Will Sarah Gersch, Calvin Williams, Mary Graham and Lina Ruth Duiker, please come forward. Again, Sarah Gersch, Calvin Williams, Mary Graham, Lina Ruth Duiker, please come forward. You will each have two minutes to speak. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
My name is Sarah Gersch. All the people who have testified so far have been so impressive. I feel a little out of my depth, but I am in the service industry. I work in the restaurant industry here in Philadelphia. I live in the 1st District and I am disgusted that our Mayor would put Philadelphians in this position. I am in the large percentage of Philadelphian residents who understand what it means to live paycheck to paycheck, so I can absolutely understand why some of our union workers and laborers might feel tempted by this proposal or why City Council or the Mayor might feel tempted by this proposal. A quick influx of cash for the City sounds good. The promise of some good union labor jobs sounds good and how can we turn our nose down at that when we as a city are struggling so much right now. We know the City needs money to fund our schools, our public transit and our infrastructure and we know that we need good union jobs. But let me say this though. That feeling of how can we turn this down is by design. This arena will cost $1.3 billion to build, a price tag that the majority of us can't even begin to fathom. But let me assure you that cost is nothing to the billionaires who want to build it. We could just magically erase $1.3 billion from the net worth of Josh Harris and David Blitzer and they wouldn't even notice. They would still have the money to take care of their children and their children's children in a lavish lifestyle forever. Every dollar of profit that gets spent from this arena will get sucked up into the cloud of their net worth and will never be circulated back into our communities. Again, they don't even live here. But every dollar that we spend at the businesses in Chinatown is used and needed by the people who own businesses there and get spent back into our local communities and is being taxed properly by our City Council. This project threatens the heart of one of our city's cherished communities. And again, I say that's by design. The more we concede to billionaires owning our communities, the more power that they have to do this next time when they're coming for your neighborhood. So please vote no. 6 (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Good afternoon.
My name is Calvin Williams and thank you for the opportunity. Two minutes is not a lot to bring lived experience to the table but I'll make a stab at it. I was employed in Center City for over 35 years. years plus at 22 8th and Market Street with a major 23 retailer department store. 24 Across the street for over 10 years in the Municipal Service Building I know Center City from Vine to Pine, from river to river. I know it street level and underneath level like the back of my hand. I'm also a seasoned ticketholder with the 76ers now since 1992, and prior to that a partial season ticketholder for five years. I just want to say that you have to live the thing in order to qualify to say it's a Philly thing and it is a Philly thing, that the neighborhoods built the Philadelphia plan, brand and all those things. Now, in our neighborhoods I know from experience that we can't cross the line sometimes with fear of bodily harm. But as a city and neighborhoods we found places in this city where we can be civilized and where we act like human beings with sister and brotherly love and our fashions. Now, we find places in this city where we can live with each other like that. To name a few, the Reading Terminal, Rittenhouse Square, South Street, at one time the Gallery. But above all of those, the most place that we find unity as communities is in South Philly in the parking lots before games and after games. We are family. I am saying to you at this time, and I try to be real brief because this gets real personal, is that I've seen the good, bad and the ugly with the organization of the 76ers over these years, but a lot of us in here have been coaches or we've been in teams. We had to put the teams together for campaigns. And nowhere can I imagine that anyone has a philosophy to build a team to lose, to lose with a philosophy saying that I have to lose consistently in order to win. What kind of culture is that. And I ask you who do you trust, people like the old time that we had the problem with bringing East Market Street -- I'll be real quick if I can please. In the old days with the Councilman O'Neill and with Paul Levy. When our team -- when our City leaders came to this body and asked to do Market Street East, a Quaker named Stockton Strawbridge was a leader and he brought us through all of those things in bringing in the rest of the leaders of the city. I am asking you to keep our family in South Philadelphia, bring in a soccer team to add with it so that we can live in harmony with each other. Thank you. (Applause.)
Will Debra Zellner, Jethro Heiko, Jackson Plumlee and Adam Shellhorse, please come forward. Again, that is Debra Zellner, Jethro Heiko, Jackson Plumlee and Adam Shellhorse, please come forward. You each will have two minutes to speak. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
Hi. I'm Debra Zellner, professor emeritus. I'm in District 5. One of the prime motivators in approving the 76ers arena is the number of jobs, particularly construction jobs that it will supposedly provide in the city. On November 19th, Elaine McGuire from IBEW Local 98 told Council that the 76ers arena would provide "9,000 jobs for the Building Trades." I found that to be a rather high number, so I looked at what Mayor Parker had said about the agreement she had reached. In her press release she said "the arena would create over 1,000 construction and operations jobs." This number is consistent with the number of jobs projected by the economic impact analysis done by CSL. They project a total of 1,070 jobs for Pennsylvania, 710 for Philly. Of those 710 Philly jobs, 260 would be construction jobs. So I wondered where did the 9,000 jobs for the Building Trades number come from. I found at 76place.com the following statement regarding the arena: It will directly create plus 9,00 construction jobs for Philly residents. This is clearly not true. It appears that the numbers provided by CSL are closer to the truth than those provided by the Sixers. Something similar happened with the Building of Allegiance Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The state legislators who approved the deal were told that it would provide 18,700 construction jobs, but it turned out that it generated only 900. The people who were misled were not pleased. Given that the arena will probably generate 250 construction jobs and 450 other jobs, the question becomes at what cost. The community impact analysis found that about half, 155 of the businesses in Chinatown, would be negatively impacted by building the arena. That means job loss for the people who own and are employed by those businesses. That could gut Chinatown. If SEPTA cannot get the money needed to add trains, the gridlock in Chinatown and elsewhere will push out more small businesses. Looked at that way it isn't such a win for Philly. There's no reason to think that the arena will result in more development on East Market Street that might generate more jobs. In fact, the BJH report concluded that "impacts on Market East are inconclusive." Hoping for revitalization does not produce it. Take for example the Prudential Center in New York, New Jersey opened in 2007 and owned by Harris Blitzer. It was to revitalize downtown Newark. I lived up there. 17 years later it is still surrounded by huge surface parking lots where development was supposed to occur --
Please reject the building of the arena in this location. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you so much. Who's next? Please state your name for the record and proceed.
My name is Jethro Heiko. I live in East Oak Lane so I'm in the 9th District. I love Chinatown. I urge you to vote no on this proposal. Over years 13 ago I connected with Chinatown 14 activists who were fighting the 15 Phillies ballpark proposed for 16 Chinatown because I as a young 17 community organizer in Boston was 18 responsible for the successful 19 stopping of the demolition of Fenway 20 Park, a five-year campaign where me and the organization I worked for suffered many insults from the building trades of Boston, including death threats. So I take it very seriously the opposition to arenas to stadiums and to projects that give a lot of promises but never deliver. Of course people may not find Wells Fargo to be as historic yet as Fenway Park, but it is an important part of the city as we heard just two speakers ago. I found that very moving and very difficult to follow to be honest. So not only are promises never kept but even looking at the details of the community benefits agreement, it's woefully inadequate. Not that any CBA should ever be considered if a project itself is not worthy of consideration, and this project clearly is not. It's poorly cited. It will considerably damage Jefferson Station, an incredible cost to taxpayers. The idea that this is not going to be a taxpayer-funded project is not accurate. In fact, I've attended the last nine School Board meetings for the last nine months, less than two days before the last School Board meeting. The agenda item was inserted to provide a TIF amendment and to vote in favor of everything you need to then support if this project were to go forward. And I think that speaks to the last thing I'll say. These projects are always, always a considerable distraction from democracy, a subversion and corruption of public process, and less than two months before a Republican President will take power in the White House and do conservable damage to the city. This City Council should spend their time, spend your time doing the work of the city, including supporting and protecting immigrants who will definitely be targeted by this next Administration. And it's time to put an end to this charade. It's a horrible project and you must vote no on it. (Applause.)
