owner, Union & Finch
“The diversity of Allentown reminds me of New York. Having lived in New York City from ‘95 to 2011, moving back here, I felt that Allentown reminds me in similar ways of New York. It’s got a broad range of people across different ethnicities, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. I think that’s really neat and we should be proud of that diversity. I feel people that move from cities still want that kind of feel, and I think that’s definitely here, at a smaller scale, obviously.
I think Allentown can do a better job of marketing itself as a great place to live and raise a family. There are the obvious perceptions that come with cities such as crime but Allenttown is not alone and every city is obviously dealing with crime and safety at different scales. I also think Allentown has to do a better job of giving kids, in particular, a better opportunity to really thrive and grow so that it’s more attractive for families to live here too. And that’s a challenge right now.
These kids need the opportunity and hope to dream big, I think that’s my biggest concern. And the only way that they can do that is through better schools. I think we need to give them more hope that there’s a lot out there that they can achieve and do. The more successful our kids are, the more hope that they have, the better off Allentown will ultimately be.
As a business I think it’s important to be vocal and support youth in any way we can. We’ve done a decent job but we can always do better as a business. I also think this needs to be a collaborative and collective approach and encouraging other businesses to get involved will only help more. It takes a community, naturally.”
Interview by Leila Pervizpour ’25
