City Council Overrides Mayors Veto 17-0
Today, Mayor John Street vetoed the referendum Bill # 070112.
 
City Council unanimously voted to overturn his veto.  The referendum will be on the May 15th Ballot, allowing the citizens of Philadelphia to vote on the siting of the casinos, recommending a 1500 ft buffer between between casinos and schools, homes, churches, mosques or synagoges.

The Delaware River Neighborhood Alliance (DRNA) wrote to the Mayor and City Council urging to support the referendum.  The letter is copied below:

March 28, 2007
 
Mayor John F. Street
City Hall
Room 215
Philadelphia, PA  19107
 
Dear Mayor Street,

We, the representatives of the Delaware River Neighborhood Alliance, respectfully request that you and your administration support the ballot referendum which asks Philadelphia voters to prohibit casinos from being built within 1,500 feet of any home, school, or religious institution. Furthermore, we ask that your office proactively join the campaign to ensure the passage of this referendum and publicly state the obvious: that casinos do not belong next to the homes where we live, the schools where our children learn and the places of worship where we commune. The 2002 North Delaware Avenue Zoning Overly supports this philosophy.  Aside from prohibiting casinos development on north Delaware Avenue, this legislation defines this type of entertainment usage as inappropriate in residential communities. The citizens of Philadelphia expect and deserve strong leadership from you as we defend ourselves from the unacceptable decisions made by the unelected Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The DRNA includes 18 civic organizations serving approximately 200,000 Philadelphians from Whitman and Pennsport to Fishtown and Port Richmond and as far west as Logan Square. Working in cooperation with other organizations such as Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront and Casino-Free Philadelphia, DRNA's mission is to protect our neighborhoods by maximizing Philadelphia's ability to influence our city and state governments to re-open or resume the casino site selection process. In support of this mission, the DRNA and its member organizations refuse to negotiate with either the Foxwoods or Sugarhouse operators pending the settlement of several legal appeals which challenge the Philadelphia slots parlor licenses.

The call to protect Philadelphia's neighborhoods from the well-documented, negative impacts of casino slot parlors has been heard clearly and taken to heart by a host of officials and organizations, including all 17 City Council members who voted to place the referendum on the ballot (and several Council candidates); several elected state officials such as Rep. John Taylor, Rep. Mike O'Brien, Rep. Bill Keller, Sen. Babette Josephs and Congressman Brady; International Longshoreman's Association; and mayoral candidates Tom Knox, Michael Nutter, Dwight Evans, Al Taubenberger and Queena Bass.

To date, the citizens of Philadelphia have received little support from you and virtually no intimation of how your office might work with us to stave off the adverse effects casinos bring to residential neighborhoods. We offer the following as evidence of your administration's negligence:

It is well-known that the so-called Gaming Task Force charged with recommending potential casino sites to the Gaming Control Board was fed a list of locations hand-picked by casino developers, investors and operators.

Since April 2006, civic groups have tried to meet with you in order to express their concerns about the siting of casinos in our neighborhoods (see attached), and when community groups asked you repeatedly to institute the city's Gaming Commission., as the Phila Gaming Task Force officially recommended,  as a means of addressing our  concerns, we got no response.

It was not until late December, just prior to site selection, that a select group of community representatives was invited to share with your office their impressions of the operators regarding community benefit agreements and sites for the sole purpose of helping you "rate" the casino operators. The concerns we expressed were entirely ignored.   

The city has been engaging in private, closed-door negotiations with the casino operators without seeking the input of the affected neighborhoods, thereby undermining the DRNA's moratorium.

Now, with over 27,000 citizens and 17 Council members working together to give Philadelphians a say in this process at the May 15 ballot. We feel that a veto, or a legal challenge from your office would be counter to the interests of your constituents. We call on you to allow the democratic process to work.

Mr. Mayor, We respectfully ask that you consider the rights of your constituents first, the citizens of Philadelphia, and not the interests of casino operators and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Philadelphia residents need -- no, demand -- your help as we fight to protect and foster the quality of life we enjoy in this city. Surely, you can understand how 2 Las Vegas-sized casino slot parlors seriously threaten our quality of life and simply do not belong in our neighborhoods. Respect the voices of so many citizens who wish to be heard on this issue and support the 1,500 feet buffer between Philadelphia neighborhoods and casinos. You have avoided including the local residents thus far, but now you have an opportunity to truly be the Neighborhood Mayor for all neighborhoods by allowing the referendum to be placed on the ballot.

Respectfully signing in representation for DRNA,

Rene Goodwin,
Pennsport Civic Assoc.
renegood@comcast.net
 
Joe Schiavo,
Old City Civic Assoc.
olc152@verizon.net

DRNA member organizations: Whitman Council, Queen Village Neighbors Assn., Northern Liberties Neighbors Assn., Passyunk Square Civic Assn., Society Hill Civic Assn., Fishtown Neighbors Assn., Pennsport Civic Assn., Old City Civic Assn., Port Richmond on Patrol and Civic, Bella Vista United Civic Assn., Rivers Edge Civic Assn., Kensington South NAC, Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, Franklin Bridge North Neighbors Assn., Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront, Bella Vista Town Watch, East Kensington Neighbors’ Assoc., Logan Square Neighborhood Assoc.
 

Last Updated: April 2, 2007