Members of City Council and staff. Thank you for your time and this opportunity to speak. My name is Jackson Plumlee and I'm a landscape architect, urban planner, UPenn graduate and a proud volunteer member of Philly Thrive, an environmental justice organization in Grays Ferry. We're fighting for residents' rights to breathe, stay and thrive as the South Philly refinery redevelopment moves forward. I'm here because Market East and the refinery redevelopment are both generational opportunities to remake our city and we cannot afford to waste them. Please imagine these ideas: A library cafe and community center with hundreds of units of affordable housing above a community food hub with space for local businesses and child care for their workers or a transformation of the Fashion District into a lush garden under glass and a community space offering centralized access to housing, health care and jobs resources. These ideas were just a few of many generated by hundreds of Chinatown residents, organizers and business owners at a community design workshop in January at the Center for Art and Architecture, which I attended. Grays Ferry residents have developed similar visions for their own neighborhood and the refinery site. But despite the dedication and creativity of these communities, their ideas are often thrown away and dismissed in favor of short-sighted proposals like an arena located to wreak havoc on our culture, commerce and infrastructure or a sprawling 1300-acre logistics hub paved over 150 years of refinery contamination. Now, imagine this, 30 years from now after the Sixers have moved away the Schuylkill continues to flood higher, Chinatown's legacy businesses are replaced by Qdoba and McDonald's, SEPTA's service is cut and the developers have long disappeared failing to honor their CBA commitments. We're going to look back and we're going to ask, why did we settle for these terrible ideas. Why did we prioritize easy money over long-term vision. We had the chances to plan for climate change, to preserve our culture and to fight the affordable housing crisis, but we wasted them. Thankfully we can still change course if you vote no. 6 If we listen to the people, we can create something innovative, something sustainable, something truly transformative for our city. Philadelphia is full of imagination and promise and we deserve so much better than what these developers are offering. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. Please state your name for the record and proceed.
Thank you, Commissioners. My name is Adam Shellhorse, District 1. 240963 is the resolution I'm addressing today. Thank you for listening to me. I just wanted to take a minute and just congratulate all these speakers who have spoken their mind with regard to our beautiful community, the Chinatown community as well as the city. Thank you so much. I want to give you guys applause just for the wonderful work. What this gentleman said, what the other gentleman said, so many are just memorable and I hope you guys go back and listen to these because I do. I went to the public hearing on the 21st and we had a very remarkable speaker from Temple University, Dr. Bill King, a pediatrician, who spoke at length and he said that this is a bad, bad, bad idea. And I quote it because he talked about how it would be the plan of a super villain to create such event gridlock. My name is Adam Shellhorse and I'm a Temple Professor and I made the comment that many of the City Commissioners were looking at their cell phones and being distracted while the people were talking. And I really hope that you guys will listen to the people because it's so important. I know you guys are Democrats. I know you guys want and mean well for the city and I thank you for your service to the city, but really these testimonies mean a lot and I hope you go back and listen and study it at length, because what Dr. Bill King said about event gridlock is probably the most serious issue at hand here in terms of you're going to cause death, right. You're going to create problems when you have 25-minute gridlock on night games and so forth. Another issue that I brought up in my previous study was that these stadiums are shortsighted. The D.C. example, the D.C. Arena, right. The Wizards wanted to move after less than 5 years. This is a trend nationally, 6 right. So we have to be careful 7 when we open up our city and let 8 teams come in because they're going 9 to want to move out again and what 10 have you done. Just think ahead. 11 What this gentleman was 12 saying, it's dystopian, right, that 13 all of a sudden you've destroyed 14 this ethnic hub that's so wonderful. 15 We all like to go to Chinatown and 16 for what, for 20 years of 17 basketball. I like what the 18 gentleman said, keep it in South 19 Philly, right. 20 So I want to continue here. The story of Philadelphia's Chinatown mirrors other Chinatowns across the nation, right. After the Wizards acquired Capital One arena where the city covered pre-development cost to acquire and demolish properties, entrepreneurs in Washington's Chinatown voiced concerns about prices of real estate skyrocketing and parking impacts on businesses in the area. A decade later in D.C. most Chinese residents were forced to move out due to unaffordable housing. The parking shortage led to the closure of the last Chinese grocery store, accelerating the decline of the Chinese American population in the area to fewer than 300 residents today. Ironically as D.C.'s arena now relocates to the suburbs that they're trying to the community is left behind having endured irreversible destruction while in the midst of its recovery from the pandemic. So I think D.C. is a very close example. We need to pay attention to that. These stadiums want to move all the time, right. And it's just all this destruction at what price, right --
I'm finishing right here. I just want to say please do the right thing. Say no to the arena. Say yes to these wonderful voices, your constituents. We're keeping up with y'all. We will vote you out if you do not support Chinatown and Philly. Representative Squilla -- (Applause.)
-- his brother is an official with the Carpenters Union and they are making back deals, right. So we don't, you know --
-- and this kind of thing we need to be careful. Thank you very much for Chinatown.
Will -- and I'm going to struggle with this pronunciation but I'll try -- Yingxian Chen Shellhorse, Mark T. Roberts, Marya Camilleri and Talia Young, please come forward. Yingxian Chen Shellhorse, Mark Roberts, Maria Camilleri and Talia Young, please come forward. You will each have two minutes to speak. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
You can please state your name for the record and proceed.
