Angie Brown
I’m born and raised in Allentown, and have lived in Old Allentown since 2012. I recently went back to school to get my Associates Degree in Interior Design and work as a Design Associate with my husband Chris Brown at our Landscape Architecture firm; Brown Design Corp located right here in Old Allentown. My husband Chris and I spent 4 years fully renovating the two row homes located next to our office building on 9th Street, de- converting them from 4 units to one single family home. It was one of the longest but most rewarding experiences of my life. We are truly proud of what we accomplished, and very much enjoy living right next to where we work.
I joined the Old Allentown board so that I could contribute to a neighborhood that I felt a strong dedication to. I truly admired the mission of the organization, and felt that it was important for me to be involved. I currently serve as the Board Secretary. During my time on the board, I have chaired the House Tour Committee for three consecutive years. I also chair the Membership Committee and have successfully planned membership gatherings and events and Old Allentown Happy Hours. If I am re-elected to the board, my main goals will be to increase the membership, bring back all 4 quarterly membership gatherings and the Historic House Tour.
In my free time you can find me volunteering in the cat room at Peaceable Kingdom Animal Shelter, exploring the parks and trails in and around Allentown with my dog Sammy, cooking delicious recipes, reading mystery books, teasing my brain with puzzles, and keeping in shape at the gym.
Christian Brown
Chris is an Old Allentown resident since 2003 and moved his Landscape Architectural and Planning firm to the district in 2008. Chris is former Sergeant in the U.S. Marines and graduate of Temple University. Chris is a Registered Landscape Architect and ISA Certified Arborist. Chris is Chairman of City Shade Tree Commission, Chairman of the City Planning Commission, a member of the Blighted Property Review Committee, and current President of Old Allentown Preservation Association. Chris has been an active member of OAPA for over 15 years and particularly enjoys applying his expertise to physical improvement activities and the planting and maintenance of Street Trees. Chris and wife Angie acquired 2 properties on the 300 Block of N 9th Street that were the first two inductees to the Landlord Hall of Shame. The renovation/reconstruction project took 4 years and resulted in the de-conversion of 4 apartments to 1 single family home; ridding the district of two blighted properties in the process.
Bill Green
I’m Bill Green, a resident of Old Allentown. Today I will share with you my journey that brought me here to our unique community.
Born in Brooklyn NY, in 1970 and later moving to Staten Island at age 13, I received my Bachelor’s degree in History & Political Science at State University of NY at New Paltz.
Upon graduation in 1993, I taught students with disabilities in NYC. I went on to earn a Masters’ degree in Special Education, and then another degree in Education Administration. My 22 years of working in the NYC Department of Education includes teaching students of diverse backgrounds for 7 years and then becoming a full time teacher mentor and ultimately a Middle School Assistant Principal for 14 years in the Bronx.
I have been together with my spouse Martin Mahoney for 28 years. We got married when it became legally available to us in April 2015.
In 2004, we bought 2 investment properties in Allentown. By 2008 we had become acquainted with a number of people in the community here and decided to move into a building I own on 214 North 8th street on a part time basis while still working in NY.
In September 2015 Marty and I sold our house in Yonkers, NY and left my career so that we can enjoy living in our Old Allentown community full time.
My interests include architecture, preservation, nature, history and genealogy. I’m an avid kayaker and traveler. I have kayaked in Maine, Alaska, Key West Fl, Lake Tahoe, CA/NV, the Hudson river in NY/NJ, Lake Minnewaska near New Paltz, NY and of course on the Lehigh and Delaware rivers. I enjoy spending time up in Jim Thorpe, New Hope and Bear Creek Mountain resort.
I have been a member of Old Allentown since approximately 2008 and from that time on, have volunteered planting trees and gardens and doing community
cleanup for both Old Allentown and 7th Street. We have opened our home three times for the annual tour and wish to become more involved with our community, now that we are here full time.
In January 2017, I had the privilege to be elected onto the Old Allentown Preservation Association Executive Board. While on the Board I collaborated with residents and members on creating an Historic Paint color guide that is now posted on OAPA’s website and Facebook page.
As Chair of OAPA’s Physical Improvements committee, we have worked with the City of Allentown on tree plantings and litter abatement including increasing the number of pole trash bins in high litter index areas.
In 2018-19, I facilitated a mini-grant program in our historic district, which awarded owners of 14 properties free exterior historic color paint as a low cost, high- impact way to beautify our neighborhood.
Building on the success of our mini-grant program, the physical improvements committee secured corporate grant money to implement the 2020-21 paint & porch improvement program that reimbursed 15 property owners for completing façade improvements within our historic district.
Most recently, the physical improvements committee that I chair has reimbursed 7 properties for façade improvements completed in 2022.
My current chairmanship of the Physical Improvements committee, career, life experience and interests are a great match for ongoing participation on the Old Allentown Board. I look forward to continuing to serve our community so that I can oversee even more façade improvements and assist in the annual tree plantings.
Wes Heiss
Wes Heiss is an artist, designer and resident of Howard street in Old Allentown where he has lived with his wife Angela Fraleigh since 2006. Wes and Ang moved from Brooklyn to Allentown as they found quality affordable space that was otherwise unobtainable. They purchased a small commercial building (the original home of the Neff-Chattoe Co stained glass company) that had been poorly converted to a loft space in the 1980s. Together they have two daughters, five antique cars, two cats and a home renovation project that never seems to end. Wes and Ang have restored 2 small 1890s townhomes on Howard street (Ang’s mom now lives in one) and have also renovated an 8000sf mixed use building on 15th street where their studios are located.
