Philadelphians Get Serious About SugarHouse

14 Arrested for Blockading SugarHouse Construction Site; Activists Demand Neil Bluhm and SugarHouse Leave Philadelphia

For Immediate Release

Fourteen activists from Casino-Free Philadelphia were arrested this morning while blockading the SugarHouse construction site entrance as demonstrators cheered them on. Three police wagons took the Casino-Free protesters to the station house at 21st & Hamilton Streets for processing, and supporters await word on how soon the activists will be released.

UPDATE, Tues. 1:10 PM: We've received word that each activist will be charged with one count of "failure to disperse," a class two misdemeanor. We do not yet know when they'll be released. Our legal team is in constant contact with both those arrested and the city police.

UPDATE, Tues. 10:00 PM: All activists have now been released, but two additional charges were filed: trespassing (a second class-two misdemeanor) and "conspiracy"/disorderly conduct (a summary charge similar to a traffic ticket). We'll have a more detailed legal update on Wednesday.

Casino-Free Philadelphia spokesperson David McKenna said, "We've shown Neil Bluhm and SugarHouse, and their friends in Harrisburg, that we're prepared to do what we need to do in order to stop these casinos. We're here to defend our city against a predatory industry, and we're only getting stronger. As far as we know, this is the first action of this kind at a casino construction site, but we know it won't be the last. We'll keep fighting until Neil Bluhm and SugarHouse pull up stakes and get out of our city."

Casino-Free Philadelphia took action because politicians and investors haven't gotten the message yet. Even with the writing on the wall — in stark relief — about the casino industry's downward slide, financial institutions and city officials continue to ignore the facts. The fully trained team of blockaders and supporters demanded a halt to the ground-breaking of the SugarHouse site on the Delaware waterfront. The action's message was simple: "We are ready to bankrupt SugarHouse and its predatory accomplices before they bankrupt us."

The action is part of Casino-Free's newest In the Red campaign, which aims to persuade developers to abandon their plans for predatory gambling in Philadelphia. The campaign will show that the casinos, if not stopped, will inflict financial damage on families, communities, local businesses, and our city budget. And with recent reports of market saturation and dwindling casino revenues in several U.S. states, the banks who have committed to the SugarHouse loan package, including PNC Bank, stand to face a devastating wake-up call in the coming years.

Last week, Casino-Free Philadelphia supporters protested outside the Philadelphia headquarters of PNC Bank that is providing Neil Bluhm's casino with a ten million dollar loan. The terms of the full loan package have been sealed due to fears of ongoing protests against lending institutions making risky loans to junk bond projects like SugarHouse casino.

Concerned citizens told SugarHouse developer Neil Bluhm, his allies and lenders that a unified alliance is committed to stopping casinos in Philadelphia and to shutting down any that open. Ron Rubin and his partners will receive the same message if they move forward with Foxwoods anywhere in Philadelphia.

Campaign organizers formed two groups for the action. One group staged a direct, nonviolent demonstration; another rallied in solidarity. The action was the result of extended preparation and planning.

Lily Cavanagh, organizer and Casino-Free member, said, "We've requested an objective, independent study of the economic costs of these proposed casinos, and received nothing. We had a public process to develop our vision for the waterfront, which was ignored. When voters were disenfranchised in 2007, we gave citizens a free and fair election and their votes demonstrated overwhelmingly that casinos are not welcome in neighborhoods. Through people power we can achieve the outcomes that elected officials have let slip away."

Casino-Free Philadelphia's mission is to stop casinos from coming to Philadelphia and close any that open. The benefits of casinos can never outweigh the social and economic costs from an industry reliant on addiction to survive. Visit us online at www.CasinoFreePhila.org.

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