Sure. My name is Mark Roberts. My wife and are 20-year residents of Wash West. We oppose the arena. From the City Council website there is no stated purpose of public testimony but only that it is permitted at special meetings and for specific issues. Most people would think that that's for the public to give opinion, present facts or ask questions about the issues at hand. Also, unstated on the website is what City Council does with our testimony but hopefully they consider it. And that when legitimate, answerable questions are asked, there is some way of learning the answer to those questions. In all the testimony hearings on the arena project to date, we have heard a lot of serious questions put to and some even asked by City Council I can't list them all here but several come immediately to mind. Why are Chinatown's objections being left unaddressed? Will there or won't there be a support beam under an arena holding 18,000 fans? Where is the guarantee our loved ones are safe in an ambulance going to the Jeff Level 1 Trauma Center on an event day? When did the construction period go from three to six years? If 70 percent of residents don't want the arena why would trade union demands mean more to City Council than those of residents, especially since there'll be union jobs wherever this thing gets built. Even with the state's new millions, SEPTA cannot support the Sixers threshold of 40 percent transit arrivals to prevent crippling gridlock. So now what? There has not been an acceptable traffic report yet. Why not? Will even the Councilmembers questions of the Sixers be answered? My testimony question is how can the Council vote yes without the answer to these questions and many others. Basically my testimony is not questions. It's the answers that we -- where do we see the answers to all the questions that everybody's asking because you couldn't vote on what is present now. I don't understand how you could you could say, well, yes, but we're not sure if they're going to be able to put a beam to hold keep 18,000 people safe. So do the questions get answered before the vote? Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Thank you, City Council for having us. Everybody get up and stretch. We have been sitting for way too long. Everybody get up stretch your bodies, all of you, all of you --
But if people aren't paying attention it doesn't matter and I want people awake. My name is Talia Young. I live -- sorry, now I have to sit. I live in District 1. I have lived in the Gayborhood for more than years. 16 My kid was born at Pennsylvania 17 Hospital and goes to school in 18 Chinatown also in District 1. I'm a 19 small business owner and a teacher. 20 Perhaps you can tell, but I am here today as a parent. We are here to present our petition Parents of Philadelphia students against Center City 76 Place arena, which has 600 signatures representing children who attend more than 50 schools from all of the Council Districts across the city at a time when many of the Philadelphia District schools are in need of significant repairs, electrical upgrades, air-conditioning, asbestos removal. It is irresponsible and immoral for our City government to consider what amounts to a $1 billion tax break to three billionaires who do not even live in Philadelphia city limits. As we know, the proposed arena is on the doorstep of two historically marginalized communities, Chinatown and the neighborhood, and threatens their existence. Both of these neighborhoods provide our youth a safe haven from bullying, racism, homophobia and transphobia. This arena will also impact our families and children by six years of demolition and construction to breathing toxic air having to make alternative transportation plans through the very center of the city where all of our transit goes through, including Jefferson Rail Station, 11th Street El, the 45 and bus routes. While 10 critical city infrastructure such as 11 SEPTA faces an imminent debt spiral 12 in terms of public funding and 13 critical cuts. 14
19 Please state your name for the 20 record and proceed. 21
My name 22 is Marya Camilleri and I live in 23 Council District 3, Jamie's District, and I oppose Bill 240963. I'm going to read the rest of our petition. The Sixers plan to pay zero property taxes even though families across the city are struggling and our schools need that revenue to survive and thrive. The arena CBA offers a poultry amount of money for schools amounting to 1.50 per student. Shouldn't our kids be worth more than a pack of gum per year? The lack of transparency and stifling of parent, student and community engagement exhibited by the Philadelphia School Board and City Hall are not characteristic of a true democracy. We all expect our taxes to fund children's education and public infrastructure. We need not line the pockets of billionaires. We urge our City Councilmembers to put our kids and communities first. Vote no on the 76 Place arena. We had hundreds of comments, but we just wanted to highlight a few. One, the traffic is already bad. People will not be able to get to the hospital for emergencies. I delivered my baby in my car on 8th and Market on the way to Pennsylvania Hospital in 2022. Two, SEPTA is the school bus for a lot of middle and high school kids. A major disruption of the SEPTA system due to the construction renovation of Jefferson Station would likely have cascading effects on a broad swath of kids and families throughout Philly. Having all of the sports stadiums in South Philly is an effective way to allow easy access for those who wish to enjoy those events without negatively affecting the City Center. Three, I am both a parent of a student and a teacher in the School District. My classroom has crumbling plaster and warped floors, broken desks. Why are we funding an arena that is going to do great damage to the neighborhoods of my students when our schools are falling apart? Four, I'd like to demand a provision in the bills Council is considering that no bathroom in 76 Place can have a stall door until all the bathrooms and the kids' schools have stall doors.
Will Kaia Chau, Tyler Lian, Rachel Lewis and Jacqueline Wong, please come forward. Again, Kaia Chau, Tyler Lian, Rachel Lewis, Jacqueline Wong, please come forward. You will each have two minutes to speak. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
My name is Rachel Lewis and I'm a constituent of District 1 residing in Port Richmond. I love the city of Philadelphia and our sports teams. I'm also a homeowner and a taxpayer in the city, but most importantly I'm someone who has grave concerns about the proposed arena moving forward. Merriam-Webster defines the verb revitalize as to grow new life or vigor to something. While I think we can agree revitalization of Market East is important, are we okay to give new life at the detriment and destruction of another. I certainly do not trust the process being pushed forward to rush legislation of a proposed arena that would severely impact Chinatown as a community, provide tax benefits when we have critical funding needs, propose an insufficient CBA and strain SEPTA beyond current challenges. Earlier this year we had schools unable to operate due to extreme heat as a consequence of no 18 air-conditioning in their buildings and we have many schools facing closure. We should be ensuring that students have basic necessities to learn in a proper environment among many, many other critical issues in Philadelphia above pushing forward an arena proposal that will negatively disrupt our city's identity and citizens. I stand with the majority of people in Philly and ask that you please vote no to the arena proposal. Thank you.
I come here to speak as a union member and an activist in Chinatown and I'm also a senior, and unfortunately many, many seniors are not able to come to speak.
Please proceed. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you state your name before --
As a senior -- as a union member I understand why people want a job. They want to have a good living. Philadelphia is a town of unions. The brothers and sisters of our unions would not have no jobs. Regardless where the arena will be built it won't impact our union members. Chinatown is not just for the Chinese community. It's also for our immigrants from Southeast Asia. It's a vibrant community. Me personally I go to Chinatown every week to go grocery shopping, visit my friends and have dim sum with my friends, and it's also a place where whenever there's a holiday that's where we gather. In my heart Chinatown is a rather safe place. Fifty years ago the first time I stepped foot into the Philadelphia Chinatown as soon as I got there, I felt already comfortable and I felt an ease. Public safety is a particular concern to our District 4 Councilman Mr. Jones, District 8 Councilwoman Ms. Bass and District 10 Mr. O'Neill. We all know how important a safe place is. We do not want to bring destruction to such a safe place. Talking about myself, all my medical providers are all working in Jefferson. I'm a senior with diabetes and I also have difficulty with movements. If you were to build an arena at 10th Street and Market Street, it really will make me feel unsafe and I'm very unhappy about it. If I were to fall or have an accident, the emergency vehicle will not be able to make it through. Without the public transit, arena is not able to be built or be supported. Just two days ago Governor Shapiro promised to fund $153 million to SEPTA to prevent the hike in fare. Okay. However, the developers still want to use our taxpayer money to build the arena. In the public hearing on held on November 19th in 2024 SEPTA testified that in order to renovate the underground area of the SEPTA station to support the arena, it would require $50 million. After the arena to start operating SEPTA would require additional million 24 annually to regulate the schedule for the crowd control. As a union member of the PFT and the Principal union, in 2011 I personally witnessed the closures of many schools, including TSS. Right now the public schools of Philadelphia are facing the same issue. As Councilman Mr. Johnson mentioned, our public schools need funding to build better education, better future for our kids. So the whole world knows that Philadelphians love our sports teams. I'm very concerned that regardless -- whether in terms of the safety issue before and after game I'm very concerned. I feel that it's going to be quite unsafe. One more time.
