Although the deadline for public input to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is fast approaching, protests against proposed casinos in Philadelphia are just heating up.
Tomorrow is the last day that communities can submit comments to the Gaming Board, even though the final decision on which casinos to approve may not come for months.
In 2004, the state legislature approved Act 71, a bill that created licenses for 14 future gambling facilities including two in Philadelphia.
The revenue earned by the state from taxing the casinos is intended to lower property taxes in the state.
Five groups are vying for the two Philadelphia licenses, including Penn alumnus Donald Trump's Trump Corp.
Many community groups have been formed in opposition to opening casinos in the city. Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront is a group in the Fishtown neighborhood -- the site of three of the five proposed casinos -- that was formed in April to lobby against bringing casinos to Philadelphia.
"Our group believes that neighbors and localities have the right to plan their own communities," said Meredith Warner, a founding member of NABR. "We were told we were getting a casino. We had no choice."
According to Warner, NABR is not just working to prevent casinos in Fishtown, but throughout the city.
"We oppose them all over the city as a means to not push them on one another," she said.
Reverend Jesse Brown plans to take this opposition one step further.
Brown is a part of the Multi Community Alliance, an organization which opposes the North Philadelphia casino site, and says that he wants to unite the various neighborhood groups across the city.
Today, Brown is hosting a rally at the State Building to launch Casino Free Philadelphia, a new coalition of many smaller anti-casino organizations.
"The more power that we can pull together from a citywide standpoint, the more we can educate about the adverse effects, the stronger we become," Brown said.
Brown stressed the need for citizens to resist casinos in Philadelphia in general, not just in their own neighborhood.
He said his group has also been sending letters to the Gaming Board requesting an extension of the deadline for public commentary, a deadline he called "unnecessary".
Most students are not as passionate about the issue as residents in other parts of the city, likely because the casinos will not be near University City.
However, some students think that the proposals are moot with casinos in nearby Atlantic City.
"Because Atlantic City is so close and it's already known for its nightlife, people would be more likely to go there than Philadelphia," College junior Sasha Silcox said.
Still, other students think the casinos could prove beneficial to the city.
Wharton and College sophomore Louis Littman said that the potential tax revenue for the state makes the project worthwhile.
Plus, "it would be a real fun weekend activity," he added.
