City Council President Kenyatta Johnson giving instructions to the public and those testifying before the start of a public hearing regarding the construction about a new arena for the NBA basketball team Philadelphia 76ers, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Philadelphia.
(Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
The ability to count to nine is about to become really important as we get closer to a resolution on 76 Place in Philadelphia City Council.
By Denise Clay-Murray
On Tuesday, after hours of testimony and public comment, Philadelphia City Council’s Committee of the Whole passed two bills related to creating the proposed arena for the Philadelphia 76ers, 76 Place.
The bills, which passed by a 10-3 vote, allow Council to amend the Market East Tax Increment Financing District by removing a part of the Fashion District — or as we refer to it here, The Mall Formerly Known As The Gallery — that is slated to become of 76 Place and to create the Arena Services District Authority, which will oversee things like street cleaning and security for the area surrounding the arena.
Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier, Rue Landau, and Kendra Brooks voted no on both bills. Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, and Councilmembers Jeffery Young, Brian O’Neill, and Nicolas O’Rourke weren’t in chambers for the vote.
In early November, Council passed two resolutions that made these two bills necessary, something that was required by state law, to allow Council to hold an up or down vote on the project, according to Michael Cooke, Council’s senior legislative council.
Now, I know that a lot of people are going to read what I just wrote and assume that Council has made a final decision on the 76 Place project. I’ve been on social media since Tuesday’s meeting and have seen reactions that bear this out.
But that’s why Hanging In The Hall emphasizes the importance of learning how government works. Knowing how the process — for want of a better way to put it, moves — will go a long way toward lowering your stress level.
What do I mean by that? I mean that for any of the legislation connected to 76 Place to pass out of the Committee of the Whole, it has to have nine votes. If that happens, and the 13-bill legislative package goes onto the Council floor, it needs to have nine votes for approval.
Right now, people are making a lot of assumptions about the status of the project based on a series of procedural votes that state law mandates in order for folks to be able to continue to make their voices heard and try and persuade folks to come around to their way of thinking.
In other words, these bills were passed out of the Committee of the Whole so that those of you on either side of the 76 Place issue can do what you can to try and get your nine votes before the other side gets theirs.
Everyone who knows me or has read any of my writing in this column knows that my favorite part of any meeting is public comment. I love seeing all of the folks take the time to come to their government and make their various demands or tell Council where they’re right or wrong on a topic.
I don’t even mind hearing the anti-vaxxer: COVID is a hoax racist that gets up there every week and shows us that she not only voted for Donald Trump, but that she did so because she couldn’t vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But while it’s great that they have had their chance to speak and, in some cases, have their words reinforced by vociferous applause, only through going beyond that can you impact policy.
As Tuesday’s vote would indicate, the time for theatrics on both sides of the 76 Place issue is nearing its end. The last two hearings on the project will take place on Dec. 2 and 3 and, likely, the decision to vote the bills out of the Committee of the Whole and onto the final passage calendar will be made on the 3.
In a future column, I’ll expound on when the effort to stop this arena from happening should have started.
But right now, all I’ll say is that the only number that everyone on both sides needs to remember is nine.
And that whoever gets there first, wins.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, the author’s organization, committee or other group or individual.
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