And if the arena gets built, then for our other later generation they won't be able to see the existence of Chinatown. It will disappear gradually. Finally, I want to say please say no 4 to arena in heart of Center City. Please protect and love our next generation, our Chinatown. Reduce the traffic burden for the entire Philadelphia, improve public transit. At the end we all have to answer to our young ones for the decision we make today. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and proceed. Please state your name for the record and proceed. Yes.
My name is Donna Greenberg. I live in Council District 5 and I'll be speaking on Bill 240963. I'm 74 years old and a lifelong Philadelphian. I live not far from Chinatown. As a retired acupuncturist, I've spent many years in Chinatown's restaurants, shops and herbal stores. I know what a treasure this community is. Our city is great because of the richness that different cultures provide. We must protect them. None is more important than Chinatown, which is 150 years old. It has experienced many upheavals, including the one that split Chinatown in two to construct the Vine Street Expressway. That created traffic jams, safety problems and pollution. All of which will result if the proposed arena is built next to Chinatown. Deafening noise, destruction and debris will confront residents and businesses in Chinatown if they're forced to live through years of demolition and construction. This will make it hazardous for those who live and work in Chinatown to get around their community. Local patrons and tourists will stay away. Traffic will be heavier than it already is. Children will find it difficult to walk to their schools and neighborhood centers. This unique community will be torn apart. Its welcoming lively atmosphere will shut down as 50 percent of local restaurants and businesses stand to lose revenue. This will make it unaffordable for people in Chinatown to live and work leading to their displacement. One of the few remaining Chinatowns in the united States could disappear. Please say no to the arena. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you for your testimony. Will Yannick Trapman- O'Brien, Sarah Heim, Samantha Xander and Lauren McCutcheon, please come forward. Again, that's Yannick Trapman-O'Brien, Sarah Heim, Samantha Xander and Lauren McCutcheon, please come forward. You will each have two minutes to speak.
Thank you very much. My name is Yannick Trapman-O'Brien. I'm a West Philadelphia resident in the 3rd Congressional District and I work most days in Center City. The CBA claims it will provide funds to leverage new economic opportunity. But what is the lived cost of that opportunity. Who will pay for it and who will benefit from it? In that first panel we heard people talk about the importance of being neighborly. On top of all the disruptions previously mentioned the residents of Chinatown, the Gayborhood, Washington Square West, they've spent decades building intangible value with each other just like everyone here has done in their own neighborhoods. When we know our neighbors, when we make a ritual of having dim sum with our friends, when we know which houses have the best candy on Halloween, when we know exactly how long it will take to get to the corner store and grab one thing off the shelf and get home, when our children go to the same school building we did because it was not shut down, these are real things that materially benefit our lives. They have value. The CBA offers a limited financial investment, one they don't really want to budge on. But you can't just turn money into any of these things that I've described. Even with funding, rebuilding connections, living through years of traffic and construction and pollution, fighting to keep residents and businesses from being priced out to make sure residents feel safe in their neighborhood, working to not let the unique character of our neighborhoods become what we've heard described today as half-baked and boring Qdobas and McDonald's, all of that will take time, all of that will take energy and work. And the 76ers management will not do that work. Residents will have to and who will compensate them for that. The issue before us is not a referendum on just one development project. This is an auction where we are debating the market price of the value that Philadelphia's neighbors build with each other. And when developers inevitably come to see what profit they can seek out of your neighborhood, they will look to these proceedings to see what they can get away with. So I encourage every Councilmember here today and every resident in Philadelphia to listen very carefully to what each Councilmember says with their actions because they are telling us exactly what they think our neighborhoods are worth. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and proceed.
Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Heim. I'm a lifelong Philadelphia resident from East Mount Airy, District 8, a Central High School graduate and a current Penn student in urban studies. I'm here to testify in opposition to the proposed arena. The proposal itself and the entire process surrounding it has been utterly disrespectful, not only to the Chinatown community but to all Philadelphians. The Mayor announced her endorsement of the plan long before hearing public testimony and after repeatedly denying invitations from community leaders to visit Chinatown and discuss the proposal there. Instead she continues to call last minute meetings at City Hall even on the night of the Mid-autumn Festival. Mayor Parker and the developers don't even care to know the community they are intent on destroying. The developers have continued to insist that the arena will benefit the city, even after their own impact report demonstrates the expected harmful effects on nearby neighborhoods. Community members have expressed worries about displacement, noise pollution and poor air quality from construction and traffic congestion. Instead of responses to their concerns, residents were offered Sixers tickets in the Community Benefit Agreement negotiated between Mayor Parker and the developers without their input. They consider the dispossession and suffering of Philadelphians to be a viable business venture. Philadelphia does not tolerate this disrespect. 76 Place is just one of too many development projects that claims to know what's best for Philly. Chinatown has spoken. Philadelphia has spoken. City Council must listen. We do not want this arena. Don't let these billionaires or their political mouthpieces tell you otherwise. (Applause.)
Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and proceed.
Thank you. Good afternoon. I'm Samantha Xander. It doesn't look like my District Councilmember is here and we're missing others, so I do hope they listen later. I've waited a long time to speak and missing work to do so because I believe passionately in this issue. I live and pay property taxes in District and both me and my husband own businesses in this District. I'm a double Temple alum and my law firm services disabled residents of Philadelphia and beyond. Our child attends McCall, the public elementary school in the catchment of the proposed arena. We are Sixers fans, including my 12-year-old who loves basketball, plays it almost every single day and loves our team and goes to games. This is not about that. It's about the billionaire team owners who don't live here, who think they also own our city and can do as they please with it. When we first heard about this project, we had so many questions and still do. How could Center City possibly deal with that amount of traffic and parking? How would this type of project work when it caused chaos in other cities and destroyed other neighborhoods? Are they even listening to residents, business owners and area Trauma 1 hospital workers' concerns? Why knock down a newly built state-of-the-art affordable family-friendly movie theater and arcade that we frequent? How green is this project really? How will seasonal part-time low-paid jobs that folks just went on strike over contribute to and better our local economy? Why can't the builders get paid building somewhere else? How will they address the burden it causes with construction, traffic, congestion, pollution drunk drivers and costly SEPTA modifications? The answers to these questions and others are not good. You still have questions. Unfortunately the billionaire owners won't even sit at the table with you to discuss them. And the answers the representatives gave you were unsatisfactory, but this shouldn't be surprising because this is how they do business. It's about these billionaires making themselves more money. It's not about our city's best interest, our revenue and it never was. The CBA was a unilateral agreement with zero community input. I don't know why it has the word agreement in the title. As I was taught my first day of contract law, a contract requires a meeting of the minds. Last year some Sixers representatives came to McCall unannounced to parents, guardians and community members. Chinatown residents make up 60 percent approximately of our student population. David Adelman showed up and took photos with our principal and staff. The Sixers took unauthorized pictures of our kids getting $5 gift cards and adultsized t-shirts thrown at them. Pictures they ended up having to take down from social media because parents were upset about how this played out. This non-consensual behavior is in line with their plans to bulldoze over the rights of our communities without us having a seat at the table. Just like it was a joke to give out junk to our staff and kids at our beloved public school for a photo op, the CBA is also a joke and we are not laughing. As you know, a vast majority of Philadelphians oppose this project. I hope you reading the comments sections whenever a news source reports on the arena. It is the most unpopular project I have witnessed in my lifetime in Philly --
-- and this is the first time -- I pay my taxes. I will finish my last paragraph.
