Allentown police are investigating extensive vandalism damage from this past weekend to the city’s Lights in the Parkway.
City officials on Sunday announced the holiday lights display would be closed as of that evening after port-a-potties were found pushed into the Little Lehigh Creek, light poles and posts were bent, and light bulbs were crushed.
“We are actively assessing the full extent of the damage and determining the broader impact on the remainder of the Lights in the Parkway season,” a city news release stated. “Preliminary assessments indicate that restoring the damaged displays will be difficult and costly during the current season.”
Mayor Matt Tuerk in an update Sunday said Move It Monday would still be held Monday night. This offers residents the chance for free to walk, run or bike through the display from 5:30 to 10 p.m. — as scheduled on Mondays through Jan. 5, plus Tuesday, Jan. 6.
A special Hanukkah edition of Move It Monday is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15, in partnership with the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley.
“We’re not going to let this knock us down,” Tuerk said in his update posted to social media. His video sought to put the vandalism into perspective by noting this weekend’s deadly shootings at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and at a Hanukkah celebration on a beach in Sydney, Australia.
In the Lights in the Parkway vandalism, whoever was responsible sought to spoil opportunities “to get out and celebrate something nice and beautiful,” Tuerk said. Allentown police opened a criminal investigation that involves reviewing surveillance video and evidence at the scene, the mayor said.
“If you are the person, I am asking you to turn yourself in,” he said. “Somebody put a real effort into destroying something beautiful, and we’re going to hold that person or those persons accountable.”
Lights in the Parkway is in its 29th year. Tuerk said 90% of the displays were untouched, while some like Old Man Winter saw significant damage.
He said the city looks forward to getting the drive-through tour of the lights back up and running.
In an update Monday afternoon, Tuerk alongside city Parks and Recreation Director Mandy Tolino and Deputy Director Lucina Wright said the hope is to get the vehicle tours back up and running Tuesday night. That’s thanks in part to the loan of 22 pieces from a company called Holiday Outdoor Decor, the mayor said.
Tuerk said the total loss from the vandalism is estimated at $100,000. That includes $60,000 in damage to about five displays, staff and cleanup costs, and the loss of revenue during the Lights in the Parkway closure.
The Allentown Parknership, created to encourage involvement and investment in Allentown’s parks, is collecting donations to repair the damage through givebutter.com/25lights.
“While it is not known whether Lights in the Parkway will return for 2025, we do know that to keep the tradition going in the future the holiday light displays need to be replaced,” the nonprofit partnership wrote as part of the fundraising effort.