For Philly politics wonks, yesterday was like a double-decker taco: Thick and gooey ‚Äî some might even say, uh, slimy ‚Äî on the outside, crunchy and heartburn-producing on the inside. The crunch, of course, is that Sugar House and Foxwoods are now realities and no longer merely psychic boner bills for those that wish to destroy us, and our way of life. And holy God, that burns like hell. However, the oft-underappreciated goo in yesterday’s crazy-crazy was the sound of two men shitting their pants yesterday for decidedly different (though casino-related) reasons: Frank DiCicco, City Councilman for the First District, and Vern Anastasio, the dude who wants to take his job, and in point of fact, well could. These are the differences: DiCicco is old-style Philly City Council all the way. Is he dirty? Meh, who cares, everybody’s dirty, it’s what makes this the last great city in Russia, because that’s not even the point. The point is, DiCicco’s been dogged since forever with this Casino Flunky stuff, and with the public tide (especially in South Philly) going ape bananas wanting to pretty much firebomb the casinos before they’re even built, he’s got his work cut out for him to prove that perception wrong. That is, if dude likes having a jobbyjob. So he’s suing the Gaming Board, which, it must be said, is ballsy and awesome and at least gets DiCicco on the right side of the issue, even if he is being kind of a poser about it. And in this corner, we have Vern Anastasio, likewise a South Philly dude who’s been a major asset to his hood in the public arena lately, and has been mounting a bid for council that is strong like bull. It’s based largely on his involvement with the anti-casino movement here. And what you have to understand about Vern is, he is New Philadelphia all the way. And as a member of NABR and the like, he’s got lawsuits against the state goin’, too. So with these guys zeroing each other out now on the casino thing, what the hell is left? New Philly versus Old Philly, bitches! It’s ON!

After the jump, press releases from both of these dudes that went out yesterday afternoon.

First up, we have the lovely Frank DiCicco:

News from

Councilman Frank DiCicco

1st District

For Immediate Release Contact: Brian Abernathy [REDACTED]

Councilman Frank DiCicco announced that he intends to file an appeal after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s announced that SugarHouse and Foxwoods Casinos would be issued gaming licenses.

The lawsuit will challenge the issuance of a license to Foxwoods and will explore how and why the PGCB made their final determination.

“There were a lot of concerns raised over this proposal. Concerns not just from community activists, but from engineers, city officials and politicians.” DiCicco said. “I find it difficult to believe that the Board ignored these concerns and I’d like to know why they did.”

In his written testimony in June, DiCicco raised several concerns regarding Foxwoods’ proposal including increased traffic congestion and its proximity to a residential neighborhood. In the same statement, DiCicco was less critical of SugarHouse but did express reservations about the site’s proximity to near neighbors.

Last week, DiCicco had asked the PGCB to delay their announcement for six weeks to address the problems created if two facilities were built on the River. In addition, he believes that a delay would allow the waterfront planning process to be completed in order to provide the Board with specific recommendations.
“Not surprisingly, the Board ignored my constituents and me when they came to this decision,” DiCicco continued, “I think it’s a horrible decision. I will do everything I can to delay construction of the facilities until some of these serious concerns are addressed.”

Regardless of the result of the lawsuit, concerns will still exist over the near neighbors’ quality-of-life. DiCicco pledges to work with the communities and the developers to address these issues and has stated that he will delay zoning approval until agreements can be reached.

Four of the five gaming proposals were located in DiCicco’s district and the Councilman has established himself as a leader on the issue. His efforts include providing written and oral testimony before the PGCB, sponsoring the City’s casino zoning classification, fighting and winning the retention of the City’s zoning rights, calling on the PGCB to delay its decision and sponsoring several resolutions.

# # #

And the enchanting Vern Anastasio:

For Immediate Release
December 20, 2006
Contact: Hannah Miller, 267-979-7899
hannah@vernanastasio.com

No One Who Loves Philadelphia
Would Have Done This
To Our City

The Two Worst Slots Sites Will Be Dropped Like Bombs On the River, Anastasio Says – A Crime Perpetrated for Political Reasons Only

PHILADELPHIA - Today, long-time Philadelphia neighborhood advocate Vern Anastasio brought together a group of parents, small business owners, activists, and homeowners to express their outrage at the selection of two licenses to the most politically-connected of all the casino applicants.

Today, the Gaming Commission announced it had awarded two slots licenses, one to the Sugarhouse casino, partially owned by Senator Fumo/Councilman DiCicco lawyer Dick Sprague, and Foxwoods, which is partially owned by Fumo supporter Peter DePaul and represented by Fumo/DiCicco consultant Ken Snyder.

State Senator Vince Fumo (D-Philadelphia), is widely regarded as the chief architect of the slots gaming bill.

“This had nothing to do with merit. This had nothing to do with what the people want,” said Anastasio, who served on the Mayor’s Gaming Task Force before it was dissolved. “This was an entirely political decision. The people of Philadelphia have been betrayed. The people who are supposed to be protecting our community sold us down the river.”

A fourth-generation resident of South Philadelphia and a child of the small business owners, Anastasio says that placing casinos a few blocks away from the Italian Market would destroy one of the most unique and beautiful features of Philadelphia.

Anastasio called on city council to withhold zoning approval of the casinos indefinitely,
and said that anti-casino activists would appeal the PA Gaming Control Board, demanding full disclosure on the process taken to choose these sites.

“We’re not leaving. We’re gonna stay and we’re gonna fight,” said Anastasio. “This is the worst possible decision they could have made.”

Vern Anastasio is a member of Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront (NABR), a vocal supporter of Casino Free Philadelphia and the first organizer of civic groups to deal with the neighborhood impacts of casinos. Anastasio is also a founding board member of Bella Vista United Civic Association, a community whose boundaries start just six short blocks from the Delaware River.

For more information, please visit www.vernanastasio.com.

-30-

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 11:30 am.