Wes runs a collaborative public art practice, Walczak & Heiss, that creates socially engaged projects focused on the sites and communities in which they are located. Over the last 10 years the firm’s work has won permanent commissions in Allentown, California, Colorado, Nebraska, New York, and Wyoming. Wes teaches Industrial Design at Lehigh University and Angie teaches painting at Moravian University.
Dave Huber
My name is Dave Huber. I have previously lived on 7th and 8th sts. for over 20 years and have developed a deep appreciation for the preservation of historic buildings.
I have over 40 years of experience in repair, restoration, and remodeling of historic and newer homes in all 3 three districts, throughout the city, and beyond. I have seen the birth of our historic districts and feel it is our duty to maintain and improve them for our and future generations. I have served as a volunteer on the Historic Architectural Review Board for the City of Allentown for 17 years, first as the contractor on the board and now as HARB chairman. I feel that by being a member of the OAPA board as well as HARB chairman I can serve as a direct connection between the two which could have numerous benefits for both organizations. I would like to see the members of OAPA become more educated about the HARB and know that we are there to help them and make it easy for them to communicate with us in a friendly and personal way. In this capacity I have served on the OAPA Board of Directors and on the Physical Improvements Committee for the past 2 years.
I feel we have made progress in improving the quality of life, housing, and community in Old Allentown and beyond and would like to continue to serve in these efforts.
Richard Maurer
Richard Maurer purchased 813 W. Turner Street in November of 2020, and recently finished repainting the entire house, one of six historically significant rowhomes across from a soon to be built, upscale 8-story apartment building on the south side of Turner Street. Richard recently testified before the Allentown planning commission in favor of this project, and like his immediate neighbors, looks forward to a pristine building replacing the vacant and trash-strewn wasteland that currently stands between us and the many attractions of Hamilton Street. Having lived in New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Richard has seen first-hand that having people in the shops and sidewalks – law abiding people devoted to living, working and spending leisure time in the city – is key to revitalizing the once great cities of the Northeast.
Richard is a recent arrival to Old Allentown, but has defended lawsuits in Lehigh County for more than twenty years, and in the process spent significant time in Allentown and the surrounding area. In a piece recently published in the Philadelphia Lawyer, Richard provided his recollections of arguing a case in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas at 5th and Hamilton on the morning of 9/11, only to have then President Judge Gardner vanish in the middle of the Court session, emerging one hour later to tell everyone to vacate the courthouse, because something terrible had just happened in New York, and a security perimeter was about to close off the judicial complex. Before earning a law degree from Georgetown in 1993, Richard devoted most of his life to playing the cello, graduating from the Juilliard School in 1989. Richard plays most Sundays at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Siena at 18th and Turner, and has also presented two pop-up cello recitals at the art gallery of Re:find near 7th and Hamilton Street. As we have seen from Thursday night summer events on the Arts Walk, live music has a tremendous ability to make urban spaces a place to be, and safer in the process.
Allentown has tremendous potential, and we can all be greatly encouraged by the many new restaurants, shops and bars that somehow survived the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and are again open for business. But to keep attracting new residents to the awesome apartment complexes on the south side of Hamilton Street, we must be vigilant that center city remains a safe and welcoming place for people to spend an evening, whether at a concert, sporting event, or simply over drinks at one of the new places such as Blended off the Arts Walk near 7th and Hamilton. Here, the Old Allentown Preservation Association can play a leading role, because as the members, we actually live here. We are the ones that must cope every day with the cars hurtling well over the speed limit down every major street, the dirt bike parades that routinely paralyze major intersections in the summer, the frankly insane amounts of trash blowing from west to east, all for us to survive and take care of. We can remind the incoming Mayor, Matt Tuerk, that the people who live, work and raise families in Old Allentown actually don’t want to live like this. If we can effectively convey that message to city government, action may follow, which should in turn make center city Allentown an adventurous and fun (as opposed to threatening and dirty) destination for nearby suburban residents. I have drafted a letter for Mayor Tuerk, and would be happy to share it for comment and revision with members of OAPA. We can readily take on a larger role as a voice of Old Allentown, a voice conveying a necessary agenda that needs to be heard.
In closing, I have the necessary experience, commitment and a bit of vision to serve on the Board of OAPA. I would welcome the opportunity to spread the message of our organization, and in the process, make Allentown a better place to live. Thanks for considering this statement.
Alex Rolón
Born and raised in Puerto Rico moved to Allentown in 1989. Graduated from Dieruff H.S. and attended East Stroudsburg University majoring in Mathematics and Spanish. Went onto graduate studies at Indiana University of PA and Lehigh University, and currently enrolled in a Data Science PhD program at Northcentral University. I am employed at Northampton Community College as Professor of Mathematics and the Data Science Program Coordinator. I mainly teach calculus, statistics, and data science courses.
I’ve lived on the 1100 block of Linden Street for 18 years in a Victorian house that was built in 1890. I truly enjoy living in the neighborhood, and I appreciate the proximity to the downtown and other venues. My home has been in the OAPA House tour twice. I live with my partner, daughter, twin grandsons, and Jefferson – Siamese cat. (Notice, he’s the only one who gets the full name!)
I was an OAPA board member a couple of years ago and served as the treasurer during my last year. Prior to becoming a board member, I had volunteered for about 2 years in different committees but found my calling with the former Safe, Clean & Green Committee. We coordinated clean-ups, vegetation, and tree plantings including tree-well surrounds.
I plan to stay living in the neighborhood for a long time and would like to get back to volunteering as a board member.
