Olga Negrón

Olga Negron, and I am a Councilwoman in the City of Bethlehem and Vice President of Council right now. I've been living in Bethlehem for the last 21 years. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but I've been in the Valley for 21 years, where I raised my three daughters who are grown adult women now. I've been an activist in the city of Bethlehem, most spatially working in the South Side of Bethlehem.

In the middle of that process, I was actually working for the City of Allentown. There was a discussion of whether the casino was going to go to Allentown or to Bethlehem. I was working with the Department of Economic Development, so I was very involved with the process in terms of the City of Allentown. Because I knew 00:01:00if it was coming to Bethlehem, it was going to be in the South Side, which is where I live. I was honestly praying that it would go to Allentown, especially because visiting other casino areas, neighborhoods--especially Atlantic City. It was just really frightening--the thought of what happened in Atlantic City and the community, the neighborhoods surrounding the casino area. So it was something that I really didn't want to see happening in my neighborhood. I'm very biased, of course, I have a property right there. When we got the announcement that it was happening, I actually cried. I was very upset. I was afraid. I was very scared that we were going to have another Atlantic City here. And what I did--I just became--I'm by training a community organizer--so because 00:02:00of my fear and my concerns, I just became actively engaged in the process.

And I'm really glad I did, because I changed my mind totally. A lot of checks and balances were in place. I think that the state legislators really took time to take a look at what happened in Atlantic City and learn from mistakes that are happening there. As the process went by, I learned more and more about the checks and balances that they make sure are in place in order to avoid a lot of the issues that happened in Atlantic City. And I am today proud to say that: I am glad. I'm glad it's here. I'm glad. It made a big difference.

I do. I do, and I have to say that right now I'm not as connected as I was at 00:03:00the beginning because a lot of things are in place. I mean, now we're in the middle of perhaps changing ownership. And that will require from me my mind to be part of that, too, to make sure that everything stays as it is, or, you know, even better. Who knows? But I remember, you know, meeting many, many times with the president, Bob,back in the day. He was very receptive. He actually reached out to me many times asking, you know, 'Olga, we're thinking about this. How can we make this happen? Can you help me connect with the right organization?' So I really believe that they always went the extra mile to make sure that they were reactive to, you know, or doing what was best for the community.

And, you know, I live here, so I'm walking all the time. I go to Greenway many, 00:04:00many times, different times of the day. And I see people walking with their uniform on. That's exciting. That's like the ultimate goal: seeing people walking to work. And I go there. I gamble at the penny machine, but I do. And many times I've sat in there or even eating in a restaurant, and a lot of people are working in there. Come to me, 'Olga!' you know. So I know they're there. They're working. It's happening.

I can tell you, when I was at the Hispanic center, I was Executive Director there, and I remember Christmas is a good time to think about giving. They actually reached out to me and said, 'Olga, we want to engage our staff. We know 00:05:00our employees and we want to donate. Not just the Sands entity, but the employees, and encouraged him to get engaged with the community as well. So can you recognize families that need some help doing Christmas? Maybe presents? You know, getting kids some toys or something?' So I said, 'Sure. I can definitely do that.' And they said, you know, maybe choose five, six families. So I'm like, OK. Well, we started to reach out. I contacted my case managers, and we started to talk with families. It was actually pretty amazing. We actually ended up with twelve families. And I was like, I'm not gonna choose. I just want to give him the twelve. Well, they helped the twelve families. They expressed it really touched them.

On that list of the 12 families? Nobody had even one toy in the list. It was 00:06:00clothing. It was microwaves. It was beds. It was things that you take for granted, that everybody should have a microwave in their home or mattress in their home. Well, that was the list. And they bought everything. The family that was asking for matches--they asked me to reach out and ask more. Well, they had two kids sleeping in one twin-sized bed. They got them bunk beds, you know. So they were very giving. They were so touched by the fact that nobody really asked. And they, you know, were buying toys, too. They were like, 'you can't have Christmas without toys.' So they gave them gift cards for supermarkets so they can buy food. They got the items that the families requested from coats to gloves and hats. And then also they got toys or gift cards for places they could 00:07:00purchase toys. That's something that might not mean a lot to a lot of people, but when you see this family's faces that they're getting more than they were expecting, it's pretty amazing. Lehigh has also always been great doing the South Side cleanup. And they were right there. They said, 'we're going to be able. We're going to send staff all through the Greenway, all the area around the Sands. They cleaned up, and they're still doing that. It's been years. Whenever the date is chosen by Lehigh, they're right on the top of the list and they're cleaning up, too. It's just the little things that a lot of people might not even know about. But they're there. They're there.

