ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk is an accomplished marathon runner. He's participated in 17, in all.
As he spoke from the podium before a sold-out luncheon at the Allentown State of the City event at Renaissance Allentown Hotel on Thursday afternoon, Turek, 47, a married father of two, reflected on his administration’s many accomplishments from the previous year.
He also outlined his vision for the city’s future, including addressing crime and violence, creating affordable housing, expanding parking, ending the city’s trash problems, focusing on diversity and inclusion, and attracting new businesses while helping existing ones.
- Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk gave his State of the City address on Thursday.
- Mayor Tuerk reviewed his administration's accomplishments from his first year in office and his vision for the future.
- Creating affordable housing is a top priority.
After he did, Turek was asked about the timetable for accomplishing those lofty goals. Could it be compared to a marathon, a 5-K or 10-K run?
“Let’s call it an aggressively paced half-marathon,” Tuerk said, smiling while wearing running shoes after his 45-minute address before Lehigh Valley civic and community leaders and state legislators.
“It certainly won’t be a sprint.”
Focusing on housing, crime
Tuerk, who in 2021 was elected Allentown’s first Latino mayor, outlined the myriad projects and programs he is confident can be realized with the assistance of civic and business leaders and the community at large.
Chief among the mayor’s initiatives is addressing Allentown’s housing market, which has about 45,000 housing units for a population of 121,000, with a goal of making housing more affordable to lower-income families.
“I feel the desperation of a mom who cannot afford a decent place to live,” Tuerk said.
Another focus is reducing violent crime.
“Treyshawn Tracy was a freshman football player at Allen [High School] who was shot and killed [in September 2022] just hanging out with friends,” Tuerk recalled. “I’ll never forget speaking to the Allen football team, trying to convince them that we love them and we care for them.
“We know what we can accomplish when skills and support come together. We want a safe, clean and healthy Allentown. Come to the table and work with us to be part of the next season of Allentown. Let’s be the authors of our stories.”
Celebrating successes
Tuerk celebrated the successes of his first year in office: breaking ground on new housing in the center city and on the riverfront; the start of construction on the DiVinci Science Center, which is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to downtown Allentown each year, as well as engage school children in math and science; the revitalization of Downtown West; rebuilding of infrastructure on Hamilton Street.
The mayor also celebrated welcoming new businesses to Allentown, including AblePay, a health care company; DLP Realty; and Ideal Concepts, which offers insurance solutions using cutting-edge technology.
“We also finally opened the Tilghman Street Bridge in May, which was 20 years in the making,” Tuerk said. “We’re now united with our East Side.”
Tuerk said he was particularly proud of the work of his finance team, which helped Allentown finish 2022 with the city’s best cash position in its history, topping $32 million in the general fund balance, including $15 million that is liquid.
“Their work improved our bond rating from A-minus to A-stable,” Tuerk said. “The grants team secured over $10 million for police technology, parks improvements and traffic safety. And we had a zero-percent tax increase in Allentown.”
'Cautiously optimistic'
Darian Colbert is executive director and founder of Cohesion, a nonprofit based in Allentown’s First Ward whose mission is to empower marginalized people in the Lehigh Valley to thrive socially, educationally and economically. He said he was encouraged by the mayor’s vision.
“I’d been meeting with the mayor even before he became mayor,” Colbert said. “He understands it takes all stakeholders, everyone coming together to make a difference. He’s committed to taking on challenges in the city head-on."
“I do like what he said, but I’m cautiously optimistic. I like when things finally get done.”
Tuerk reminded the gathering about last year’s event.
“You were here about to hear from a new mayor who promised to be open and honest with you always,” he said. “I gave you a summary of where we stood, and you left wondering what we’d do together.”
And how long it may take.
