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Re: (erielack) Former EL Cities on This Sad List
I too must give a thumbs up to Scranton. There is actually quite a
nightlife downtown and there are a lot of events and festivals scheduled
through the year. It is also a college town with the University of Scranton
(a Catholic University), Marywood and now Lackawanna College is expanding
and seeking to reach university status.
And aside from Steamtown, it is still a railroad town. The Delaware
Lackawanna has quite a thriving freight business and there is activity on
lines going in several directions almost every day - some days multiple jobs
are out on the road. A lot of jobs have been created by attracting
companies that use the railroad (this is true along the entire DL&W mainline
down to the Delaware Water Gap).
As someone mentioned earlier you have to be very jaded when looking at these
kinds of statistics. Local to me, we smile at all the hoopla that
Hackettstown, NJ was named to the top 100 best places to live in the US.
Some of the criteria are income per household and home values. These are
based statistics gathered on a zip code basis. However, the neighboring
town of Allamuchy has a post office box zip code only. About 90% of the
town gets its mail delivered by Hackettstown and thus uses their zip code.
Allamuchy is the most affluent community in Warren County (Hackettstown is
in the middle) and thus badly skews the "top 100" results.
Tim
On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 10:40 PM, <Njricky2_@_aol.com> wrote:
> Without going into detail, I agree with Henry's response. I can't speak
> for
> the other cities on that list but I know what I see in Scranton.
>
> Regarding Scranton's unemployment rate, it's in the 5% range, perhaps 5.7%,
> slightly above the PA average but not by much. A very far cry from the way
> things were years ago.
>
> It is true that for decades, Scranton had no leadership with a vision for
> the
> future. It really was on the verge of being "down and out." Thus, many of
> us moved away. It's a very different city these days. It has leadership,
> planners and has done a great job using its past to promote its future.
>
> Scranton now has its annual Hispanic Day Parade and while not as large as
> the
> two long-established ethnic parades (Irish and Italian), it shows that
> Scranton embraces its new blood.
>
> Last weekend, the city had its fourth annual jazz festival with all
> activities taking place downtown. As part of the festival, you were able
> to go from
> place to place, hear a set and move on to the next venue, all at night
> walking
> downtown streets. It was a real treat for jazz lovers.
>
> Slowly but surely, old downtown art deco buildings are being refurbished
> into
> lofts and condos. Cyber cafes and art galleries are opening and at the
> same
> time, you can still go to a place like the Coney Island Diner for their
> classic wieners. Granted, the Coney Island was a victim of arson a few
> months ago,
> but they haven't thrown in the towel.
>
> Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is also home to the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
> Penguins
> and to the triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (one level below the
> Bronx).
>
> While it takes time to reinvent oneself, Scranton certainly appears to be
> on
> the right track and once rail passenger service on the former EL resumes, a
> city that was once counted out will continue to grow.
>
> So, if Scranton is supposedly one of America's "fastest dying cities," why
> are companies locating there and why are people moving in?
>
> Rick
>
>
>
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