City Councilman Frank DiCicco will call this morning for a final vote on a zoning change needed for Foxwoods to open a casino in the former Strawbridge & Clothier department store at 8th and Market streets. That comes, even though Foxwoods doesn't have a lease to open in the former store and has not asked the state Gaming Control Board to approve its relocation from a South Philly location. And a dispute between the two companies that control the former department store has not been settled.
"That's an issue that the two parties have to deal with," DiCicco said of the dispute just before the start of Council's session. "I'm not going to be a player in that issue."
That's a change from one month ago, when zoning to convert the former store to a Commercial Entertainment District was approved by a Council committee. DiCicco warned on May 13 that the zoning would not go forward for a final vote until the outstanding issues were settled. The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which wants to lease the store to Foxwoods, has not settled a dispute with Gramercy Capital Corp., which controls the building's upper floors.
Unlike previous votes on casino issues, Council's chambers are not packed with anti-gaming protesters. Jethro Heiko, a founder of Casino-Free Philadelphia, listened in as DiCicco explained the zoning vote to reporters. He then accused DiCicco of "laying down" for the casino's investors. DiCicco ignored him.
UPDATE, 12:10 pm: Council just unanimously approved the zoning, but not before five people, including Heiko and activists from Chinatown, stood and shouted complaints. They were escorted from Council's chambers.
“This is a significant step forward for Foxwoods but it is not their final hurdle," DiCicco said just before the vote, noting the still outstanding issues.
"Bringing addiction to our city," shouted Ellen Somekawa of Asian Americans United as she left Council's chambers. "What are you people thinking?"
Illegal gambling is rife in all of Philly. There are even illegal slots houses that operate with impunity, controlled by organized crime, and that crime destabilizes Philly to the point of reaching into politics. Club Noche of South Philly, now shuttered, was an illegal slots house operated by elements affiliated with the Cosa Nostra. The lawyer for that defunct illegal gambling bar cut a check for Seth Williams which was returned, from the "Italian American Benevolence Society." Make no mistake, it's not just the old remnant of the Italian mafia operating illegal slots parlors in Philly. There was one in my neighborhood run by the family of AA numbers runners. We had to all complain because there started to be shootings outside of it. (The son was lending to drug dealers who then tried to do things like sports betting with the proceeds. Losses hit hard). ILLEGAL gaming in Philly is a much worse problem, and I've seen he slug casings on the street to prove it the next day. I want legal gaming that shunts money to the state. If there is one good place to put a slots house, it's Philly. Let's displace and end the criminal gambling element here. Why isn't Heiko advocating for tough, open, vetted gaming investment requirements?— CleanupPhilly- DiCicco, you are a tool! It was not OK to put the casino in South Philly, your turf, but it's ok to put it next to Chinatown. DROP DiCicco and the rest of City Council.— SayHello2MyLittleFriend
- So now Councilman DiCicco is arguing with himself! "Gosh darn it, I'm a flip-flopper and I'm just not going to take it anymore. Someone has go to stop me, and that someone is me. And, if I don't like it, I've got another thing coming."— NotADoneDeal
- I can't wait for Foxwoods to move to 8th and Market and go belly up. These idiots are not from Philly or they would know, no one in their right mind would go to 8th and Market at night.— PhillyS1980
- If ever I voted for any of these people--especially Frank DiCicco, I sorely regret it now...and it will never happen again. Casinos do not belong in neighborhoods! Nutter campaigned with one stance, then switched after the election. Does he think we don't remember?— RamonaJ
- The Foxwoods casino belongs on the waterfront. This approach will foster more development between SugarHouse and southern Penns Landing.— equalityman
- Someone(s) getting paid off BIG TIME to put this casino beast in the S&C bulding. What an embarassment to turn that downtown anchor into nothing more than a gambling hall ready for people who will never come. I agree: Can the mayor and city council in the fall.— FishTownForever
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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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