Absolutely. I actually had the privilege to speak in front of the Gaming Control 00:08:00Board. At the beginning, they only had the machines, and they wanted to add the tables like the tables. But that's a different kind of license they needed. So they had to go in front of the board, and I remember Bob asked me if I would speak on behalf... And that's something that I took a lot of time--that speech, I took a lot of time writing it because it really meant a lot to me at that point. They have really been great to us. And I wanted to make sure that relationship was good. So I wanted to say good things. I really remember when I talked about when I first moved here that the South Side, you know, after having the Steel closed for so long, it was really in the dark. And the Sands came on. There was a little commotion. There was all the construction; there was a lot of 00:09:00noise. But now we have light, and it's literally lit up the South Side. And the fact that they have engaged and helped support organizations in the South Side made a big difference. So not only the literal word of, 'the light is on.' It's really brought light to the South Side. And that's, you know, as a South Sider, that's really the way I feel.

When I was working for Steve Samuelson's office, a state representative, I remember two individuals in the community, constituents, came to Steve's office. Neither of them spoke--they spoke English; they were building up--but they were not that fluent. And they got there, for the first time in their life, a job 00:10:00that gave them their 401K. One of them was actually with the insurance packet, the health insurance. And she was like, 'what do I need to do?' You know, she couldn't fill out the form. It was so complicated, all this paperwork. But, you know. So I had a lot of things that we needed there. So I helped them fill out the forms. And with the 401K and with insurance, they're two different individuals. I'm going through that and finishing it up and say, 'So now you can have health insurance,' you know. You have prepared yourself for your future with your 401K. And just seeing their admiration and how grateful they are for having this opportunity to have a job right in their community. Close. Very close to home. And now having benefits they never had before. So I think, again, going back to the little things that make a big difference in someone's life.

I think so. I think they do a little. You know, now with the Event Center, it's even more. Another reason to go to just watch a comedy show and then hang now. The food court. I remember I used to go with my daughters even when they were minors. And I remember my youngest--she's 26 now--I remember she kept on saying, I can't wait to turn 21 so we don't have to have a guard. Because they assign you a guard. So we were going into the restaurant, and they escorted us because I had a minor through the through the floor all the way to the restaurant. And then the escort stayed outside until we finished eating, and then escorted back. I thought it was cool. My daughter didn't like it that much. She was like, 'I can't wait to be 21." And of course, when she turned 21, we went there and celebrated with her her 21st birthday.

But I really believe that, it is a family friendly place. The outlets are on the side were the food court is. And I go there often. As I walk around and I see families hanging in there, taking advantage of great sales, because that's when I go. And that's what I know. The food court, you know, the food is really good; it's exceptional. The restaurants inside the casino are a little pricey, but the food is excellent. It's a great place to celebrate birthdays and such. So it happens only once a year. There's only one thing that worries me now. The last time I went, which was a few months ago, I saw in the outlet area they have a game room. I got a little worried. I'm like, 'Uh oh, are they training the kids 00:13:00how to play with machines? And then they can grow up?' So I got a little worried about that. But I mean, they are all over those electronic games that the kids enjoy, and they get tickets. I was a little worried when I saw it. I like, 'Uh oh, they're training them from small.' I haven't read enough about that to say, in fact, that's what's happened. But other than that, I've seen, you know, they celebrate in Christmas. They have Santa going there. People will take pictures. And the Easter Bunny. They've been very friendly to be there for the community and to have a family-welcome place.

