The Brown and White took a stroll around the neighborhood and spoke to various community members about what makes South Side Bethlehem different from other neighborhoods and what changes they would like to see.
Kwame Senkyere, South Side resident
Q: What is your favorite thing about springtime in Bethlehem?
Kwame Senkyere: I like to go for my daily walks on the Greenway.
Q: How would you describe the culture of South Bethlehem?
KS: Laid back.
Q: What do you think makes the South Side community unique?
KS: I think there are more people around than on the North Side.
Q: How has living in Bethlehem changed you?
KS: I’ve been able to meet some really nice people.
Q: If you had $1 million to help the South Bethlehem community, what would you use it towards?
KS: I cook for a living, so I would probably open up another barbecue restaurant for the community.
Anthony Flores, Insurance agent at Pronto Insurance
Q: What is your favorite thing about springtime in Bethlehem?
Anthony Flores: Probably the colors. Being able to see the trees and the foliage.
Q: What is one of your favorite things about working on the South Side?
AF: Seeing the people. There are always people on the streets, whether it be Lehigh students or just people working.
Q: What is something that makes the South Side unique?
AF: The history. I think Bethlehem definitely has a rich history — the South Side with the steel, but definitely both sides of Bethlehem.
Q: How has working in the South Side shaped you?
AF: It’s made me more friendly. I definitely speak to a lot of people, and I definitely wasn’t a people-person before, but I think that has changed.
Q: What do you think is important for Lehigh students to know about the South Side?
AF: There are people from all over the place, from all over the world, especially because of Lehigh and because of the casino. It is a very diverse and a rich city.
Q: If you had $1 million to help the South Bethlehem community what would you put it towards?
AF: Better roads. There is a lot of construction, and they don’t fix the roads. The roads are terrible.
Denise Holub, Senior business manager of Community Education at Northampton Community College
Q: What is your favorite thing about springtime in South Bethlehem?
Denise Holub: I see the daffodils over the Mountain Drive coming down into work. Every day the flowers bloom along the way, and it’s pretty.
Q: What is one of your favorite things about the South Side?
DH: It is walkable. I enjoy walking to go to the store, go out to lunch, have a drink, meet friends, and it’s more exciting every day here with all the construction happening.
Q: How has working on the South Side changed you?
DH: I appreciate the city more…interacting with people, not being so isolated. It’s different being at a college because you could be at the main campus where you see other college students, but you’re really isolated. So down here you’re interacting with local businesses, college students and people that come into the city as tourists.
Q: What do you think is important for Lehigh students to know about the South Side?
DH: It has a mixed culture and diversity. Appreciate that, and enjoy all the little shops, and support local business.
Q: What’s something that makes the South Side unique?
DH: I like art and shopping…so for me, this is a really nice balance. It’s a small city. The only time it’s extremely crowded is after fireworks or some big event like Musikfest. But other than that, it’s a nice-sized city, so there’s enough variety of things to do without the hubbub of all the other big cities.
Q: If you had $1 million to help the South Bethlehem community, what would you put it towards?
D: A combination of trying to keep things historic. I think we already have signage and pretty good lighting, but maybe identify more with the areas that are historic that we want to save so that we can educate people and make it enjoyable too.
Avi Yosopovici, South Side Resident
Q: What is your favorite thing about spring in South Bethlehem?
Avi Yosopovici: I like to go to the factory and observe the hawks. I also like to go to the river. Sometimes the river is high, sometimes the river is low. It depends.
Q: What is something that makes South Bethlehem unique?
AY: The location of the university and the students.
Q: If you had $1 million to help the South Bethlehem community, what would you put it towards?
AY: I think I would put it toward improving the gyms and the public transportation and the infrastructure. Maybe put a little bit of money into preserving the factories.
Q: What do you think it important for Lehigh students to know about South Bethlehem?
AY: The history of Bethlehem — how Bethlehem started and how the settlement started and grew and grew and grew.
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