Sixers

Chinatown Groups Say They’re “Taking Over” City Council Meeting to Oppose Sixers Arena Legislation

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Oct 23rd, 2024 · 11:37 AM EDT

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Here’s a Wednesday press release from the Chinatown groups opposed to the Sixers arena. The legislation is expected to be introduced to Philadelphia City Council on Thursday:

102 Chinatown Organizations and Businesses Formalize Opposition to Proposed CBA in Letter to Council, Urge Council to Halt Legislative Timeline

“This disgraceful deal is completely invalid and the process is an unacceptable way for any community to be treated.”

PHILADELPHIA – Today, 102 Philadelphia Chinatown businesses and community organizations sent a letter to City Council opposing the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) tied to the proposed Sixers arena development. The letter, signed by 102 organizations and businesses, calls for a delay in the legislative process and insists that no project should move forward without the community’s involvement. The letter was sent by Bobby Chang and Alan Chen, Co-Presidents of the Pennsylvania United Chinese Coalition, to all City Councilmembers prior to the October 24 meeting, where arena legislation is expected to be introduced.

The letter outlines several critical issues with the proposed CBA:

• Negotiated Without Community Input: The CBA was negotiated between Mayor Parker and the Sixers ownership, without consulting the residents, businesses and organizations whose lives and livelihoods will be directly and immediately impacted for decades in Chinatown.
• Ignored Requests for Engagement: The Mayor’s administration has repeatedly refused to meet with community leaders, and no materials have been provided in Chinese, violating the city’s language access policies.
• Small Business Neglect: More than half of Chinatown’s 600 businesses would face negative impacts from the arena, but only $1.6 million is allocated for construction impact—equating to just $37 per month per business over the span of six years.
• Lack of Accountability: The CBA lacks protections if the Sixers fail to meet their commitments, leaving the community vulnerable.

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WHAT’S NEXT

On Thursday, October 24, the No Arena in the Heart of Our City Coalition is set to debut, taking over the City Council meeting to oppose the introduction of arena legislation with hundreds expected to attend. The coalition will bring together a powerful alliance of workers, residents, small businesses and community organizations to flood City Hall and council chambers, testifying to the many ways the arena sells out Philadelphians in favor of the Sixers’ billionaire owners.

They’re “taking over” the City Council meeting, as you see there in the final paragraph. That’s typical and expected. I would have been stunned if they didn’t do it. Demonstrators will regularly show up at council chambers and do what they feel they need to do. Earlier this month some people dressed as clowns showed up and did a bit at the podium, so anything goes at these meetings.

The most important person this week is councilman Mark Squilla, who has the job of introducing the legislation in front of council. Then the full council votes twice and it would go to Mayor Cherelle Parker’s desk for signature if it passes. The mayor has already signaled her support for the project.

Here’s a copy of the letter the opposition sent to council. We’ll do a deeper dive when the legislation is introduced officially, because right now there are a lot of bits and pieces floating around and it’s easier to just analyze the complete thing when the time comes:

EDIT – Sorry, I cut off the last part there. It says, “…and slow down the legislative process until such time as community voices are adequately included and our concerns are appropriately addressed. The list of signatures follows.