Mountainville 30 Crime Watch Turns 50

Last week, I had the great experience to join South Side residents at the 50th Anniversary Celebration Dinner for one of the oldest and most venerable crime watch in the City: Mountainville 30. The head of this organization is none other than Ben Gress, who also doubles as the leader of Presidents’ Council for the City’s neighborhood watch groups.

The dinner and birthday celebration brought out civic leaders from across the City from every level of government along with a few other candidates for a variety of offices. But what was much more impressive was seeing nearly 100 residents eating, chatting, laughing and enjoying the simple pleasures of living in a community.

The best part about living in Allentown is just that: a sense of neighborhood and a sense of community. It’s having 100 neighbors get together for dinner on a Friday night instead of going their separate ways. The clear success is a testament to the good work that Ben does for his neighborhood and our City.

And these community events are citywide. Just this year, I visited block parties and community gatherings at Midway Manor (as posted below), the Old Town Neighborhood Watch/OAPA, 19th Street Theatre District, supported an Easter egg hunt in my neighborhood (Lil’ Lehigh Parkway), National Night Out at Steven’s Park and countless others. This does not include all of the block watches, union meetings and other community forums I have attended – these are just some of the neighborhood parties I’ve experienced.

The sense of community in Allentown is what has kept us afloat during our recent struggles, and it is one of the top reasons why we are rebounding now. I would like to publically thank Ben and all of our community leaders for their role in keeping Allentown together.
Congratulations Mountainville 30 on this impressive anniversary, and best wishes on 50 more years!