Our schools, public transit and housing systems -- I'm wrapping it up. Our schools, public transit and housing systems are in crisis and little things like SEPTA paying for passes or other menial measures won't fix it -- excuse me, Sixers paying for SEPTA passes and other menial measures won't fix it. And we are entirely uncertain what challenges the new federal administration will bring to our beautiful city. She needs protection and well-thought- out plans. I urge you to follow your hearts and instinct that something isn't right here. Slow down this process. Don't let them steamroll the city with bad deals that were never deals in the first place because they were never negotiated --
Mayor Parker admitted that she did not ask for more money up. I hope my -- last sentence. Thank you.
I have hope for my kid, my family, his friends, their families and our community safety, future prosperity and well- being. These billionaires do not have any of our interests at heart. Thank you.
Will Lauren McCutcheon, which I may have called once, Sergio Cea, Eric Kim and Eleanor Hyun, please come forward. Lauren McCutcheon, Sergio Cea, Eric Kim, Eleanor Hyun, please come forward. You will each have two minutes to speak. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
Good afternoon, please state your name for the record and proceed.
Good afternoon, Council. My name is Sergio Cea. I use I/he/him pronouns. I'm the Political Director of Reclaim Philadelphia, which is headquartered in Chinatown at 9th and Cherry. And I'm speaking to you while on PTO that I earned through my union contract under SEIU 668. Like many, I'm furious with how the Parker Administration has approached this process. The community was never involved in negotiations over this terrible deal that only benefits billionaires and neither was City Council. No one thinks the CBA is as strong or as powerful as it has been described. And as a Latino person and a queer person, our communities aren't even reflected in the CBA. I know this isn't just being forced down the throats of residents in Philadelphia but Council too. I empathize with y'all. I do, because I know City Councilmembers feel impotent right now, not having their schedules cleared out, not being able to introduce legislation for the change Philadelphians can see and feel, instead weeks wasted on a pet project for billionaires. As a political director, I have to note that Democrats suffered a landslide defeat this election, and it was because the Democratic party has been more invested in protecting the status quo and muddied interests instead of delivering for working-class people. This arena, if passed by City Council, will just be a reflection of greater problems in the Democratic party. Last week I heard a lot of great and tough questions from Councilmembers. If you don't negotiate for a better deal, how will you be able to look Philadelphians in the eye with a straight face. If you vote to support legislation now, how will you ask Philadelphians for their vote when they remember you sold out the last community of color all to line the pockets of billionaires. While we are struggling to make ends meet, while we are facing displacement from predatory development in Black and Brown neighborhoods across the city, our SEPTA fares will go up 7.5 percent starting December 1st next week, and SEPTA has said that the Sixers arena will cost SEPTA $20 to million a 7 year, and the funding Governor 8 Shapiro secured recently won't cover 9 that. It will only last us months, 10 not years. 11 Right now we should be 12 doing everything in our capacity to 13 deliver for Philadelphians 14 struggling to regain the trust of 15 voters for the midterms and beyond. 16 We should also be using this time to 17 prepare for and fight back against a 18 Trump Administration protecting 19 anyone who's at risk from losing 20 their civil rights or reproductive 21 freedom. The next election we will 22 know how you voted and what you 23 prioritize. There is still time to 24 decide. Which side are you on? Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Esteemed Councilpeople, Hearing Chair and staff, my name is El Hyun. I'm a resident of the 3rd District. After this most recent election I've been thinking about 2020, a year that also brought a lot of uncertainty and fear. In the midst of that fear and isolation, I started playing pickup volleyball with a small group of friends. So four years later this team is still going strong. We have membership from many neighborhoods and diverse backgrounds in Philadelphia. And for someone like me, this team actually means a lot. I moved here eight years ago and I don't have family in the area so people in my life like this team are the people I rely on to feel less lonely and to also get help when I need it. And I know this team would not exist in the way that it does without Chinatown. Every Monday we meet at the Chinatown Community Center to play a match and during the summer some of our members play with a Lady Suns volleyball team which is a part of a 50-year-old youth sports organization in Chinatown. I'm talking about this because I think it demonstrates something really important, which is that healthy communities protect and support other communities and communities are what are going to get us through tough times. When our support networks are compromised, we see the consequences down the line. We see more substance use. We see mental and physical health crises and we feel that we live in a less safe city. When one community is injured, it hurts all of us. So please, Councilmembers, and I'll speak directly to my District representative Jamie Gauthier who is here, please know that when you vote on this arena, you are not choosing between distinct interest groups. Chinatown, labor unions, Washington West, you are voting for all of us. Although I can see the appeal of short-term financial and employment gains that could come with this project, economic analyses and SEPTA's recent statements against the arena have convinced me that these gains will be short-lived and outweighed by unforeseen costs in the long run. I know the City needs more funds and more jobs. Let's meet those needs with a project that will support our communities and not tear them apart. Philadelphia deserves better. Thank you. (Applause.)
Will Christina Morton, Emily Goddard, Minh Nguyen and Anlin Wag, come to the table please. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
Thank you. Please state your name for the record and you may proceed.
Good afternoon. My name is Christina Morton and I live in District 1, the same district as the proposed arena. While I worry about how this project would affect the area I live in, I want to take a second to talk about an arena in a different area of the city, the proposed football stadium at Temple University which was brought up earlier in this meeting. You'll find a lot of similarities in community response in these two cases. A coalition of North Philadelphia churches and community groups quickly organized to oppose this project. In 2018 the President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the NAACP said "nothing can be worked out in North Central Philadelphia where residents are already there, where it would further disrupt the community from Temple's expansionist policies that have already taken place." The Stadium Stompers, a group made up of North Philadelphia community members, students and workers said "North Central Philadelphia has historically been a neighborhood of Black residents and if there is a massive stadium built on top of that neighborhood, it is going to displace people directly and raise the land and housing prices." Polls showed that 58 percent of students opposed the building of the stadium while 30 percent were in favor. For faculty 68 percent opposed it while only 11 percent were in favor. 12 Right now polls are 13 showing that around 70 percent of 14 Philadelphia residents are opposed 15 to the proposed arena we are here to 16 talk about today. The Temple 17 football stadium was not a done deal 18 when it was announced and this 19 Sixers arena is not a done deal 20 either. 21 Philadelphians do not 22 want stadiums. We want money for 23 SEPTA. We want school funding. We want community health resources. We want stable well-paying jobs, not the kind of seasonal low-wage jobs that stadiums create. Looking at the community impact analysis of the 76 Place proposal, a report commissioned by this very city government, researchers drew a couple of conclusions I would like to highlight. The report says "Impacts on Market East are inconclusive. With or without 76 Place the area will continue to face significant challenges to development and vibrancy. This stadium is not an insurance that this is going to revitalize Market East." It also says in relation to Chinatown "Due to impact on labor markets and small businesses, Chinatown's core ethnic identity could be significantly diminished or lost." I urge City Council to consider the message they are sending to this city's residents, the ones they are meant to represent if they vote to go forward with a project like this. We are not stupid. We see this project for what it is. We know the community benefits agreement is not sufficient. $37 per month per business over six years of construction is insulting. Its crumbs the ultra wealthy are offering in exchange for the chance to make millions off the back of the city's residents. The people of Philadelphia refuse to be bought and I hope the City Councilmembers refuse to bought as well. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you very much. Please state your name and please begin your testimony.
