Following last night's emotionally charged casino meeting in Chinatown yesterday, Brian Abernathy, an aide to Councilman Frank DiCicco, sent out a long letter laying out his boss' point of view on the proposal to move the Foxwoods Casino from the waterfront to the Gallery. Take a look at what he wrote:

"As many of you know, the Councilman, Representative O’Brien and the Mayor’s Office hosted a meeting in Chinatown, last night. As reported, it was extremely emotional. Our goal was to begin a dialogue and I think we took positive steps in that direction.

Unfortunately, much of the information we wanted to share got lost in the passion of the community. I wanted to take this opportunity to share what information I have with all of you.

The Councilman sees some potential in the proposed Gallery development. He sees the opportunity to reenergize Market East, of leveraging private investment and securing better infrastructure for Chinatown and Wash West.

Having said that, he also recognizes the many challenges this proposal faces: traffic, parking, social concerns, and public safety, among others.

We know that, unless those challenges are resolved, then this project can not move forward. Simultaneously, the Councilman feels that we need to begin a process that allows the City and our residents to fully explore both the opportunities and the challenges that Foxwoods presents.

The beginning of this process will be the introduction of zoning legislation next Thursday, October 16. This legislation will amend the Commercial Entertainment District zoning classification to create design guidelines that are appropriate for a Center City casino. In addition, a second bill will alter the zoning classification of the Gallery to CED.

It is important to know that should this legislation pass, Foxwoods still will not have the ability to pull zoning or construction permits. The CED zoning classification requires that Foxwoods submit and that the Planning Commission and City Council approve a Plan of Development. Currently, it is unclear if and when that Plan will be submitted.

In other words, if Foxwoods fails to provide adequate plans or the City determines that this is an inappropriate location, then we still have the opportunity to abandon the project.

Throughout the next few weeks, the City is creating several opportunities for formal public comment. On October 21st, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on this proposal and the introduction of zoning legislation. In addition, to improve accessibility, City Council will hold a public hearing on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, the City has requested that private organizations host a public forum to independently evaluate the potential of the Foxwoods proposal. We expect that forum to occur the last week of October.

I know that some will see the introduction of this legislation as a sign of the Councilman’s support, will accuse us of participating in backroom deals and will claim that this is a “done deal.”

There’s nothing we can do to combat that rhetoric. However, you have our commitment that we will provide information to you as it becomes available and will do everything we can to maintain a public process. The Councilman comes to this discussion with an open mind - intrigued by the proposal but certainly not sold on it.

Our job throughout this process has been and will continue to be to keep doors open. The Councilman believes that, should he not introduce this legislation, then doors would close.

For two years, the City has battled the State on gaming. In order for them to take this proposal seriously, they need a sign of good faith from the City that we are taking this proposal seriously, as well.

If we fail to provide that sign, the Courts will make decisions on our behalf just as they are making those decisions on the SugarHouse project. We can’t allow that to happen.

Over the past two years, Councilman DiCicco has learned a valuable lesson – it’s better to be at the table than locked out of the room.

When Foxwoods originally won its license in January 2006, the community groups in close proximity to the site insisted that no elected official meet with them. As such, the Councilman didn’t. We didn’t know what their plans looked like. We weren’t involved in the agreement Foxwoods signed with the City. The Councilman wasn’t at the table and he wasn’t in the room.

That was a mistake.

Without being in the room, it’s impossible for the Councilman to do his job: to do everything he can to protect the constituents affected by this project and to create the best project for the City as a whole.

As always, I’m happy to answer questions or address concerns. Please feel free to forward this message to others."

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.