Broad St. casino plan spurs coalition of the concerned

THE BROAD STREET Community Coalition has formed to address concerns about developer Bart Blatstein's proposed Provence Casino, but leaders say they're not taking a stand for or against the project.

"We are really concerned about traffic, parking, security and safety issues for the community," said Kevin Greenberg, a lawyer who represents the group. "Our goal is to work with the developer to identify and address those issues."

Blatstein has applied for a license to build a casino and resort inside the former Daily News/Inquirer building on Broad Street at Callowhill.

The coalition has 13 member organizations, including: the Callowhill Neighborhood Association; the Reading Viaduct Project; Friends Select School; Vetri Family Restaurants; the Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences Charter School; Arch Street United Methodist Church; Congregation Rodeph Shalom; and Greater Exodus Baptist Church.

Greenberg said that the groups want to meet with the developer.

"We will ask for improvements, and, hopefully, the developer will concede," he said.

Regulations require groups that want to take part in public hearings on casino licenses to file a petition to intervene 45 days before the first hearing. Greenberg said the coalition had been formed to protect its members' legal rights.

Vetri Family Restaurants owns two restaurants on North Broad Street: Osteria, opened in 2007, and Alla Spina, opened earlier this year.

"The reality is, we need to know the impact before it happens, whether it's positive or negative," said Vetri partner Jeff Benjamin. "We need to know if the traffic flow is going to make it harder for our customers to get to our restaurants."

Sarah McEneaney, president of the Callowhill civic group, said with "a major development like that, whatever happens at that site, we want to be a part of it."

Veronica Joyner, founder of the charter school at Broad near Spring Garden, said she didn't think it was "conducive to children and families living in the area to have [a casino] at that location."

And Lee Quillen, a member of the Callowhill civic group, personally opposes it.

"This is not the time to be coy and cagey about walking on both sides of the fence," Quillen said. "This is about our neighborhood and its future and not selling out for short-term gains. ... Gambling does not breed good neighborhoods."

" @ValerieRussDN