My column today about the community benefits agreement signed by SugarHouse casino focused on an intriguing point made by Maggie O'Brien, president of Fishtown Action (FACT), a pro-casino advocacy group.
FACT enthusiastically supports SugarHouse, which in December 2006 was granted a license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to operate a slots parlor on the N. Delaware Ave. site of the old Jack Frost sugar refinery.
As reported by PhillyClout on Nov. 20th, SugarHouse just signed a juicy community benefits agreement with FACT and the New Kensington CDC, even though it's not certain that SugarHouse will rise on the site at all, given how opposition to the proposed locales of both Sugar house and Foxwoods (the other casino granted a license to operate here) have held up construction.
Maggie contends that, had SugarHouse been up and running by now (or close to it), as was originally intended, the CBA might be helping the neighborhood fund its soon-to-close library, pool and fire services.
What's startling to me is how FACT's membership has grown since I wrote about the group's start-up.
FACT's members now number 600 - which is three times the size it was when I wrote a follow-up column about the group - and many, many times the size of the Fishtown Neighbors association, which opposes SugarHouse.
Makes me wonder how much bigger FACT might balloon, given that the country is now, officially, in recession.
Might more Fishtowners start saying "yes" to Sugarhouse, which remains eager to build in Fishtown, hire locals for its jobs and fund a Special Servcies disitrct there with up to $1.5 million per year?
If the group gets much bigger, might it become a political force to be recokned with?
Ronnie, Most FACT members do not live close to the site, many do not even live in Fishtown. Only 10-15 people showed up at the meeting where the CBA was voted on. It's like SugarHouse signed an agreement with itself! A real and enforceable -- not fairy tale land -- Special Services District requires action by both the State legislature and City Council. You're deluded or unbelievably naive if you think that a $1.5 million CBA is "juicy" or would begin to cover the ills that a casino would unleash on the community. The increased police protection alone is estimated to cost $6 million. Really sad lack of insight into a very complex issue. Even the Sunday Inquirer's editorial acknowledged the downside: ". . . But at the end of the day, it remains to be seen whether the decision to legalize slots gambling will have a positive economic impact on the state or be a net negative. Just look at Atlantic City, where 30 years of casinos has done little to change the broader economy there. The social ills of gambling - including increased bankruptcy, crime and divorce - are a real cost that undermine the benefits of the added tax revenue. Given that those hit the hardest are the poor and elderly, gambling's ills will be especially acute once the slots parlors open in Philadelphia, where there is a high concentration of both demographics. . ."— NorthernLibertine- At best, Fishtown is split down the middle. In NoLibs, which borders SugarHouse on Frankford Avenue, they are overwhelmingly against SugarHouse. The tide has not turned. On my block in Fishtown, there are 20 houses...and 3 pro-SugarHouse red bows (FACT says bows = members)...and one of the bows was on a rental property that has been empty for over year. From the SugarHouse website: "02/05/08 Fishtown is SEEING RED! More than 600 homeowners in the Fishtown neighborhood—where the future SugarHouse casino will be located—now have large red bows hanging from their doors, signifying their anger over delay tactics by certain politicians and anti-casino activists who don't speak for the majority of Fishtowners." Funny how the "600 member" number was the same in February 2008 and December 2008...but the group is growing?!?! Doesn't make sense, Ronnie.— rbpeeple
How the heck is the community going to save the library, firehouse and pool, when the city cant? Where's the money to come from? The CBA? Then what about our neighborhood getting cleaned? Oops, no more money! I live very close to the site, just off Girard Ave. It's filthy! Nutter's promise of a clean city went to heck. It's actually quite embarrassing when friends come over. I do my part every day and pick up trash I see. I thought the CBA was to benifit us, the whole community, not just special interests. I would feel better about this whole thing if no member of FACT or thier relatives had any say abou where the money is spent. Ronnie, why didn't you mention that FACT is a pro-Sugarhouse group funded by Sugarhouse, most of the members are not from Fishtown or haven't lived here in years. Wake up people, casinos did not save AC, New Orleans, Detroit or Chester, why on earth would it save Philly, yet alone Fishtown?- Wonder what sweet casino jobs Maggie O'Brien and the rest of FACT get?
- No. Casi-NO.— maude
- There's no doubt that with the country in recession, the lure of fast and easy money becomes more acute - but only for people who don't do their research. It may have been fair to register interest in the supposed growth of FACT (although the posts above challenge that), but it's not really very responsible to let O'Brien's completely unfounded speculation go unchallenged. Most research points to the fact that casinos, and especially slots, have dramatic costs, and many studies point to overall net losses in jobs and revenues.— mansei
- Actually there were about 30 people at the November meeting had the "reporter" from the Star looked at the sign in sheet--also FACT members had already been given the information on the CBA at each and every previous meeting and enthusiastically supported the signing of the CBA. How many people were at the NLNA meeting to vote against talking to SugarHouse? TWENTY FIVE tops NorthernLibertine--exactly how is it that you know where FACT members live? YES over 600 residents of Fishtown, Northern Liberties & Olde Richmond do belong to FACT. The truth is hard for the casiNO people to swallow so you would rather fantasize.— FishtownMom
- I had the opportunity to review the addresses of FACT's membership and it is clear to me that well over 90% of itas 600+ members reside in Fishtown. The Mayor continues to spend hunderds of thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting the development of the SugarHouse casino that will bring over 1300 jobs with health benefits and significant tax revenue to the City. I was an early supporter of Mayor Nutter but boy was I worng.— equalityman
- It is sad that the casiNO folks have to bad mouth the hard working people who created and support Fishtown ACTION (FACT). You people have no idea who they are. They are hard working people from the FISHTOWN community who have more volunteer hours than you can imagine. Instead, of fighting with them you should have joined them to make sure our community gets the best darn CBA around. Opps! too late, we got the BEST DARN CBA!— Fishtown54
- It is sad and shameful that a bunch of people from Fishtown have been bought off by promises from a Chicago billionaire and are now representing his interests instead of those of their neighbors. FACT ("Facts According to Casino Topdogs") is a Sugarhouse funded and sponsored organization. Its agreement with SH is laughable, unenforceable and irrelevant (as the other poster says, it is like SH negotiated an agreement with itself).— jlemm
- Jlemm if you call one million dollars per year to a community, an internship program and all of the other items in the CBA LAUGHABLE--I would love to live where you live--which by the way is NOT Fishtown. And Rbpeeple why don't you worry about what is going on in YOUR neighborhood--which is NOT Fishtown.— FishtownMom
- What is really sad that jlemm tells nothing but BOLD FACED LIES!!! FACT is not a front for Sugar House. Do you know any of these people from FACT, really??? You need to get your FACTS STRAIGHT!!!— Fishtown54
- As a proud Fishtown resident I oppose harming the people of our neighborhood by building a slot parlor here. Many of my fellow Fishtown neighbors feel the same. I will not sell our neighborhood down the river for promises of money from Neil Bluhm (who by the way doesn't live in Fishtown).— jlemm
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
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