As expected, City Council gave final approval to enabling legislation that gives the Philadelphia 76ers a zoning permit to build an arena in the footprint of the Fashion District. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said, “All of Philadelphia will benefit from this project.”
Truth be told, the 12 to 5 vote is a victory for the building trades unions and the Sixers billionaire owners. In this infamously “corrupt and contented” city, mayors and City Councilmembers genuflect to Big Labor. But neither Parker nor City Council has the authority to give the Sixers the right to enter SEPTA’s property. The billionaires now must get the approval of SEPTA and the Federal Transit Administration to enter Jefferson Station. David Adelman tacitly acknowledges this fact in a tweet sent after the vote:
We look forward to pursuing the remaining approvals to make 76Place a reality.
The enabling legislation does not include a solution to SEPTA’s recurring budget deficit of $240 million. The flex funding is a stopgap measure that bought SEPTA six months before the transit agency, again, faces a “death spiral.” SEPTA officials have already testified that the transit agency cannot be “burdened” with the operational costs of managing the demolition of the Fashion District, construction of the arena, and additional service to accommodate the 76ers’ schedule.
Philadelphia has ranked as the poorest big city in the country for decades. The high poverty rate is not a bug; it’s a feature. Philadelphia’s misleaders are not interested in reducing poverty because there’s a lot of money to be made by insiders and cronies managing poor people.
There is also a lot of money to be made by insiders and cronies with the Sixers’ proposal to build an arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station. For more than two years, the billionaire owners of the Philadelphia 76ers have spent millions of dollars lobbying and spreading misinformation about the economic benefits of 76 Place.
By a vote of 12-4 on December 12, 2024, City Council gave preliminary approval to legislation enabling 76 Place to move pass the first round. Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier, Rue Landau, Nicolas O’Rourke, and Jeffery Young Jr. voted against the enabling legislation. Councilmember Kendra Brooks, a staunch opponent of the arena, was absent.
The Sixers made it pass the first round with an assist from Philadelphia’s misleaders. The enabling legislation does not give the billionaires the right to construct an arena on SEPTA’s property. They will need more than the building trades unions to get the approval of SEPTA, which is teetering on the brink of a “death spiral,” and President Donald Trump’s Federal Transit Administration.
This has been a banner year for Lee Morgan. From listing of “The Sidewinder” in the National Recording Registry, dedication of his historical marker, publication of my essay about his masterpiece by the Library of Congress, and federal, state and city citations, Lee is finally getting the recognition he deserves. There are more accolades to come in 2025.
The only discordant note was the resurfacing of misinformation. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a false claim that Lee Morgan’s gravesite had “vanished.”
The reporter did not interview Lee’s family. If he had, they would have told him about White Chapel Memorial Park’s troubling history. If he had bothered to read the Google Reviews, he would know that poor maintenance of the grounds is an ongoing problem. The story wasn’t just rehashed fake news. It was a missed opportunity to shed light on the broader issue of accountability that impacts families whose loved ones are interred at White Chapel.
Putting aside the news article for now, Lee Morgan’s gravestone is in disrepair and fading. Please make a donation to preserve this endangered cultural resource. Donations will fund the restoration of Lee’s gravestone and the installation of a memorial bench, complete with a QR code linking to a digital tribute wall where donors can leave text, audio, or video tributes.
Lee Morgan was not just a jazz innovator; he was an advocate for racial justice. Now, it’s up to us to do him justice. Together, we can turn Lee’s gravesite into a place of reflection and inspiration.
For more than two years, Philadelphia 76ers co-owner and 76 Place hype man David Adelman crowed that the Sixers’ proposal to build an arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station is a win for the city. Adelman regaled sycophants on X/Twitter and sports podcasters. But the billionaire was a no-show at City Council’s hearing on their proposal. City Councilmember Cindy Bass rightly asked:
Who thought this would be a good idea? I’m suspecting that it’s the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, none of whom felt the need to come and discuss their vision or concept with us today which is quite inappropriate and disrespectful and just really callous.
The billionaires prefer to discuss their “vision” behind closed doors. So, Adelman sent their G Team – Alex Kafenbaum, senior vice president and head of development for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE owns the Sixers), and David Gould, HSBE’s chief diversity and impact officer.
Kafenbaum and Gould should have been benched. Denise Clay-Murray of The Philadelphia Sunday SUN wrote:
To understand just how badly the first two days of hearings on the proposed arena for your 76ers went for the Parker administration and the Sixers themselves, you’d have to return to your school days.
We all have had that moment where we’re staring at a test and asking ourselves, “How am I going to pass this?” It’s a feeling that usually comes when you don’t study as much as you could have and aren’t quite as prepared as you could have been.
You knew the test was coming. It was clearly marked on the syllabus. You had plenty of time to study for it because the teacher had told you several times that it was coming. You even got a study guide with everything you needed for the test.
[…]
But the only response that Council heard more than “I don’t know” is “No,” which was uttered by Gould and Kafenbaum a lot when it came to the Community Benefits Agreement, the upgrades of SEPTA’s Jefferson Station that would be needed for this project due to the increase in traffic, and just about everything else.
City Council has kicked off public hearings on the Philadelphia 76ers’ proposal to build an arena atop SEPTA’s regional rail Jefferson Station. Council President Kenyatta Johnson said:
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Administration made the proposed Sixers arena legislation available to the public back in late September. Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose Council district the proposed arena would be located, introduced the 13 pieces of legislation on October 24. Councilmember Squilla has been working very hard over the past two years in addressing the concerns of his constituents.
