Members of Bethlehem's South Side Task Force said moving the office will especially hurt the many office visitors who previously walked or took the bus there.
View full size
State Rep. Daniel McNeill
State Rep. Daniel McNeill has moved his district office from South Side Bethlehem to Whitehall Township, a move that disappointed some in the city.
Members of the Mayor’s South Side Task Force said moving the office will inconvenience the many office visitors who walked or took the bus there.
“It’s sad it’s leaving the South Side,” said Roger Hudak, the task force’s chairman.
McNeill , a Democrat, moved the office because South Side Bethlehem won’t be part of his district if a redistricting plan currently before the state Supreme Court is upheld, said Nate Collins, a spokesman for the House Democratic Communications Office. The redistricting would occur at some point in 2014 if approved, Collins said.
“Under the proposed maps, South Bethlehem would not be in Representative McNeill’s district any more,” Collins said. “They were looking forward to the redistricting in 2014.”
McNeill selected his new office, at 1080 Schadt Ave., because it is near the Lehigh Valley Mall and meets Americans with Disabilities Act standards, Collins said.
Under the redistricting plan, South Side Bethlehem will be wholly represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Samuelson, who is already willing to assist any South Side residents who need state assistance, he said.
His office has already been seeing an influx of South Side residents since he hired a bilingual legislative aide — Olga Negron — last summer, Samuelson said. The representative said he expects to see even more South Side residents with McNeill’s office moving last week.
“We’re willing to help anybody who comes in,” he said.
Samuelson already represents about one-third of the South Side and has been involved in the neighborhood for years through the South Side Task Force. He said he’s also been working to set up monthly office hours at the Hispanic Center on East Fourth Street.
“Steve Samuelson’s group has stopped up to the plate,” Hudak said. “They’re serving people that should probably go up to Whitehall.”
A prior 133rd Legislative District office in Catasauqua was closed at the end of November, when officials said they planned to keep the district’s South Side Bethlehem office.
McNeill’s new office number is 610-266-1273. The phone number for Samuelson’s office — which is at 104 E. Broad St. in Bethlehem — is 610-867-3890.