last year\u2019s State of the City address<\/a>, in which he set the stage for Allentown\u2019s \u201csecond act where we \u2026 create something stronger and brighter.\u201d<\/p>\nOfficials spent much of the mayor\u2019s first term working to overhaul Allentown\u2019s zoning code, which Tuerk said was \u201cwritten for a different century.\u201d<\/p>\n
The extensive rewrite of zoning regulations, which took effect Jan. 1, gives developers more opportunities to \u201cbuild the type of houses needed most in Allentown: apartments and townhomes,\u201d Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
The city now boasts \u201cthe most progressive zoning code in all of Pennsylvania,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And it has a $20 million federal grant \u2014 the largest in city history \u2014 to support efforts to spur employment and revitalization in some of its poorest neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Allentown\u2019s proposal for the Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program was among six winners chosen by federal officials from a pool of 565 applications.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s application includes plans to use federal funding to connect residents to jobs and break down barriers to employment \u2014 such as limited access to childcare and transportation \u2014 in Franklin Park, Center City and the First and Sixth wards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re going to work to close the transportation gap, make sure that people have access to flexible and affordable childcare and bring good manufacturing jobs to Allentown,\u201d Tuerk said during his Wednesday address.<\/p>\n
He also championed securing millions to promote safer streets, better parks and affordable housing in recent years \u2014 and the imminent redevelopment of the Allentown State Hospital property into hundreds of homes and more.<\/p>\n
Always focused on residents: Mayor<\/p>\n
During the speech \u2014 in which he repeatedly referred to his \u201cpunk rock\u201d roots \u2014 Tuerk acknowledged multiple clashes with Allentown City Council during his first term.<\/p>\n
He twice battled with members over annual budgets, and lawyers for the administration and council were hours away from meeting in court after a lawsuit over an investigation into claims of discrimination within city government.<\/p>\n
\u201cViolence is not eradicated yet, so that work is not even close to done.”<\/p>\n
Mayor Matt Tuerk<\/p>\n
Tuerk downplayed those run-ins as \u201ca bumpy ride\u201d with other officials who have the same priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you’re only reading the headlines, you’re missing the big picture,\u201d he said. \u201cEven as we challenged each other, the focus was always on the residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials are working to end deaths and serious injuries on city roads by 2030. But \u201cwe have a long way to go\u201d after eight people died in crashes last year, Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
Much work also remains to make Allentown safer for residents, though violent crime is at \u201cits lowest level in decades,\u201d Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
\u201cViolence is not eradicated yet, so that work is not even close to done,\u201d he said after reading a message from a woman who was seriously injured during a fatal shooting at BKK Lounge in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cSafety is not just freedom from violence; safety is freedom from fear.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 The city is riding a wave of momentum into 2026, according to its chief executive.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,2748,16435,46175,121,282,46176,6295,120,46177,46179,46178],"class_list":["post-93993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-city-council","tag-allentown-crime","tag-allentown-crime-rates","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-housing","tag-allentown-housing-statistics","tag-allentown-mayor-matt-tuerk","tag-allentown-news","tag-allentown-state-of-the-city-address","tag-pa-like","tag-what-is-allentown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}