October 25, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance (formerly the Delaware River Neighborhood Alliance") condemns the decision of the SugarHouse casino to file a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia and its City Council.
Council members, by supporting and protecting the interests and well-being of their constituents -- the residents of Philadelphia – are simply doing the job for which they were elected by the citizens of Philadelphia.
SugarHouse, on the other hand, backed by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm and other non-Philadelphia investors, is only looking for financial gain at the expense of those who live and work in the City.
“This is a desperate measure. The reason that SugarHouse has encountered so many obstacles and roadblocks is because of massive community opposition to building a huge slots parlor on our waterfront in the midst of a thriving densely-populated neighborhood,” said Rosanne Loesch of Society Hill. “SugarHouse is undermining the democratic process by asking the court to intervene in a local land use issue.”
SugarHouse faces many more roadblocks before it can break ground, including state and federal environmental permit regulations, as well as additional traffic studies. Furthermore, SugarHouse does not control the land it needs for construction, as it requires riparian lands currently owned by the Commonwealth. Representative Mike O'Brien has stated that he will not introduce legislation to give SugarHouse the riparian lands it needs until it addresses the concerns of Philadelphians.
The Alliance is a coalition of 25 longstanding neighborhood groups representing over 250,000 Philadelphians joined in an effort to protect our communities and support responsible development within our city. The Alliance is not anti-casino, we support the resiting of Foxwoods and SugarHouse because casinos do not belong within 1,500’ of anyone's neighborhood.
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