Office Of The Mayor
Thomas M. McMahon


Mayor’s Report To City Council
November 26, 2007

Crime and Public Safety:


Crime Rankings and Law Enforcement

According to the 14th Annual Report “City Crime Rankings:  Crime in Metropolitan America” published by Morgan Quitno Press, the City of Reading has dropped 11 places from 21st in the 2005 report to 32nd in the 2006 report.

While this is good and in the right direction, there is clearly much more to do as the list is comprised of 378 cities whose population is over 75,000. We need to drop significantly more in this listing.

We should also note that Reading was the sixth most improved city in crime rankings of the 378 cities so that shows we are making excellent progress. 

The addition of the video surveillance system planned for downtown and creation of the K-9 unit will play a part in our continued focus on decreasing crime in Reading.  

It is all the more important that we continue and even ramp up our law enforcement efforts especially dealing with drugs, gangs and violence.

I am encouraged that the District Attorney Elect, John Adams,  has already contacted the Berks County Community Foundation to determine the steps necessary to redirect a significant portion of the disputed drug forfeiture money back to the city for our crime fighting efforts. I am hopeful that the Community Foundation will act quickly to assist the city in this regard.

Arsons in Northwest Reading

My thanks to the Reading Police, Reading Firefighters and the citizens that participated in the arrests of five suspects charged with setting fires in properties in a series of eleven fires in northwest Reading. 

In addition to the professional and coordinated efforts of the City’s Police and Fire Departments, information from neighborhood residents expedited the investigation process that led to the arrests. 

I’m taking this opportunity once again to remind our citizens how important they are to the safety of the city. Your eyes and ears in the neighborhood can avert crime of all types and can help us prevent future fires that threaten the safety of everyone in the block.

Please report any suspicious activity you become aware of so we can continue our fight to make Reading a better place to live.

New Rental Housing Permit Application Reminder

The deadline for submission of the New Rental Housing Permit Applications has been extended to December 31, 2007, instead of  November 30, 2007.  Application information is available on the City website at www.readingpa.gov or by stopping in at the Codes Office at City Hall.

Neighborhoods:

The Office of Neighborhood Development kicked off their Abandoned Property Effort training program to identify ownership of blighted properties at the Penn’s Common Neighbors meeting on November 19, 2007. We anticipate that this effort will be replicated in other neighborhood groups to indentify the most seriously degraded properties in a neighborhood and focus attention on getting them brought up to code.

During the last two weeks, the Lights-On Program was introduced to the UNO neighborhood and Community Hope Neighborhood areas.  This is a program to supply high efficiency porch lights to neighbors and to encourage them to keep them lighted during the night.

The staff of the Office of Neighborhood Development has scheduled presentations to other city neighborhood groups throughout December and January.  Neighborhood groups can contact the Office of Neighborhood Development at 610-655-6277 for more information or regarding scheduling presentations on these programs.

Hope and Unity Mural Dedication at Lance Place Playground

The Outlet Area Neighborhood led by Terry DeBold, the Office of Neighborhood Development, and artist Jessica Chadwick dedicated the colorful Hope and Unity Mural at Lance Place Playground on November 19, 2007.  The mural, designed by Jessica Chadwick and painted by neighborhood adults and children, depicts children playing together and includes messages in English and Spanish. Mike Miller who has been the guiding light behind most of the recent murals in the city is to be credited for his total dedication to the effort.   

My thanks to Terry, Mike and Jessica, and all the others who helped make this happen.

Economic Development Projects:


Cine-plex and IMAX Theatre
Construction continues because of the relatively good weather at the site of the new movie theatres in Reading. This 10 screen cine-plex theatre including not only the conventional stadium seating, high quality sound systems found in today’s most modern theatres, but also the only IMAX theatre in the area showing commercial films.

Miscellaneous:

The Annual Reading Holiday Parade on November 17, 2007, was attended by a record crowd of nearly 13,000 people and achieved a record number of nearly 5000 participants. 

Barbara Tarczynski, who has chaired this parade for 20 years, has once again done a masterful job of ushering in the holiday season in Reading.  Thank you, Barbara, for your dedication to this annual holiday event.  Thanks to the Public Works Department to setting up the Christmas Tree and Menorah at Fifth and Penn Streets.

The City will hold a police and fire recruitment fair on Tuesday, December 4, 2007, from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on the second floor of the Hispanic Center Daniel Torres at 501 Washington Street.  Qualified applicants must be United States citizens, at least 21 years of age and have a high school diploma or G.E.D.  For more information, please contact Joe Ayala, Diversity Officer for the City of Reading at 610-655-1581.