Chinatown residents and businesspeople held a rally to reiterate objections to a Penn Valley billionaire’s plan for 76 Place, a new pro basketball arena in their neighborhood. Nina Baratti, KYW Newsradio, covered the protest — which included a parody of the 2013 Miley Cyrus video for “Wrecking Ball.”

The anti-development event sought to halt the construction plans of David Adelman.

He’s the Montgomery County billionaire who has set his sights on the Market Street block between 10th and 11th for a new Philadelphia home court.

The Cyrus reference conveyed the area’s general sense that destroying the historic commercial district is unfair to long-term retailers and residents.

Protestors tweaked the song’s lyrics to: “You came in like a wrecking ball / completely disregarding us / but you don’t get to make the calls / all your promises are empty / and we’re ready.”

Jonathan Leibovic, the parody’s author, said, “I wanted to put in a lot of the history that this is not the first time that Chinatown has had to fight these fights. And in fact, it keeps happening over and over again.”

If Adelman’s plans continue to unfold, demolition for 76ers Place is targeted to start in 2026, with a projected opening date of September 2031.

More on the controversy surrounding 76 Place is at KYW Newsradio.

_____

Inspiration for the 76ers Place protest, Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” (2013).