Now that the legislation has been introduced, Council and every Council member is now going through our legislative process and I expect spirted Committee of the Whole hearings on this proposed arena. Councilmembers will have the opportunity to ask questions of officials from the Sixers, the Mayor Parker Administration, and others about the proposed arena project.
Council has launched a website to give the public up-to-date information, including the public hearing schedule.
As the first hearing was getting underway, SEPTA released a notice of public hearing on their plan to increase fares 29 percent beginning January 1, 2025. The higher fares would be “paired with major service cuts.” SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer said:
Today we stand with our feet on the edge of the fiscal cliff. With major service cuts and fare increases, this is the beginning of what we’ve been saying is the transit death.
…
We are managing the decline of SEPTA… Rail lines will become so infrequent that they will be useless to most of our customers.
The Sixers’ proposed arena is a public transit-oriented project anchored to a transit system on death watch. Let the 76 Place games begin.
Campaign ads have saturated the airwaves, social media, email and text messages for months. But you – the voter – will have the last word. More than half of registered voters have already cast their ballot, according to Gallup. If you have waited until Election Day, it’s time to put a vote on it.
If you experience a problem at your polling place, help is at your fingertips. Text or call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
As a long-time voting rights advocate, it was a joy to drop off my mail-in ballot at the City Commissioners satellite election office on Saturday during a pop-up party organized by Joy to the Polls.
The satellite office is in the former Fays Theatre, a storied venue where jazz greats, including Duke Ellington, performed. City officials likely don’t know the history of the building.
The party will continue on Tuesday, October 29 with Party to the Polls Purple Tour in City Hall Courtyard. The get-out-the-vote event is presented by Daybreaker. There will be yoga, breakfast and pole dancers, as well as Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and KJ Martin of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Voters can drop off their ballot at the official drop box or vote on a voting machine in City Hall, Room 140.
From now until Election Day, voters will “form a big strong line” at polling places around the country. In battleground states, they will be dancing in the street in Philadelphia, PA and the Motor City.
We are in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. Early voting is underway in some states. As of October 20, 2024, 4,522,275 in-person early votes have been cast nationwide, according to the Early Voter Tracker. The in-person early vote total in battleground states:
Arizona: 370,443
Georgia: 1,377,363
Michigan: 1,018,161
Nevada: 15,857
North Carolina: 952,389
Pennsylvania: 787,900
Wisconsin: 305,344
With the polls neck and neck, every vote matters. Remember, polls don’t count. It’s the people—you—who decide the outcome. So, make a plan to vote.
Your vote is your voice. Make some noise.
AccessFest is a virtual conference hosted by Investigative Reporters & Editors. The conference will take place online, October 17-19, 2024. AccessFest “focuses on expanding IRE’s efforts to provide more accessible training centered on belonging, equity, and inclusion in the newsroom and through better news coverage of inequities in the communities journalists serve.”
With 57 sessions, AccessFest covers a wide range of topics, including:
Data journalism
Investigative reporting tips
Diversity and inclusion in newsrooms
Covering marginalized communities
As an independent journalist and watchdog, I am particularly interested in the Freelance and Open Records tracks. The full schedule is available here.
True to form, Mayor Cherelle Parker gave “the people of Chinatown” less than 24 hours’ notice of a public meeting about the Philadelphia 76ers’ proposal to build an arena adjacent to Chinatown. At the meeting, Parker passionately defended her agreement with the Sixers, stating:
Anyone who has any challenges with what is contained in this agreement, you no longer have the Philadelphia 76ers as the villain here. I am Cherelle L. Parker. I am the 100th mayor of the city of Philadelphia. I am proud and take full responsibility for what is included in this agreement.
What Parker seems to miss is that there can be more than one villain in this story.
Parker said this “historic agreement is the best financial deal ever entered into by a Philadelphia mayor for a local sports arena.” Given the city’s track record in negotiations, “the best financial deal” doesn’t automatically mean it’s a good deal.
The Save Chinatown Coalition rightly boycotted the last-minute meeting.
Parker’s message to residents and business owners who view 76 Place as an existential threat:
I want Chinatown’s rich and vibrant community and proud history to not just survive but to thrive. We have the best Chinatown in the United States, and I am committed to working together to support it. This is a chance for new partnership and growth, based on mutual understanding and respect.
Historically, residents and supporters of Chinatowns have fought—and continue to fight—large-scale development projects that demand they and other communities of color accept disproportionate harm in the name of progress for all.
After Parker announced a Community Benefits Agreement with the Sixers, which was negotiated without input from the very community facing disproportionate harm, the National Trust released a statement:
The National Trust stands with local coalitions and the majority of Philadelphia residents who oppose the arena abutting Chinatown and will be most impacted by this devastating decision. Time and time again, history has shown us that large-scale planning decisions are made with significant consequences to communities of color. There is still time to chart a new path forward. The National Trust will continue to amplify the grave threat that this poses to one of the oldest intact Chinatown communities in the nation.
Maya Angelou’s words of caution echo here: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Months ago, Parker’s Art Commission ignored the zoning code and allowed Midwood Investment and Development to renege on their commitment to preserve the legacy of Henry Minton in public memory.
An elite caterer and financier of the Underground Railroad, Minton hosted figures like Frederick Douglass and John Brown. The developer erased Black history without a word from Parker.
Why should the Save Chinatown Coalition trust Parker to respect their history and cultural heritage?
PHL Watchdog 