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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Babette Josephs |
  
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Josephs applauds new efforts to resite Philadelphia casinos
HARRISBURG, July 4 – State Rep. Babette Josephs enthusiastically announced her support for renewed efforts to resite two casinos now planned for the Delaware riverfront.
"The issue of the casinos' locations has been a longstanding one for several of us in the legislature and for many in the community," Josephs said. "I am encouraged by the newly formed partnership between Representative Evans and Senator Fumo designed to force casino developers to relocate their gambling facilities. This is a major triumph for the neighborhoods and community activists who deserve an enormous amount of credit for their tenacity and creativity. They have proved that you can fight city hall and win.
"I do not oppose gambling or casinos, but no one ought to be allowed to push the citizens of Philadelphia around or trample on their communities. I expect that the governor will join in my efforts and those of my colleagues, including Mayor Nutter, and we will have gambling establishments that bring in money for wage tax reductions, but will not hurt our city's precious neighborhoods."
On Thursday evening, Evans and Fumo announced that they were joining together
to encourage the developers to move the sites for their planned casinos away
from the Delaware River waterfront to other locations in the city, and that
they had sent letters to Gov. Ed Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter asking them
for their support.
Josephs has advocated for more local involvement and oversight since the awarding of slot licenses were first being considered in the city. She has said that the current proposed locations were selected without sufficient community input or transparency, and moving the locations will enable the public to be involved in finding the best sites.
"Casinos draw crowds and exponentially increase traffic, noise and pollution. They do not belong in residential neighborhoods where children play on the streets and people have made the largest investment in their lives in their homes. Our neighborhoods are an essential component of a vibrant, vital Philadelphia, and they should be protected. Quality-of-life issues are paramount," Josephs said.
"Any new locations will be much better for both the city and its residents, and I am going to make sure that the public is involved in the process from the very beginning, whatever the site," she said.
Because of the lack of public involvement and attention to the public's concerns, Josephs introduced a proposal that would require a 1,500-foot buffer zone between schools, churches, playgrounds and the casinos in Philadelphia. She also supported efforts to require public approval in the form of a public referendum by any community for which a casino was proposed. Both proposals were voted out of committee earlier this year.
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