On March 3rd, Penn and Drexel students protested against the 76ers’ arena developmental proposal next to Philadelphia’s Chinatown and to preserve affordable housing in West Philadelphia. The student group, known as SPOC (Students for the Preservation of Chinatown) and the Coalition to Save the UC Townhomes, protested during the UPenn board of trustees meeting at the Inn at Penn. Students attempted to enter the meeting but were soon removed. The students, led by Taryn Flaherty and Kaia Chau, who founded SPOC, demanded that the 76ers’ arena developers David Adelman, David Blitzer, and Josh Harris be removed from their position on UPenn’s Board of Trustees and that the university support Chinatown community’s views against the stadium. Also, SPOC demanded David Adelman be removed from Drexel’s University Real Estate Advisory Board. Adelman is in plans to redevelop West Philadelphia, which threatens the existence of UC Townhomes, one of the last remaining affordable housing complexes in the area. UC Townhomes consisted of several West Philadelphia low-income homeowners and were initially built for the displacement of low-income families. The redevelopment plan to purchase UC Townhomes would cause gentrification, evict and displace low-income residents and cause more homelessness.
