From The Morning Call

BethWorks developer is asked to address slots and crime

Morganelli warns statistics show gambling has impact.

By Kevin Pentón
Of The Morning Call

February 8, 2005

When gambling comes to towns throughout the United States, it usually brings increased crime, Northampton County District Attorney John M. Morganelli said Monday night in Bethlehem.

Standing before more than 200 people in the Cathedral Church of the Nativity at a meeting on the BethWorks Now plan for former Bethlehem Steel land, Morganelli told developer Michael Perrucci his $879.4 million project featuring a slots parlor needs to address how gambling will affect crime in the city.

''There's a lot of statistical evidence to suggest crime does rise,'' Morganelli said, referring to such offenses as robberies and bad-check writing.

Perrucci said his group chose to join with Las Vegas Sands Inc., owner of the Venetian casino in Nevada, to develop a slots parlor in the property's eastern portion because of the company's record of keeping crime rates low in the communities where it operates.

''If the city needs some space for a police station, we would be willing to sit down to talk about that,'' said Perrucci, responding to another crime-related question.

Making the slots parlor come to fruition quickly hinges on winning one of two licenses up for grabs in the state.

Crime and security were among concerns raised by some who attended the community meeting. The church holds monthly meetings on South Side issues.

While many of those who spoke cheered Perrucci for taking on the site's redevelopment, which he said would bring 9,600 jobs to the South Side, 5,500 of them in the slots parlor alone, they also questioned aspects of the plan, such as its impact on surrounding neighborhoods and its gaming component.

In addition to slots, the plan includes space for an industrial history museum, dozens of shops, up to 1,200 apartments and a hotel with as many as 1,000 rooms.

Javier Toro of the South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center questioned whether the project would help satisfy the South Side's strong needs for recreational space.

Perrucci said landscaping would include lines of trees, and he expects many of the people eventually moving into the apartments to be empty-nesters who would not further clog the South Side's small parks.

Others questioned how many of the jobs would go to locals.

''We want to make sure these jobs go to residents of south Bethlehem,'' said Perrucci, who pledged to create a job training program for local residents that could be a great community development tool.

Bethlehem resident and former steelworker Richard Check, whose eight brothers also worked at the plant, said the site should dedicate a large section to the site's industrial history. ''Bethlehem Steel lasted 100 years,'' he said. ''How long are you going to be there? Don't forget the people who worked there.''

Bethlehem Steel's original vision for the museum was a $250 million project linked to the Smithsonian Institution to display artifacts and commemorate the Industrial Revolution. Perrucci said he plans to continue working with the Smithsonian.

Much of the Bethlehem Works retail and entertainment project will reuse former Steel buildings, but even the new structures, such as the slots parlor, would be designed to look like early 20th-century industrial buildings.

Although developers of other outdoor shopping center proposals for the Lehigh Valley have said they expect higher-end retailers to go to only one regional location, Perrucci said he believes the site's gambling component will attract them to south Bethlehem.

''They've told us, 'Build it and we'll come,''' Perrucci said of the retailers.

He said the plan would take 25 years to complete without the slots revenue but about five years with it. ''We're looking to build the Rolls Royce of developments here,'' Perrucci said. ''Slots are the engine for the car we're looking to build.''