By Randall Yip, Executive Editor
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker Wednesday endorsed the proposed 76er arena opposed by much of Chinatown.
In a video released on social media, Parker declared an agreement has been reached and said the 76ers “are staying home.”
“To the People of Chinatown, please hear me. I see you. I listen to you. ” she said. “I am committed to working together with you to support it.”
However, the mayor did not meet with reporters and the coalition Save Our Chinatown says it’s not giving up.
“This fight is far from over. We are going to fight this, and we are going to the mat. It’s on,” coalition member and community leader Debbie Wei declared in a statement sent to AsAmNews.
The mayor’s decision came after Parker declined an invitation from the coalition to tour Chinatown although she did hold a town hall about the arena attended by hundreds of people who opposed the 76er plan.
Parker said she will forward a legislative package for the arena to the city council “where it must be approved” claiming “it is the best financial deal ever entered into by a Philadelphia mayor for a local sports arena.”
The mayor said the plan includes $1.3 billion in private investment and will bring in hundreds of millions in tax revenue and hundreds of jobs.
Opponents say those jobs will largely pay minimum wage and point to a recent poll that found that 69% of Philadelphia opposes the 76er development.
John Chinn, executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, says he was disappointed in the mayor’s announcement and will pour over the plan which the mayor says will be released in detail soon.
“I think it was what we expected based on how Chinatown has been treated historically,” Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, said to Metro Philadelphia. Chang attended a one hour closed door meeting with the mayor attended by other community leaders.
For two years, a coalition of 245 community organizations has said the arena which borders Chinatown will push out small businesses and residents, cause a spike in rents and increase traffic and make Chinatown undesirable for visitors.
Less than two weeks ago, an estimated 3-4,000 people marched in the driving rain through Philadelphia to protest the arena.
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