Mayor lays out 2024 vision for 'strong' Allentown in State of the City address

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — “The state of the city is strong,” Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk declared Thursday.

Pennsylvania's third-largest city is poised for “a big year” in 2024, the mayor said as he delivered his third State of the City address to the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Tuerk said he and chamber members “share a vision of Allentown as the heart of the Lehigh Valley where families thrive, businesses prosper and our people celebrate the joy of life.”

“In 2023, the city of Allentown, under my leadership, made strides toward realizing that shared vision,” he said.

Tuerk said he “championed change” during his first two years as mayor, “transforming City Hall into a data-driven, listening and learning organization."

“Our team tried lots of new things in season one; we observed the results, and then we made adjustments for season two,” Tuerk said.

Those adjustments led to banner years for new business and construction permits in 2023, he said.

Allentown issued more than 7,500 construction permits in 2023, the most it’s handed out in five years, while 525 new businesses received licenses last year — a three-year high, Tuerk said.

“I got to cut ribbons alongside the chamber with tons of different business owners as they open the doors on their businesses and launch their dreams for the future,” Tuerk said.

Administrative focus

Tuerk delivered his first State of the City address shortly after taking office in 2022. The mayor told LehighValleyNews.com those first few months felt like “drinking from a firehose” with “1,000 things” to learn and do, but they taught him “how to prioritize.”

Tuerk said he and officials in his administration plan to focus on “about 10 things” in 2024, such as improving public safety, reducing pedestrian and traffic fatalities and beautifying the city.

“We at the city will make our streets safer, clean up our neighborhoods, plant trees with young people, help residents get to work, welcome new arrivals and improve our city systems all to help families thrive,” Tuerk said.

The mayor said he’s “most excited” about a federal grant program that could bring tens of millions of dollars to the city to boost employment.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration last month selected 22 proposals — including Allentown’s — as finalists for its Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program.

The program is set to distribute $200 million in grants for “economic and workforce development projects that connect workers to good jobs in geographically diverse and persistently distressed communities across the country,” according to the EDA.

Allentown received a $500,000 grant that officials will use to develop the city’s application for up to $50 million in funding.

“We'll apply for $50 million in support for our plan, and I feel incredibly good about our chances,” Tuerk said, joking that he would try “whispering in Biden’s ear tomorrow about the [city’s] need.”

President Joe Biden is expected to visit the Lehigh Valley on Friday, though few details are known about his itinerary.