Good afternoon. My name is Emily Goddard. I live in District 3 and I'm speaking on Bill 240963. I have a Master's Degree in public health with a focus on environmental health and I oppose the proposed arena project. You've heard from numerous medical professionals about how the arena would hinder ambulance access to Jefferson ER and cost patients lives, but I also want you to consider the less visible health impacts. We've heard about the trouble of who is paying for the SEPTA updates. Without a clear plan for how SEPTA would function around the arena, gridlock traffic is highly likely of at least half, if not more, of arena events. Recent studies have found that in the U.S. gridlock accounts for over $124 billion in total economic costs, 8.5 million tons of CO2 emissions and over 50 hours lost by the average consumer or commuter annually. It causes local businesses to struggle, hinders delivery services and increases individual stress. Traffic is also the biggest source of air pollution which is responsible for up to 10 percent premature deaths in the U.S. each year um, and it can also lead to cardiac, respiratory and even neurological health problems. More gridlock in Philly from the arena means more time wasted, more economic losses, more carbon in the atmosphere and more Philadelphians choking on smog. We are also in a growing climate crisis which is causing more extreme weather events such as our current drought that's bringing wildfires and smoky air to Philadelphia. The construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases accounting for 37 percent of global emissions, which also causes air and water pollution that have negative impacts on health. While sustainable arena development is very much possible, as we can see with Seattle's Climate Pledge arena, 76 DevCo has made no mention of incorporating any sustainability measures or practices into the construction or operation of 76 Place. This arena can't be world class if it's massively contributing to climate change, which the WHO calls the greatest health threat of our time. We had economic and traffic impact studies, but we also need environmental and health impact studies too. I urge City Council please don't vote to approve this project. Take the time to negotiate with 76 DevCo to build sustainably and put environmental health protections in place. I love Philadelphia and I care so deeply about this city and the people in it. If we truly want a cleaner and greener Philadelphia, we need to stop this rush process. Please City Council don't vote to approve a project that would not only take money away from our schools and our public transit but also harm the health of every Philadelphian. Thank you. (Applause.)
State your for the record and please begin your testimony.
Minh Nguyen, resident of the 2nd District under City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson. These have been such incredible testimonies. Everyone has been so inspiring today. My name is Minh Nguyen. I am a realtor with Keller Williams and (inaudible) with over 2,000 realtors and offices in five states. We serve clients in PA, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York. Out of the 1100 Keller Williams franchises across North America, we're number two in production, projected to close over $4 billion in total volume production this year, and we're number one in recruitment. I served as the Technology Chair DEI Committee and Finance Chair. I'm on the DEI Committee of the Pennsylvania Association Realtors and a member of the Greater Philadelphia Association Realtors. I'm also the Secretary and Policy Chair of the Local chapter of the Asian Real Estate Association of America. We have 45 chapters, 19,000 members, 51 ethnicities and languages in North America. 2 Lastly, I'm on the board of a 3 political organization that elects 4 LGBTQ candidates for office, and 5 we've endorsed several candidates, 6 several members of this Council. 7 I've been a judge of Elections for 8 over seven years in the 40th Ward. 9 So I just want to say I'm 10 speaking today independently and the views and opinions expressed in this testimony are of my own. Let me just start by saying that we must be a city that has the courage to do big things. We believe that housing is a human right, that we envision a world free of housing discrimination and free of homelessness. We must create housing and real estate infrastructure that supports individuals and communities of all socioeconomic conditions and we must invest in smart and holistic development, affordable housing, commercial-mixed corridor revitalization and infrastructure projects and transportation hubs to positively impact all communities. The Chinatown community has had a history of organizing from the Vine Expressway to two casino development proposals to anti-bias violence in public schools and now to the 76ers development. Y'all are incredible and shout out to all of the work y'all have been doing. It has been so inspiring. Their courage, resilience and power has been felt throughout the decades and I stand with you. As a Vietnamese American, Chinatown has been core to my identity and awareness as an Asian American and the Gayborhood has been instrumental to my identity as a Gasian. We have reviewed impact studies and reports summarizing the assessments of the impact on this arena, and I've compiled after research and consultations with Chinatown developers and small business owners some concerns and some demands. So real quick, Concern No. 1, impacts in the spirit and legacy of Chinatown's culture, organizations and communities. Impact No. 2, parking, traffic and the transportation system. Impact 3, quality of life in the environmental ecosystem of Market East, residents and businesses, Chinatown, Washington Square West neighborhood and other communities for impacts on the healthcare system, including Jefferson. My sister works in a mental health nonprofit working on services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and she has expressed her discontentment with the development and this impact on victim services. Impacts on City services impacts on the viability of sustainable jobs and impacts on small business owners and the artificial inflation of property assessment which will increase property taxes and also increase rent which might lead to displacement of tenants in Chinatown. So there are 10 demands, and I'll submit this to the public record and I'll send this to your emails and also to your offices.
But voting against the development proposal in December 19th renegotiating terms, conditions to include community organizations and CBA meetings and negotiations, appropriate allocations and accountability of the $50 million Community Benefits Agreement, three, policy, create police substation safety networks for feasibility studies and mandates the construction scope of work and cost review by CSL to be approved by the City's finance office. Five, implements tax abatements, exemptions, freezes on existing buildings and OPA oversight and monitoring on the assessment schedules, six, connect parking bridge to Chinatown, the subdivision development to incentivize business traffic to Chinatown, implement rent control or rental mitigation standards and constructing of a civil engineering plan for the traffic and safety routes for the hospital systems. Thank you so much and thank you for everyone's amazing work.
Thank you very much. Will Mr. Christmas please call the last panel.
Will Edward Bell, Brandon Blue, Kimberly Cook and Terrence Washington, please come forward. Edward Bell, Brandon Blue, Kimberly Cook, Terrence Washington, please come forward. You will each have two minutes to speak. (Witnesses approached Witness table.)
Please state your name for the record and begin your testimony.
