To the south, Paul Boni, a board member of the Society Hill Civic Association, said his group will “do all we can to prevent this from happening.”In the case of Foxwoods, they may have leverage.
Foxwoods has proposed to mitigate the traffic problems in South Philadelphia with a southbound off-ramp from Interstate 95, an idea that city analysts say has not been approved or funded, and that could cost the public $100 million.
But in a Dec. 14 letter to the gaming board, Boni and Donald Ackerman of the Queen Village Neighbors Association noted that their groups are parties to a mid-’70s federal consent decree under which no new ramps from I-95 can be built between the two bridges without consulting the groups.
And James Paylor, a vice president of Local 1291 of the International Longshoremen’s Association, said the rivermen are worried that the vast increase in traffic “will impact the working piers both north and south of Foxwoods.”
He said his union is consulting with the chief employer group, the Philadelphia Marine Trade Association, about a legal challenge to the gaming board’s decision.
“Foxwoods was a crazy decision,” said Boni. “I always said that if Foxwoods was selected, then you know there’s been monkey business.”
DAILY NEWS: Not Over Until It’s Over
[PHOTO By CLEM MURRAY/INQUIRER]