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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Jay
Purdy |
State Rep. Thomas
Blackwell |
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Blackwell digs in against SEPTA funding until El solution is reached
Demands compensation for businesses, residents hurt by construction project
HARRISBURG, June 21 – State Rep. Tommy Blackwell, D-Phila., is seizing the moment as state budget negotiations come down to the wire to again insist that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority compensate business owners devastated by the long reconstruction of the Market Street El.
In a message to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dwight Evans, Blackwell vowed not to vote for a budget that contains any additional money for SEPTA until the authority takes responsibility for the damage it has caused to the businesses and residents of West Philadelphia.
“Unless there is something for the people who lost their businesses because of the incompetence of SEPTA management in terms of real compensation, I will not be able to vote for this budget,” said Blackwell. “I am not willing to give SEPTA another dime until there are some guidelines in place to make them more responsible for their decisions.”
Blackwell said at least two dozen mom-and-pop businesses closed because of the SEPTA obstruction and delays, also causing some family relationships to be broken by the pressure of the financial catastrophe.
“SEPTA’s response to these losses directly caused by its actions has been to bully the affected businesses and hundreds of residents who endured years of daily disruption of their lives,” Blackwell asserted. “SEPTA completely ignores any aspect of accountability, but that’s just a continuation of its attitude that it does not have to be publicly accountable for how it spends the many millions of dollars it receives.”
Blackwell acknowledged that while Evans is confronting a monumental challenge in addressing Pennsylvania’s critical transportation needs, Blackwell must hold his ground on behalf of his constituents.
“Until I see some accountability ensured – not just promised, but ensured -- I cannot support a state budget that funds SEPTA,” Blackwell added. “A number of my colleagues have advised me to take up the fight again after the budget vote, but I’ve got more leverage now than I will then, and I intend on using it on behalf of the people who entrusted me to represent them.”
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