Letters to the Editor | Dec. 2, 2024

In a recent Inquirer article, it’s mentioned that the Sixers are “counting on at least 40% of attendees using public transit to get to games” at their proposed Market Street arena. But has the team asked ticket holders if they would use SEPTA? Did any of the studies they commissioned ask? Did anyone in Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office, City Council or any other department ask or do a survey? Because to me this is very unrealistic. Have any of the 76ers’ owners, staff, or players ever taken the Broad Street Line to a game recently?

The article also mentions that, “City Hall observers expect a majority will vote to approve [the arena] given the support it has received from Parker, the building trades unions, and other powerful groups.” My question is, why are citizens’ voices not being taken seriously and aren’t thought of as a “powerful group,” especially considering the large number of Philadelphians who are opposed? The answer: money.

I’m so disappointed with the false populism of Parker and some on Council. Look at all the groups and Philadelphians opposed. Our numbers overwhelm those in favor, but not our dollar value and wealth compared to theirs. The unions will get their jobs, and the city their taxes, no matter where the arena is built. Please build at Schuylkill Yards, where there appears to be plenty of room, or anywhere else.

Michael Miller Jr., Philadelphia, michamille@comcast.net

The very identity of Center City could be eroded during construction of the proposed sports arena and never return. The sonic impact alone during demolition could affect nearby historic structures as well as underground transportation. Also, consider the construction’s impact on connectivity of the underground gas, water, and electrical grids to the surrounding structures and subway systems. There is also the increased possibility of vermin surfacing and over taxing current capacity to control them.

With respect to traffic congestion, the pressure to complete a project of this complexity in record time to alleviate congestion could result in some dangerous shortcuts. Remember, this ownership organization purposely lost games four consecutive seasons to game the system to obtain championship talent. That started 11 years ago. Recently, they gave a four-year contract to an aging player with a history of injury. This impulsive attitude typifies the actions of this ownership group. Also, their community investment of $50 million and $6 million a year in lieu of taxes is laughable and does not come close to covering the toll that ongoing disruption will take on the city.

James Solomon, Philadelphia

The city is being strong-armed to accept the 76 Place proposal. The seasonal/occasional use arena puts a great wall next to Reading Terminal that threatens to destroy Chinatown, transform the livable/walkable neighborhood south of Market Street, dangerously disrupt Center City, and crush SEPTA. The construction will impose six years of drastic Market-Frankford subway and Regional Rail disruption followed by new service demands, and traffic gridlock that will not improve until 40% of fans choose public transportation. Currently 87% of fans drive.

The Sixers owners don’t just want their own arena, they want to acquire the city’s core real estate while taxpayers subsidize them through exclusion from property tax and use and occupancy taxes. If they won’t consider a different location like the existing sports complex that would benefit union labor without harming Center City, Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks urges Council to just vote no on the proposal.

Constance Billé, cofounder and member, Steering Committee, Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks

In the United States, women and girls are not legally guaranteed equal rights, resulting in unequal pay, workplace harassment, pregnancy discrimination, domestic violence, limited access to comprehensive health care, discrimination against LGBTQ people, and more. As our nation braces for a likely rise in attacks on our liberties, we need the only duly ratified constitutional amendment that has not been added to the Constitution: the Equal Rights Amendment.

The ERA rightfully became the 28th Amendment more than four years ago and will update the Constitution to provide nationwide protection against discriminatory federal and state laws. The ERA is necessary to uphold and restore the rights of more than half our population. A polarized Congress has failed to take the final steps to ratify the ERA. But President Joe Biden has the power to instruct the U.S. Archivist to certify and publish the amendment, making equal rights the law of the land. The League of Women Voters of Bucks County calls upon Biden to pick up the phone and instruct the archivist to finalize the ERA now. Mr. President, your legacy is calling.

Ilene Sheinson, advocacy chair, League of Women Voters of Bucks County, Doylestown

Having spent a decade as a college president, and another 10 years as the commonwealth’s secretary of labor and industry, I am stunned by The Inquirer’s shortsighted analysis of higher education in the region. I now serve as president of the association of 85 independent nonprofit schools in Pennsylvania, 13 of which were highlighted in your deeply flawed article. It is important for readers to consider several points:

First, the article relies completely on one person’s formula for rating financial stability. There are dozens of such “formulas” in the market — an entire cottage industry — each with their own set of valid and invalid assumptions. The bottom line “variable” in the formula you chose is endowment — you suggest that a “rich” school with a big endowment is fine. But the schools that you criticize in your story — schools that educate future teachers, nurses, social workers, and that have a high percentage of first-generation, low-income students — are in trouble under this formula.

However, auditors, banks, and rating agencies — even the U.S. Department of Education — have generally viewed these institutions far more positively than your single analyst does, a fact that is ignored in your article.

Second, your article overlooks the history of these institutions in this region — a history that does not support the broad conclusions of this “study.” These 13 schools have called the region home for an average of 125 years. That means these schools have survived two World Wars, a Great Depression, a Great Recession, and two global pandemics. These schools not only survived all those global disruptions in American life, they continued their role as leading suppliers of new workers in Pennsylvania (44,000 every year), and as major contributors to the life of their communities.

Third, your article ignores the fact that these are nonprofit institutions, not for-profit or publicly funded — yet they produce every year the highest graduation rates of any sector, with the highest percentage of low-income students and graduates of color. Bottom line, if financial value is your only litmus test, you should be writing a story about the fact that independent nonprofit schools save Pennsylvania taxpayers nearly a billion dollars every year they stay open. They’re doing more for less, and so they should be celebrated, not pilloried.

Thomas P. Foley, president, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania

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