Hi. I'm Edward Bell. I live in District 1 and I am here to talk about Bill 15 240963. I'm an architect and a member of Queen Village Neighbors Association. I'd like to talk about quality of life in Center City. I came to Philadelphia 30 years ago and I have done a residential, commercial and institutional work in my life here. When my wife was admitted to Penn and after hearing Ed Bacon speak about city planning in Philadelphia and his work to improve Center City, its livability and his efforts to integrate its public transportation systems, his plan was successful and turned around the decades of neglect and abandonment, which made Center City and Society Hill livable again. And for that, he was recognized nationally and featured on the cover of the Time Magazine 1964 edition as the Man of the Year. Coming from Colorado, I was used to car aesthetic and owned and drove two, not because I wanted to but so much is because I needed them for my work. With my arrival here I was immediately struck by how easy it was to get around in Center City and I gladly gave up my cars and became an urbanite. We decided to move into Center City and to rent an apartment later by a house and started our professional lives here rather than move back to the place I considered home. Why you might ask? Because it worked, it was convenient. Center City was a walkable 20-minute city, a pleasant place where people could walk from home to work. We didn't own a car for about years. 10 My wife walked to Penn 11 Hospital at 8th and Spruce from our 12 house in Queen Village to deliver 13 our first and second sons. I make 14 these points because we're short on 15 time and you will either understand 16 what I'm saying or scratch your head 17 in disbelief that a nearly carless 18 lifestyle might be desirable. 19 If you are the latter, 20 you probably don't live in Center 21 City. And what we have not heard 22 from these developers is how their 23 plans will make our lives better, 24 more pleasant, more convenient, richer or more productive. And I think the reason is they probably know that putting an occasionally used arena on Market Street is equivalent to putting a cork in the middle of Center City's transit system. Importantly, it will also endanger the lives of patients trying to get urgent medical attention during peak traffic times. Ladies and gentlemen of the Council, please do not give up our gains. I urge you to think of the greater good. The relocation of Sixers arena to Center City will benefit few and do little to make life in Philadelphia better. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. Please state your name for the record and please begin your testimony.
Good afternoon. My name is Anlin Wang and I live in Councilmember Phillips District. Thank you for this opportunity to speak about the arena proposal. I've been in Philly for the last dozen years. I'm proud to call this place my home. I'm particularly proud of this City Council for standing up for Philadelphians against the threat of Donald Trump in this past election. And one of the things I'm concerned about with the new Trump Administration they say they're going to start this new department called the Department of Government Efficiency designed to impose mass cuts to public supports across the country. One of the guys that's selected to lead this department has said that he is inspired by the current President of Argentina. He said, he's going to make that guy look like a moderate. This is a guy who in one year has increased the poverty rate of Argentina by 50 percent. That is the threat that we are facing here in Philadelphia as well as the poorest big city in this country, already a stat that I hear cited in these halls all the time. But instead of preparing for that threat, I am dismayed to see this current Mayor's Administration try and push through another project just to support billionaires and their small group of investors and cronies instead of the working people of Philadelphia. That philosophy is what lost the Democrats this election to begin with. It is frustrating to see it continue. But that said, I have hope and faith that this City Council will see the light and reverse course on the arena. Another reason to oppose the arena though is the guaranteed destruction of Chinatown. What the Sixers and the arena advocates have brought forward is that no, no, no, we have the CBA, it will protect Chinatown, but a CBA did not protect Washington D.C.'s Chinatown, and that's because nobody is forced out of their homes at the barrel of a gun. Rather they're forced out of their homes by the attraction offered by the free market. Imagine you are a working or middle class person. All of a sudden your home, your business value doubles in price. Who wouldn't say no. We've worked so hard our whole lives to take care of ourselves and our families. And so, that's why that offer is irresistible. Last thing I'll point out here real quick is look at the turnout, where is the pro arena crowd a few hours into the hearing. They're not here. And yet the evening hearings, they're all packed with people who oppose the arena. Why is that? Because it's a life or death struggle for us. So this fight is guaranteed to continue as long as the arena project continues. When the arena bill is dead, then you get peace back. Thanks very much for your time and please (inaudible). (Applause.)
Thank you very much for your time. Please state your name for the record and please begin.
Terrence Washington. Thanks for having me. I moved to Philly just two years ago to work at the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. I used to run One Book One Philadelphia. I live in District 3. My first year here year we read the book Interior Chinatown and everyone who was in Council at the time has a copy. And we chose it in part because we felt like some of the conversation around the arena proposal assumed that Asian Americans or Chinatown residents more generally were less American or less Philadelphian than everybody else. That's wrong. It's terribly messed up. I'll say again -- I mean, look, you should listen to Mr. Calvin Williams, you should listen to so many people who've said much more important things than I'm about to say about the schools here. But I'll say as a transplant I grew up in South Carolina as a fan of the Charlotte Hornets, Larry Johnson to be specific. A city can survive a team leaving. The Sixers are betting that the Philadelphia will give whatever they want to keep them from leaving. Charlotte got another team in two years. They got the name back in more. It's doable. I 8 guess the last thing I'll say is 9 that I don't actually think it's 10 possible to have a fair deal with billionaires. They become billionaires by turning all of our resources into their money. We're all in here on a work day discussing how much we should let them lower their tax rate when they're going to go and get what ends up being our tax money from the state and the federal government to try and push through their project. This whole thing has been insulting. I would say that if I were in a union I would be incensed at the way this process has happened and I wouldn't wish it on anybody else, late meetings, no information, all of that. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
I want to say first and foremost. Thank you, Council President Johnson and Councilmembers, for allowing we the people to speak on this proposal arena. Hello. My name is Colleen Ott. I'm of District 9. I am the Autistic Art Coalition of Philadelphia, Founder and CEO. I'm a retired EMT of Philadelphia and the tri-state area of 13 years. Our second location is in Chinatown at 112 North 8th Street inside of Liberty Resources where I am a consumer too. Two years ago the City of Philadelphia set the standard as the first certified sensory inclusive city in the united States as being a beacon on the right hand of history with autistic neurodivergent and/or intellectual disability individuals of all ages and all walks of life. This past weekend in West Philadelphia and at the Lucian Blackwell Community Center I had several conversations with people. I asked the question what do you think about the arena, including community partners such as the Philadelphia Autism Project who had the same (inaudible) as 40 others I had conversations with from North, South, East, West Philadelphians who opposed the arena proposal, but one person was not in agreement of the arena from November 1st to today. As a disabled individual, this causes disruption, not sensory- compliant. Thank you for letting me speak. Have a great day. Peace. (Applause.)
Thank you, colleague. Please state your name for the record and begin your testimony.
My name is Kimberly Cook and I live in the 3rd District. And I'm actually not reading the testimony that I had prepared for today. I would like to instead respond to Councilmember Bass's, who's not here right now, question earlier about all of the unanswered questions. There's a lot so I'm going to read very fast and fit in as many as I can in my time. Why won't the billionaire developers give a single dollar more than the measly 50 million in CBA? Why did the City just accept the developers' starting position from 2022? Why is the Mayor refusing to negotiate a better deal? Why were Councilmembers not invited to the CBA negotiations who are supposed to be present in those spaces to represent their constituents? Why were the impacted communities not involved in the CBA? Why are the Sixers refusing to share their sublease with the City? Why are the Sixers' job projections so wildly different from the City's projections? Why do they keep lowering projected revenue that they think they'll make? How many new jobs will the arena actually create? What kind of jobs will they be, permanent, full-time? What is the net impact on jobs when we take into account loss jobs? What happens if the Sixers don't honor the EOP? Why should we trust their EOP when in 2024 only 3 percent of the Sixers suppliers and vendors were certified minority-owned? And why should we trust them when they only employ nine people from Camden when they promised to employ 250? Why should we give up over $400 million in property taxes to three billionaires that should be going to our schools? What is the City's plan for when the arena wipes out 100 billion in tax revenue from small businesses near the arena? How can we guarantee that traffic will not impact people in dire health in emergencies trying to get to Jeff? Who is paying for the $25 million increase in necessary additional annual funding for SEPTA? Who is paying for the hidden cost to upgrades to sidewalks, street lamps, trash cans and other infrastructure costs? Who is paying for the additional City worker staff that will be necessary for trash pickup, trash enforcement and street maintenance? Why is City Council relying on an economic impact study that admits it "should not be relied on"? How is a comparison of arena drivers to New York City realistic when only 46 percent of New Yorkers own cars compared to 71 percent in Philadelphia? How much of our state tax dollars will the Sixers be seeking? Why are so many aspects of the Sixers' master plan not flushed out? And without an absolutely 100 percent complete crosschecked clear plan, why are we even putting this up for vote? And why are we selling out our city for an insulting $50 million to a few billionaires against the will of the people? (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record and please begin your testimony.
