Chester Residents Plan to disrupt soccer parking if no progress can be made
Thursday Oct 14th 11:00 a.m.
Press conference at the office of State Senator Dominic Pileggi. 415 Avenue of the States, Chester, PA 19013
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| Photo by David Madden of KYW Newsradio |
Saturday, October 16th 3:00 p.m.
If there is no substantive response from Sen. Pileggi, ACTION United is planning an action at the PPL parking site Saturday Oct 16th, at 15th and Highland streets at 3:00 pm. Participants for this will include ACTION United members with support from PASNAP, ALCU, Chester NAACP, Teamsters and other concerned Chester residents. Members of the group intend to disrupt parking at the site by blocking the entrance.
Residents of Chester and members of ACTION United are demanding that Mayor Butler and State Senator Pileggi meet with them and help move forward the long delayed plans to build a grocery store in the city, which currently qualifies as a food desert.
“Wealthy suburbs are closing grocery stores because there are too many of them, while poor residents in Chester have to struggle to take a bus to another town to put food on their table.” said Fred Jones with ACTION United. “We need Senator Pileggi to take a stand for his constituents and work with us to bring residents access to healthy, affordable food IN Chester.”
In a letter to the officials ACTION United asked the officials for a meeting with the group and for a commitment to laying out “specific plans as to what steps are to be taken to assure that Chester will have a supermarket in the very near future.”
Residents have been trying to get a grocery store there for a decade but it looked as if things were moving forward in 2009 when Harrisburg set aside money for a store. It was part of the redevelopment plan that gave Chester a casino and soccer stadium. However no movement has been made on the Grocery store and the site is currently being used as a parking lot for the soccer stadium.
ACTION United also described the burden on residents having to take multiple buses to go grocery shopping for their families as well as for elderly and disabled residents.
The group has been holding actions at the proposed site for some time and suggests that without action, they will increase their activity. “If you are unwilling to satisfy this demand, we have no other choice but to continue our actions at the PPL Park parking site, up to and including disrupting parking at this site. This is something that we would prefer not to do.”
Here we go again....Just when there is a little hope that outside companies, developers, and even a sports franchise could hope to find a home in Chester, here comes the ill-rising tide. How about demonstrating in front of the politicians' offices? How ab out attending city council meetings? How about having those churches go to bat for the residents instead of doing politics from the pulpits???? Where is the common sense of people? Where is this misguided and mis placed direction coming from? What will be the result of the waterfront development if people are going to demonstrate there? How about the effect the senseless and cowardly killings and shootings going on in town. How much longer do you think people will keep coming into town to the sports stadium? For crying out loud, a new police sub-station was recently opened at Widener University and already a robbery has occurred. HEY!!!!! Turn in those lazy bum criminals who prey on our children (YOUR childre) lock them up, throw them out of the homes/projects they live in, and throw them out of town. Demonstrate where it is needed...AT THE ELECTION POLLS. You will get safety, peace, quiet, and a supermarket if the right people are voted in. And hey, just a final thought...what have the Democrats done sincce being elected to City council???? WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
ReplyDeleteThe City of Chester really does need a market it is a shame that the citizens of Chester has to go to other cities to the market taking our money to those cities when the money needs to stay here put the market here and you will create the much needed jobs for the people of Chester,Pa.
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