JAMMED UP: O'Donnell, on a two-way Christian Street. : Michael T. Regan

Ironically, it's this same debate that forced O'Donnell to resign as president of the board on May 5.

The recent controversy stems from a March 28 meeting in QVNA's offices that brought Councilman Frank DiCicco, representatives from various city departments, Christian Street residents and two board members together. There,

residents complained that air and noise pollution and a lack of parking hurt their quality of life, but they tended to ignore the concerns of neighbors who fear the

change would force more cars onto their quiet streets. Proponents of the change argued that directing traffic westbound from Front Street to Sixth Street would cut congestion in half and allow parking on both sides of the street.

O'Donnell pushed for the one-way plan, some say for personal reasons, even though the board had decided to nix the idea in 2004. By the end of the meeting, DiCicco called for an eight-month trial and Christian Street residents felt their concerns were finally heard.

"We were thrilled," says Kathy Taintor.

But when the rest of the board heard about the meeting and an anonymous flyer chastised O'Donnell and warned people their property values were "at risk," board members panicked. While O'Donnell was in Atlanta tending to his dying father, they passed a resolution declaring he had a conflict of interest and should resign as president.

"I got impeached because I didn't say anything at a meeting," says O'Donnell, who decided to step down from a leadership role but remain on the board to work on historic preservation and tree planting. "Well, who hasn't walked away from a meeting and thought of something they should have said?"

Explaining the decision to oust O'Donnell, Catherine Street resident and QVNA

vice president Walt Lowthian, who also attended the meeting in question, says upholding the board's credibility is paramount. "If it winked at an individual trying to take an unfair advantage," he says, "that would destroy QVNA."

DiCicco says he was misled, although "not intentionally," about the board's consensus and, after his office received more than 100 e-mails, backed off a one-way trial run. But some speculate that DiCicco knew all along that O'Donnell was not representing the board, but went along with it because easing traffic on Christian Street would free up Columbus Boulevard, paving the way for a Foxwoods project they claim he hasn't done enough to fight.

"Politically, I can scream and holler and say I'll never let this thing be built," he says. "That's not how I operate."

Others say Vern Anas-tasio, a DiCicco critic, is using the debate to bait the councilman. Although QVNA put the breaks on the trial a month earlier, Anastasio penned a letter to residents making it sound imminent. Yet he insists, "I only involve myself in issues that I believe will make things better, not worse."

O'Donnell says the melee will ultimately help the community because a consultant will study traffic from Fitzwater Street to Washington Street and Columbus Boulevard to 11th Street and look at ways to improve access to Washington, a four-lane artery. DiCicco says he'll try to secure $60,000 from the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighbor-hoods for the consultant. (The nonprofit started by state Sen. Vince Fumo, a DiCicco patron, is currently facing FBI scrutiny.) Otherwise a nonprofit waterfront development corporation DiCicco proposed to Fumo, Mayor Street and Gov. Rendell could kick in funds.

While some feel their elected officials are ignoring the gaming fight, Riverfront Communities United, a coalition of seven neighborhoods and a business district, is on the offensive. The group staged a rally at the proposed site Saturday and is gathering evidence to send to the state Gaming Control Board by June 2. The board plans to choose two slots sites in the city by December.