No, I am a little disappointed about that. I think that a lot of the development 00:14:00of the site was something--because they do own a lot of the brownfields in the area there and what the Bethlehem Steel was. This is a problem that I personally have. I deal with this with their administrations all the time with the city. When we're talking about developers doing the building or apartments or something, and when they talk about feasibility or, 'That's not feasible.' I'm like, 'Why don't you do affordable housing? At least, you know, half of it?' 'Oh, that's not feasible.' Well, feasible to them I'm sure it's not like the same feasible that I think of, you know. So the money-making machine is on, and that's all they think about. When they talk about, 'We're not doing the money, therefore we can't really develop this and that,' it was disappointing. Yeah. I am disappointed that they didn't. Now they're leaving. So it's kind of like, 'oh, now you're going to leave us and you didn't do X, Y and Z.' Something that 00:15:00I was very worried about was the Third Street corner with Polk and Third where--actually I was in the planning commission before I was in council, and we approved the casino was going to sell that parcel to the city for a dollar to build a parking garage. It was just like a big hiccup. It was--it is taking too long. I kept on pushing the Mayor, and it looks like it's going to happen. It looks like they already got an agreement with them. There's a lot of legal paperwork that needs to be done. And I understand that. I'm sure that before the change in administrations that corner parcel is going to be ours, and we're going to be able to build the parking garage in there that we need where all the development that is happening around Third Street. Other than that, we were 00:16:00hoping to see more development in the area, and that didn't happen.

Well, I moved here when the Steel was already closed, shut down. I bought my house in the South Side, literally across the street from the Sands. My house is next to Donegan Elementary School. And I remember my older sister was mad at me. She didn't talk to me for months because I bought the house in the South Side. She kept on saying, 'That's so, so full of crime. It's so dangerous. Why do you wanna live there? You wasted your money.' And I kept saying, 'No, they're talking about changes and development.' And she was like, 'They're not gonna do anything.' So I really made it my business to show my sister she was wrong and got more involved in the process. And I am glad. I feel like I was part of 00:17:00history, you know, making sure my voice, the voice of the community was heard in the process.

Community action was was instrumental in the process. Lehigh University has stood with the South Side vision; it has been a great partnership. The City, Lehigh, and the community through community action. Millions of dollars have been invested in lights, in sidewalks, in facades, in parks, the skate plaza. In everything, all through the process, the community was involved. Small businesses getting façade grants, you know, homeowners' painting jobs. It really made a big difference. A place where it was a little more--It was a whole lot more scary to walk at night. It now has lights. The sidewalks are good. The 00:18:00lights are on. I walk in the Greenway at any time of the day and night, and I feel safe. There are cameras everywhere; there's lights everywhere. And I see the community out there. It's amazing to see families with their kids and bicycles or the skateboard. I go to that skate plaza and there are families, all colors and all ages from young to all old. I wouldn't dare. I'm too old to do skating. But it's really awesome to see the families enjoying the space, and then being together as a family, as a community. I believe that the light-- it really brought light to the community. The investments that the entities included and the work that the casino... I was worried about, for example, when they built the outlets, all those lights, those signs that all have lights. I 00:19:00was worried that the residents right across this street, like on Valley Avenue, were going to feel that impact and complain about it.

But they're happy to see it. I mean, I talked with many of them, and they're like, 'It doesn't bother us. We like it.' I can sit in front on my porch with my cup of coffee, which I've done many, many times. And I can see the elevator, the glass elevator, going it up and down. I can see people going in and out. So it's here. It's brought a lot of great things to our community. Although I cried, and I was really worried day one, I am glad now that it's here.

Something else that people complain about, but they don't really understand the difference and that's why they're complaining. People say, "We will get money from them because our taxes are going to go down. And the taxes haven't gone 00:20:00down.' Well, they haven't gone down, but they haven't gone up. So the money that the casino is generating to the city has helped us balance the budget. Therefore, we have no reason to raise taxes. People don't understand that, you know, everybody was waiting for a check from the Sands Casino. Well, no, no, I didn't get a check. But you know what? Taxes have been holding up pretty good. Again, when we're talking about putting the budget together, when at some point they were holding on the money, we were very scared. We're like, 'What are we going to do? We're not going to be able to balance this budget that we passed.' So it makes a big difference. The tax revenue that they are bringing to the community and the budget. Again, the budget is spending a whole lot in that money. And we don't have to suffer paying more taxes. I think that the revenue and anything that also created a a snowball effect in terms of, 'OK, something 00:21:00really good is happening. This is the place to be.' ArtsQuest. You know, we got lots of money, that grant money that was able to develop ArtsQuest. The art center is beautiful. Levitt Pavilion, free concerts, a lot of arts going on. I think that really created that snowball effect to the positive, where the South Side went from the dark to being full of light and life and arts and having the charter school for the arts in there. Bringing young people, getting involved and doing murals and paint work around. I think that it really has created a positive snowball effect in the entire community. The South Side is now the place that you want to be.