N 8th non-fraternal twins

Now, I know lots of twin homes don't 'match', but the color contrast between these two is glaring. The green one was painted recently, and the misaligned gutters really stand out.

So Sad

The first fire fatalities in Easton since 2001, no less tragic.

I blogged about the home on the right, if only in passing. this block of Spring Garden has some formerly stately twins, all now somewhat run down or in various states of repair and or decay.

The next twin to the right still has the tarp on the roof from Hurricane Sandy and a Board of Health placard on the door. that makes at least 4 homes uninhabitable on the block; there's another one across the street.

Could it be perhaps among the death and sadness that something good can come from this?

Perhaps everyone will take responsibility for making sure their home is safe?

Perhaps Landlords will take responsibility for making sure their properties are up to code? (this building is owned by

ELLEN M MOSKELLA  1564 FARMERSVILLE RD
BETHLEHEM, PA, 18020-9741
	Code REQUIRES a central fire alarm system in apartment buildings! I know this because when I bought my twin which was zoned as a two family, I was required to get such a system. but as I was deconverting to single family, this requirement no longer applied.

PLEASE, if the apartment you are living in seems unsafe, or if you don't have smoke detectors, do something about it!
Call Codes!
 610-250-6723
Call the Mayor!

610-250-6610

some other links:
http://eastoneccentric.blogspot.com/
http://easton.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/2-dead-in-fire-on-spring-garden-street

Sobriety Field Testing Parking Enforcement

This was hilarious. The other day there must have been some sort of parking scofflaw crackdown in the WW, because there were at least two of the infamous white patrol cars lurking around, peeking, searching for someone, anyone, to issue a ticket to.
Well, they found one of their favorites; "parked too close to corner". Guy was parked maybe six feet from the corner.
So, I watch the 'parking enforcer' measure out the distance.
With a tape measure?
A stick maybe?
No, he proceeds to guesstimate the distance by walking it out heel to toe. Wow, THAT must be accurate.

Anyway, the parking gestapo must love the WW for ticket revenue. Most corners aren't marked yellow as 'no parking' areas, and most corners don't have signage either.
Most all our curb corners are rounded as well, leaving up for debate the issue of 'distance to corner'.

PA Code actually states no parking within 20' of a crosswalk at a corner. Easton takes this to mean 20' from ANY corner.

So, if you ever get a parking ticket, fight it. Ask them how they measured it. Ask to see the measuring device. If he shows you his foot, you can tell him where he could put it.

I'm torn

Twin homes always interest me. Probably in the way they are the same, but over the years they grow apart but still share so much. Like these two (or one?) The left one has a pretty good look, well maintained w/ a nicely designed stoop overhang.
The right side, though, something happened and it wasn't good. I really wish I had a picture of it from some years ago before it was renovated (NOTE: 'renovated' is a bad word. It denotes being overhauled in a quick and dirty way w/o any regard for historical significance or value). It sat unrestored for a number of years, looking to be uninhabited.
But the reno was of the 'gut to the studs' variety. But the worst part (from the outside at least) was the installation of the horribly undersized out of scale windows. They look awkward, tiny, out of place, making the house look large and unwieldy.
It didn't have to be this way. Windows come in all shapes and sizes. There is no pratical need or advantage to doing this but to save a buck. Unfortunately, the West Ward is not a historical district so this stuff flies.
Anyway, it's on Jackson if you want to check it out.

Crown Jewel of the West Ward

This is really a magnificent building. Well, not in the shape its in obviously. This is the (former) EASD Administration Building on Northampton St in the West Ward. Pretty, isn't it? If you click on it, you can see there is a 'For Sale' sign out front; I guess the Admin didn't want to represent in the WW anymore so they built a new Castle out on Bushkill Drive. Just let this one rot, who cares? It's only right in everyone's BACKYARD.

I really hope someone that cares about the neighborhood more than the EASD buys this building and makes condos or something out of it; really, it has great style, and lots of parking, LOTS of potential.

But right now, and for a LONG TIME ALREADY, it's UGLY, so it gets posted here.

big white box on Spring Garden

This is an example of a contractor working as he goes, no plan at all. This 'house' has at least 4 apartments in it, judging from the electrical meters. It's hard to tell how it might have originally looked, but the rear addition and pop up at the rear is obviously a latecomer to the party.

Ugly.

Landlord/Tenant dispute gets the police called

It's not unusual for some street noise to be present in the early evening, what with people getting picked up, dropped off, kids playing, etc. But we noticed a distinct arguement taking place yesterday. One of our neighbors recently vacated an apartment only to move into a house across the street. They were having trouble with the landlord (I'm not calling anyone out like Obama does, this isn't that kind of blog).
Well, the neighbor had a chance it seems to try to settle a disagreement with his former landlord. All I could here was it had to do with money owed (duh).
My point in bringing this up is, this landlord is pretty much a dirtbag. I've seen him around infrequently and seen his truck at some other disreputable places in Easton. He only comes around when he is changing tenants, which has been happening quite a bit. I'm not overetimating that there has probably been 20 differnt tenants in that buiding in the last 10 years. They ALL complain about him.
And that's how it goes. Landlords only keep the place (barely) up to code, and rent to the lowest common denominator. And it's getting worse, because whenever a house goes on the market in the West Ward, it gets bought by someone to rent out. There is no pride in ownership, or sense of community.
I've got another new neighbor also, but that's another subject. They leave the windows open when they fight. Lets see how long THEY last...