-- City Councilmen and staff. My name is Brandon Blue. I am from Montgomery County. I am an up and coming architect and I have been working with local architect firms such as Design Philadelphia and PhilaNOMA. I am also a recent graduate at Temple University. For the past two weeks I did some research regarding the economic impacts of constructing a downtown arena. Using sources from many different articles and peer- reviewed essays, I have found some damning evidence from which it is imperative to share with the City Council and the people of this great city. Based on the sources from J.C. Bradbury's The Impact of Professional Sports Franchises and Venues on Local Economies, a comprehensive survey, the universal consensus is that there are no 11 significant positive impacts regarding to the construction and operation of a downtown arena. Therefore, there are no significant economic impacts to their surrounding communities after the arena has been built. Proponents of the sports arena typically exaggerate the financial benefits to gain more support from City officials to help fund these projects. Team owners and proprietors use the people's support for their favorite team to blind them from the truth, the truth being that construction and stadium operational jobs are mostly temporary and do not provide enough wages for substantial financial security. Local communities and businesses are at risk of displacement and could suffer from negative economic impacts if local businesses do not pertain to sports- adjacent businesses like bars, restaurants and local entertainment. With the addition of this new arena, local communities will lose their identities and only percent to 50 17 percent of businesses might survive. 18 SEPTA, Philadelphia's 19 primary provider of public transit, 20 is an authority that is devastatingly underfunded. Even with the government's flexing of highway funds to SEPTA, it would still nearly impact the authority. It would have to bear the massive cost of renovations to Jefferson Station and the increased demand for new trains, all for a whopping $20 million to $25 million. And do you honestly think for a second that only 40 percent of people will drive to this arena? I have it up -- considering that the United States is an extremely car-dependent nation, traffic hellscapes in the city would be overwhelmingly guaranteed. So for all these reasons I cannot in great consciousness support this arena and the community funds go from 50 million to 100 to an insulting 130 million, and it's just the funding is completely like unclear, unprecise. And to the Black and Brown communities who support this project that will always be disenfranchised, always be the displaced by billionaires who intend to always keep us out of earning even a quarter of what these billionaires make, why? Why are we trusting these billionaires to provide gentrified communities with jobs and economic security? In fact, one of the owners of the Sixers, David Adelman, was literally the guy who caused the gentrification of a predominantly Black community to stop student housing for Penn's campus. Wait, just one more thing. And let me be clear, if you have not learned anything from all these incredible, clear testimonies against the arena today, I want you to keep this following statement in mind. If you still wish to approve this arena, you are denying the integrity, dignity and genuine opportunities to not only Chinatown, not only the Black and Brown working-class communities in the city, not only the School Districts, not only SEPTA and not only the health care providers but also the entire community and new Councilmembers supporting this would support and sustain the moniker that Philadelphia is the largest poor city in the U.S. So let's be clear, this is not NIMBYism. These are real concerns. So let us be real that these promises are fantasy. Thank you. (Applause.)
Thank you. This concludes the hearing for Bill Nos. 240963 and 240964. There being no further questions from members of the Committee and no other witnesses on the list to testify, I want to thank all the witnesses who came in today for their participation. We surely value your opinion. We will now go into our public meeting to consider the action to be taken on Bill Nos. 240963 and 240964. Mr. Christmas, will you please take the roll.
Present. Thank you, Mr. Christmas. A quorum of this Committee is present. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla for an amendment to Bill No. 240964.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman -- thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move -- I offer an amendment to Bill No. 240964. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the Committee and I move for its adoption. (Duly seconded.)
The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Thomas seconds the motion. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The amendment to Bill No. 240964 is adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion on Bill No. 240964 as amended.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Bill No. 15 240964 as amended be reported from this Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit the first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Driscoll seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 4 240964 as amended be reported from this Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Three nos? Still for the record do a roll call vote. Councilmember -
Can I offer a brief comment before I register my vote?
Thank you, Council President. I remain undecided on the Arena project overall. I remain committed to participating in an engaged manner in all of these proceedings and given whatever input I can as these negotiations go forward. However, at this point I have too many important unaddressed questions and concerns to vote to move any legislation out of this body. And my vote is nay. (Applause.)
Excuse me for a second. We let everybody have the opportunity to give their public comment respectfully. Can we just conduct the business in a respectful manner. That's all we're saying. That's why we set it up for a tremendous amount of opportunity for people to come down and give their perspective, pro or con, as we go through this legislative process. And I just ask that respectfully. Please call the roll.
Councilman O'Neill is absent. Council Lady Gilmore Richardson is absent. Councilman Thomas.
Council President, can I also have the floor for one second?
Briefly. Thank you so much. I remain committed to all negotiations. I am currently undecided for the unanswered questions. And for the lack of support and financial resources for the impact of the communities, I'm a nay.
Bill No. 240964 as amended will be reported from this Committee with a favorable recommendation and suspension of the rules to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion on Bill No. 240963.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Bill No. 4 240963 be reported from this Committee with a favorable recommendation and further move the rules of Council be suspended to permit the first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
The Chair notes for the record that Councilmember Driscoll seconds the motion. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 17 240963 be reported from this Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
For the record it's the same 3 that opposed the initial bill, right, that's correct? (Yes.)
So for the record the ayes are 10 and the nays are 3. The ayes have it, and Bill No. 240963 will be reported from this Committee with a favorable recommendation and the suspension of the rules to permit first reading of this bill at our next session of Council. This concludes the business before the Committee of the Whole for today. I recognize Councilmember Squilla for a motion to recess the public hearing on the following bills: 240966, 240967, 240968, 240969, 240970, 240971, 240972 and 240973 to Monday, December 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
It has been moved and properly seconded that the public hearing on Bill Nos. 240966, 240967, 240968, 240969, 240970, 240971, 240972 and 240973 be recessed to Monday, December 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. The public hearing on Bill Nos. 240966, 240967, 240 -- we're not finished yet. Be quiet please -- 240968, 240969, 240970, 240971, 240972 and 240973 stands in recess until Monday, December 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Thank you all very much for your participation today and have a blessed Thanksgiving. (Committee of the Whole concluded at 4:53 p.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL