Staff Blog
Chinatown’s John Chin and Mary Yee pledge to keep up fight against Foxwoods Casino at Market East
Yesterday, Mayor Michael Nutter re-established the Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs, a body charged with keeping the mayor up to speed on issues in Philly's Asian-American community and helping bridge the gap between that community and the city.
Among the appointees were at least two prominent critics of Foxwoods' plan to move to Market East, right in the heart of Chinatown (a plan which Mayor Nutter supports): Mary Yee, Associate Executive Director of the Center for After School Education at Foundations, Inc.; and John Chin, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC).
Both Yee and Chin are steady in their opposition to having a casino in Chinatown. (Foxwoods has aggressively marketed itself to Asians elsewhere.)
I called Yee and Chin to see what they thought about the appointment, and whether they'd continue to speak up on casinos.
"The role of this commission is to bring up issues that are pertinent to the Asian-American community," said Chin this afternoon. "The Foxwoods casino is definitely a major issue with the Asian-American community in Chinatown. I hope that my colleagues will be open to discussing the issue."
When asked if he'll bring the issue up himself, Chin responded, "Most definitely. It's foremost in my mind."
Yee had a similar answer. "I think [the commission] will give us a forum to discuss issues of concern to Asian-Americans," she said, "one of which is the casino issue. I have confidence the mayor wants the commission to be an open, honest place for discussion where he'll get real community input."
Speaking for herself and other casino critics, Yee added: "We hope that even if we do have conflicting opinions and perspectives, the administration will discuss them in good faith and look for possible resolutions."
To be continued!
