Philadelphia Chinatown once again under threat, activists fear community, businesses could be lost in NBA arena plan
- 76ers franchise wants to build US$1.3 billion new home just a block from community’s gateway arch
- Activists fear residents could be driven out of neighbourhood by proposed development
Wei Chen wants people who visit Philadelphia’s Chinatown to see past the amber-coloured roast ducks hanging in a restaurant window and notice the two older women chatting in Mandarin on the steps to the flats above.
“These flats are full of people who are low-income, who are elderly people, and people who are new immigrants,” Chen, the community engagement director for Asian Americans United, said.
“You have to think about how Chinatown was created. We weren’t welcome in other neighbourhoods.”
People don’t understand what Chinatown means to the people of this community, people all over the area who consider this their home
Chen, along with other organisers and members of Chinatown, said they were surprised by the Philadelphia 76ers’ announcement of a proposal to build a $1.3 billion arena just a block from the community’s gateway arch. They said neither the organisation nor the property owner reached out for community input before the announcement.
A spokesman for 76 Devcorp, the development company behind the arena, said in an emailed statement that the process is in its early stages – years from “anything changing” – and that the company planned to work with the community to help shape the project and ensure it’s “done right”.
“We are very sensitive to the Chinatown community’s concern in light of prior Centre City proposals and are committed to listening to and working with the community in a way that hasn’t happened before,” the statement read.
But those are promises many in Chinatown have heard before. After decades of developments – like the Pennsylvania Convention Centre, which took homes from 200 families; Interstate 676, also known as the Vine Street Expressway, which threatened to cut off parts of the community; and proposals for a jail, a casino and another sports facility – that all were beaten back by the community, residents have a deep playbook of their own to choose from.