City of Allentown to receive $57 million from American Rescue Plan
Written by Victoria Scialfa on April 29, 2021
City of Allentown to receive $57 million from American Rescue Plan
By Ben Stemrich
April 29, 2021
The City of Allentown is receiving $57 million from the American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year. City officials held a press conference Wednesday morning.
City Council Approved the Vision 2030 plan in December of 2019
The $57 million will help fund it.
“It addresses the topics of housing, workforce development, economic opportunity, social equity, transportation, community development, environment and conservation, historic preservation, open space, land use,” says Allentown Mayor Ray O’Connell.
Leonard Lightner, Allentown’s director of Community and Economic Development and deputy mayor, says infrastructure improvements are a major part of the plan.
“We talk about water and sewer, we talk about broadband, these are things that we want to be sure we address. We saw what happened with the school district when we talk about broadband and there was no wifi access for our youth,” Lightner says.
Roughly half the money is expected to arrive this summer.
In addition to the $57 million the city will receive, the city is expecting $3.4 million in funding for homeless relief.
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