One year ago this week, the billionaire owners of the Philadelphia 76ers pulled the rug out from under Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City Council. Their proposal to construct a basketball arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station was a dream for the billionaires and a nightmare for everyone else.
A year later, we don’t have answers about this debacle. The City is still fighting release of documents that I requested from the previous administration.
SEPTA was twice ordered to turn over records. Rather than comply with the orders, the cash-strapped agency continued to pay outside counsel to fight disclosure. With their back against the wall, SEPTA claimed the records were deleted.
In this new year, I will submit new RTKL requests for 76 Place records for the period of January 1, 2024 to January 14, 2025. I will keep on pushing until we get answers to how the billionaires hijacked the public policymaking process.
PHL Watchdog 