Philadelphia City Council's meeting for Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, was sidetracked just as it began as protesters who oppose a plan to bring a new Sixers arena to Center City filled the chamber with chants.
The interruptions began Thursday morning just as Interim Chief Clerk Liz McCollum-Nazario read the package of legislation on the arena proposal that had been introduced by City Councilmember Mark Squilla (D-1st dist.).
She had not yet finished introducing the legislation as chants of "no arena!" burst from the crowd gathered to attend the meeting.
During this time, at least one person was ushered out of the meeting and a number of protesters marched through the room as they clapped and chanted, "no arena!"
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The woman who was taken outside, Debbie Weh, a well know community activist in the city's Chinatown neighborhood, told NBC10 she didn't know why she was removed from the day's meeting.
"I don't know why they chose to drag me out," she said. "They said I wasn't allowed back in the building."
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CHAOS IN COUNCIL : Anti arena activist pause council session with chanting and signs.
— Miguel Martinez-Valle (@MiguelMValle) October 24, 2024
One of the leaders of the save China town coalition escorted out by security @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/vtB3cPQ2UW
Some who were in attendance in support of the proposal could be heard shouting back "build it!"
Eventually, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson was able to settle the crowd.
"Listen up. We have a legislative agenda that will allow all of you ample amount of time to come down to council, several different opportunities, before this bill is voted on, to express your opinions pro or con," he said as the crowd quieted.
The chants began again in earnest after Johnson said the process was fair and transparent.
After about a a half hour, the crowd settled and City Council's scheduled meeting resumed.
Outside, IBEW Political Director TJ Lepera told NBC10's Frances Wang that he believed Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker did an "incredible job" with the arena proposal.
"I think Mayor Parker did an incredible job negotiating this with the Sixers," he said. "It's definitely one of the largest pilots when it comes to arenas in this city and stadiums. So, huge deal for the school district, lot of money coming in to the city and it's much needed.
Yet, for Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, the proposal was far from a done deal.
"I'm telling everyone that this is the first quarter right? I think the game only just started and I think we can tell that right, because the developers are getting desperate," Chang said. "They are threatening to move to Jersey. They are, like, doing all these things with the mayor. Like, that's not a sign of someone who is secure in what they are doing."
Inside, though the crowd was calmed, discussion of the arena proposal wasn't over -- even though the bill wasn't to be voted on that day.
During a period of public comment, Philadelphia resident Rosie Mae Henson turned discussion on a bill focused on drivers parking in bike lanes into a discussion on traffic impact the arena could have on Center City.
“I promise I can link this," she said.
She discussed traffic studies, saying the arena could cause "gridlocked traffic" in Center City. She asked council to require a traffic management plan for the arena before approving any plan.
Johnson noted after her comments that speakers would need to focus discussion on the parking regulation bill at hand.
Some others followed suit attempting to tie the bike lane parking bill to the arena proposal. Wei Chen, who was next to speak, promised to talk about the parking.
"We the people of Philadelphia here, spanning every corner of the city, are here today to say no arena, no deal! And, a better parking system," he said. "We do not trust this process. We do not see a plan. We do not support a bad deal for the City of Philadelphia."
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