The first thing we should do to improve the downtown is to convince the owner of the Lehighton Elderly Apartments to change its name to something conducive to a vibrant downtown - for instance, Lehighton Tower Apartments.

Senior housing need not be explicitly labeled as such. This building is the anchor of the downtown.

Most housing that includes the term “Elderly” in its name is affordable housing. I don’t know why people over a certain age who live in affordable housing need to be stigmatized with a term like this.

The downtown is being stigmatized as well. Hardly anyone wants to sit outside the building. Instead, this well-kept, attractive building, with its well-maintained seating area, can be a central part of the community.

Andrew Tannenbaum

Lehighton