The ongoing discussion has reached a new level of contention with Mayor Parker’s public endorsement of the plan. Taking to social media to announce the agreement between the 76ers and her administration, she looks forward to the jobs and overall economic boost the project will bring. Philadelphians look toward the mayor’s upcoming town hall meeting for answers.
The thoughts of the neighborhood dwell on what the project could mean for its homes, businesses, and cultural identity, as the build plan would place the new arena on Market street’s 1000 block. The community continues to voice the same message: decisions continue to be made without their consideration.
Temple sophomore and former Chinatown resident Calvin Ton worries that the project will be detrimental to the neighborhood’s residents:
“So I’m just concerned how it will affect the community by accelerating gentrification, and how increased property values can push people out of their community.”
Both residents of Chinatown and Philadelphia generally have organized and continue to publicly protest the proposal. When asked why this issue should matter to students, Temple English professor Jena Osman offered the following message:
“The thing that I love about Temple students is they are so proud of who they are, and they want to know they are proud of the cultures that they come from. And this is a community that shares in that kind of cultural pride. And we should stand up for communities like this.”
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