Members of grassroots groups share stories of displacement at rally against proposed arena

Activists from across the city gathered Tuesday morning to share personal stories of displacement and to support the Chinatown community’s opposition to the proposed Sixers arena.

Theresa Howell, for example, grew up in South Philly surrounded by family, all of whom owned their homes.

“We had the fabric of community in our neighborhood,” recalled Howell, who is a member of Renters United Philadelphia, a grassroots organization that helps renters fight for quality housing.

“We kept each other safe, we looked out for one another.”

But when big development encroached on their neighborhood, she said, the cost of living rose, causing her family and others to disperse to different parts of the city.

“You think what’s happening in Chinatown is different because it’s [an arena], but it’s not. It’s the same corporate greed that’s pushing people out of their neighborhoods and their lives,” she said. “The same thing is happening in Black and brown and low-income communities all across the city.”

The Sixers describe the proposed arena — which would rise on the footprint from 10th to 11th and Market to Filbert Streets, its northern end abutting Chinatown at Cuthbert Street — as a tax-generating win for the city, one that would create jobs and drive spending and foot traffic on East Market Street.

Some groups across the city have come out in support of the arena, citing the jobs the arena would create, including the African American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ & DE, the real estate group Building Industry Association, and the union coalition Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council. But many community organizations and entities have also voiced their opposition to the arena because of concerns about gentrification and displacement of one of the last remaining communities of color in Center City, such as POWER Interfaith, Juntos, the Design Advocacy Group and more.

One by one, speakers on Tuesday took the microphone to share their experiences with development projects that cost them their homes, and drew parallels to the Sixers arena. They pointed to the Sixers owners’ involvement in other businesses they said have harmed communities of color and stressed the importance of solidarity between communities of color.

“We have a culture in our city now where the billionaire developers found a lot of prosperity and value in our neighborhoods, and right now they wanna displace people from their neighborhoods,” Shawmar Pitts, codirector and policy coordinator of the environmental and economic justice group Philly Thrive, said at the news conference held outside the shuttered Hahnemann Hospital.

“They see people like me standing up with Chinatown residents and they want to divide us,” he said. “Don’t let them tell you they’re gonna give Black people jobs. Don’t fall for that this time. Stand up for what’s right. Nobody here is against profit. But it doesn’t come at the expense of the people.”

In response to the news conference, Nicole Gainer, a spokesperson for 76 Place, said in an email that the arena “will not displace a single resident or business,” and emphasized the $50 million community benefits agreement the Sixers are offering.

Last month the Sixers announced they would build a $250 million, 20-floor residential tower on top of the arena, raising the value of the project from $1.3 billion to $1.55 billion. The Sixers say they would designate 20% of the 395 units as affordable housing, to be rented at below-market rates.

The team says it will seek no city dollars for the project. It plans to move from the Wells Fargo Center when its lease expires in 2031.