LGBTQ+ community members worry about impact of proposed 76 Place on Gayborhood
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The proposed 76 Place, which would be the new home to the 76ers, now has a new set of opponents: members of the LGBTQ+ community in Philadelphia.
They spoke out against 76 Place in front of City Hall on Thursday morning, expressing concern for how the arena will impact the nearby area known as the Gayborhood.
The project has always gotten pushback from Chinatown residents worried about businesses being negatively impacted and housing prices becoming unaffordable.
Residents, businesses, drag performers and allies of the Gayborhood share those concerns, along with other worries about the proposed arena taking away safe queer spaces.
"We are claiming space in the Gayborhood. We do not want to be pushed out again," said Lasha Cristál, a local drag queen who often performs at clubs in the Gayborhood.
Opponents are worried that the project's proximity to the Gayborhood will create gentrification, make the area unaffordable, and take away queer and safe spaces.
"An arena by and for billionaires won't be an economic catalyst for people who live here, but just serves to further enrich them in an attempt to further divide us," said Shometha Monét, who is also a drag performer.
Mayor Cherelle Parker struck a deal with the Sixers last week, officially announcing the proposal in a community meeting Wednesday night.
However it's up to First District Councilmember Mark Squilla to introduce the legislation.
Right now, he says he hasn't decided if he will.
"There's challenges that we see, but there's also opportunity, and I think we need to look at that as for both the city as a whole and the surrounding communities that will be impacted by it," said Squilla.
There's now a 30 day comment period on the issue. If Squilla does introduce a resolution for 76 Place, the earliest he could do so would be October 24.
"You have 16 other members of City Council who will be weighing in on this process," said Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
Already weighing in are the two neighborhoods worried about how a new arena will impact them.
"You're turning Center City in to a place no one wants to be or even afford to be," said Cristál.
Although Councilmember Squilla hasn't decided on whether to introduce the bill he says he has decided one thing he won't go along with: the proposal to build housing on top of the arena. He says residents in Chinatown view that proposal as insult to injury.
If the resolution is introduced on October 24, it will still have to go through public hearings. A final passage, if it comes to that, would come no earlier than mid-December.
