there is a lot across the alley from it as well, I assume it belongs to the businesses on Northampton. point being, even though it's on an alley, they probably have more parking than a lot of us do.

the Ferry st home might be more of a challenge. going to a single family is a great idea, since Ferry is a dense area. the big tree in front looks nice in the spring and summer, and provides a welcome respite from the heat.

they REALLY need to get homeowners in there, because if someone buys them as investments, you're back where you started. section 8 rental units are NEVER good for a neighborhood looking to improve its image.

Easton, we'll be watching!

these people are crazy

this is ridiculous (<- this is a link, click on it!)

It's very simple: it is AGAINST THE LAW to save a parking spot on a public street! yes, I know you shoveled it out. yes I know it's not fair that 'they' can 'take' your spot. yes I know they have too many cars.
but here's the real deal. YOUR LIFE is worth more than convenient parking (or at least I hope you think it is). if someone wants a spot bad enough, let them have it.
what I don't get is, in this linked article, why the other people are cheering on the guy attacking the other guy's truck! have they gotten so fed up w/ losing 'their' parking places that they now feel justified in actually attacking someone? has the value of a human life in the Lehigh Valley really been reduced to the value of a parking spot?
all I hope for is that I can park on my block, somewhere near my house. I long ago gave up on thinking I can always park right in front of my house. and I'm not going to risk going toe to toe with some idiot who will resport to violence against me, my family, or my property.
what's your take on it?

snow is not pretty after 24 hours

what's wrong with this picture? it was taken around 5PM, thursday feb 11, almost 24 hrs after the snow had stopped falling. the city plows had been through many many times, bu the road is an almost impassable mass of mashed potatoes.

the ubiquitous saw horses (with nary a saw in sight) are a clue. when people finally come out of their cocoons, they clean off their cars by tossing the snow in the street. I guess they feel the plow will get it; or they figure it'll melt. but as you see, that doesn't happen fast enough, not less than an hour before sunfall.

it doesn't have to be this way. if neighbors would just cooperate, istead of staking out their own little docking point, they actually might improve the quality of life for everyone.

cooperation

Take a look at this picture. typical block in Easton after a typical snowstorm. street is now clear, people can drive. can you spot the difference between the left and right?

Cooperation.

the neighbors on the right got together to clean and shovel out their cars. they piled the snow on the side to make room for the cars. parking is enabled, even after 18" of snow fell.

the folks on the left, well, I guess they can't be bothered. maybe get a car out, who cares about the others. after a few days, those mountains of plowed snow will become hard ice pack until the temp is sustained well above freezing for awhile.

an already difficult parking situation is made all the more difficult by peoples selfishness and laziness.

here comes the BIG ONE!

We haven't had a good snowstorm here in Easton in awhile. They always come of short of the forecast. So I'm excited about this one! Word is it'll be a little storm (maybe 5") ending in the morning sometime, THEN another storm will dump another foot! maybe 12"-18" total!
Of course I'm saying this now, while the sky is still clear.
I'm going to take some pictures of the mess left on the streets after wards; no, not just the snow, but the terrible clean out jobs people do, and the junk people use to 'save' a parking spot!

No Street Sweeping for You!

You may be aware that, to much fanfare, it was announced in January (and probably earlier) that the street sweeping program would be expanded to include the West Ward. To quote the Director of Public Works David Hopkins:
''We're expanding it in all wards of the city''

I guess I took that to mean the whole West Ward (silly me).

Now take a look at the recently released route map.

You'll notice, that if you live north of Wood Ave on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th St, or on Jackson, Bushkill, or Spring Garden (and all related alleyways), well, No street sweeping for you!

I of course, in my naive ignorance, thought there was an oversight. No, there isn't. Again, to quote Hopkins, from an email I sent:

"we spent a significant amount of time selecting proposed routes for each neighborhood and just cannot fit any more road miles into the current proposal. We are going from 8.8 miles to 35.9 miles of sweeping which is extremely aggressive. Therefore, unfortunately your section of the west ward will not be included at this time, however we can look at including your area for future expansions".

The good news for us is that we won't have to be concerned with any alternate side of the street parking restrictions or the related parking tickets. Of course, the city loses out on the ticket revenue, but I'm sure they'll make up for it with some other frivolity.