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Friday, August 22, 2008

BREAKING NEWS: Supremes Rule For SugarHouse On Riverfront

A rendering of the proposed SugarHouse casino.

The glow of potential victory for the city in the long-running battle about two controversial casino locations did not last very long. The state Supreme Court today sided with SugarHouse in its fight to build a casino on the banks of the Delaware River in Fishtown. That blow to the city came one day after Foxwoods agreed to consider leaving the Delaware riverfront in South Philly.

The city, under Mayor Street last year, granted SugarHouse a long-term license to build on state-owned "riparian land" along the riverfront. Half of SugarHouse's 22 acres on Delaware Avenue at Shackamaxon Street are riparian lands. Mayor Nutter revoked that license when he took office in January, first claiming it had been granted incorrectly and later claiming the city didn't have the authority to grant it at all.

A majority of the court disagreed, saying "The city did indeed have the authority to issue the license that is the subject of this dispute, and that the city's attempted revocation of the license so issued was invalid." Two justices, Thomas Saylor and Seamus McCaffery, dissented.

Posted by Chris Brennan @ 5:44 PM Permalink | 14 comments

Comments

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:33 AM, 08/23/2008

Seats on our courts should not be elected offices. When we have a meritocracy in our courts, we will have legitimacy in any ruling they render.

— Echo

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:06 PM, 08/23/2008

Mayor Nutter, Terry Gillen and the rest of his "staff" need to STOP WASTING MONEY on blocking one of the biggest job producing, revenue producing industries to come to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. How nice that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being poured into the pockets of high-priced lawyers, scratching the bottom to find ridiculous reasons to block SugarHouse from building. I'm glad we are that rich a city! LISTEN, as Robert from Center City says: FACT: Casino Gambling was approved by Pennsylvania voters. FACT: The largest civic association in Fishtown (600+) welcomes this project. Soon, this costly dog and pony show will be over and real development can begin.

— FishTownForever

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:19 PM, 08/23/2008

FACT: "FACT" is not "The largest civic association in Fishtown". "FACT" ("Facts According to Casino Topdogs") was created to represent Neil Bluhm's interests in the form of a "grassroots" organization, an old trick corporations use in order to pretend they have local support.

— jlemm

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:20 PM, 08/23/2008

Jlame believes she can say any slanderous thing and it becomes a FACT. I suggest Jlame either contact the DA to investigate these (ridiculous) accusations, or post them in the STAR or SPIRIT with his/her own name and invite our 600+ non-existant members to appear on his/her door step. We'll see whether or not FACT is Real, Grassroots and Strong. It's so easy to hide behind a screenname and malign people. FACT is, never in our wildest dreams did we expect the turnout and support Fishtown Action has received for our resident population. Jlame needs to cook up a reason for FACT's strength, divorced from the truth, because a true grassroots movement doesn't fit the picture of the imported "grassroots" organizers who recently appeared on the scene to do battle with SH. I suggest she worry less about 80y/o life time residents who support SugarHouse, and question which rock these Johnny-Come-Lately community organizers crawled out from under. They'll be on to their next challenge shortly. Mark my words.

— FishTownForever

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:10 AM, 08/25/2008

"It's so easy to hide behind a screenname and malign people." That's right, like you have been doing regarding J. Heiko and the anti-casino movement in Fishtown.

— jlemm

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:54 AM, 08/25/2008

Nope. I posted my comments openly in the STAR and SPIRIT with my name. I am not the one in hiding. I also never accused JH of anything. But if you draw a line from my criticism of sleezy behaviors to JH, -that's interesting.

— FishTownForever

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:28 PM, 08/25/2008

FACTForever, now you are lying. Your slanderous remarks about JH are online here for everybody to see.

— jlemm

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 4:37 PM, 08/25/2008

Where?

— FishTownForever

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:47 PM, 08/25/2008

"invite our 600+ non-existant members to appear on his/her door step." I never said these people don't exist. Shamefully enough, they do exist. Fishtown is the only neighborhood that has an organization that betrays its neighbors and is in bed with casino operators. No other neighborhood has sunk so low.

— jlemm

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 10:57 AM, 08/26/2008

"Where?" FishtownForever you want to know where you made your slanderous remarks against JH? Right here: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/27009354.html

— jlemm

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:42 PM, 08/26/2008

You call that "Slander"? Slander is a malicious or false statement. I wrote what I experienced and saw for myself, as distasteful at it was. Anyone who moves into a neighborhood as tight and well organized as Fishtown, annoucing they have "arrived to organize" us is, well, ...you draw your own conclusions. I have drawn mine.

— FishTownForever

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 6:51 PM, 08/26/2008

If what you wrote is not slander, then neither is what I wrote "slanderous". Anyone who joins forces with casino operators and negotiates with them in the name of a whole neighborhood as if they represented it is, well... you draw your own conclusions. I have drawn mine.

— jlemm

14 comments

About The Philly Clout Team

Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com

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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.

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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.

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