Restaurant, NAACP Accuse South Philadelphia Hotel Of Racism; Hotel Owners Say Decision Was Strictly Business

South Philly Hotel Owner Says Racism Not Behind Restaurant’s Eviction

March 18, 2011 2:44 PM

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Business & Economy, Crime and Justice, Heard On, Local, News, Philadelphia, Tourism, Watch + Listen

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The local branch of the NAACP is accusing a South Philadelphia hotel of discrimination for allegedly asking that the attached restaurant not schedule any hip-hop parties.

At issue is a dispute between the Holiday Inn on Packer Avenue (above) down near the South Philadelphia sports stadiums, and the former operators of the on-site restaurant.

NAACP chapter president Jerome Mondesire says the hotel’s owners in 2009 told the restaurant operators to stop holding hip-hop dances there.

“They were scheduling some individual parties, and they were ordered by the owners — Trent Motel Associates — to stop doing events that attracted black customers,” Mondesire claims. “It’s getting to the (baseball) season when the Holiday Inn is going to do a lot of business, so we wanted to alert the public about it now,” he told KYW Newsradio Friday.

The former restaurant operators, Brett and Matt Levy, have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the hotel’s owners.

A spokesman for the owners says the restaurant operators were evicted from the site for non-payment of rent after losing their liquor license and after the city had cited them for non-payment of taxes. The spokesman says the directive to stop the dances came only after one such dance ended in gunfire.

Reported by KYW City Hall Bureau chief Mike Dunn

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South Philly Hotel Owner Says Racism Not Behind Restaurants Eviction

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[...] South Philly Hotel Owner Says Racism Not Behind Restaurant’s Eviction PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The local branch of the NAACP is accusing a South Philadelphia hotel of discrimination for [...] [...]
Paul The Wall

I am sure they were not trying to get rid of “Blacks” They just wanted to preserve the Holiday Inn family image. I was a bartender near a hip Hop club. We never had a problem with guns or violence. However King Shimmy had guns and fights all the time.
K Turner

I tip well, don’t own a gun, and don’t fight. Never make over arching statements about people you don’t know. It shows ignorance.
nick

top 3 comments are dead on. they really do.
The voice of reason

Again the media distorts the facts to gain readership. The hotel asked for there to be no HIP HOP parties NOT black parties. The owners have the right to protect their interest. Police logs show a dramatic increase in crime related to hip hop parties and their attendees. WHITE, BLACK, HISPANIC AND ASIAN included. If the HIP HOP crowd was not so closely related to this rise in crime, the owners would not mind. Money is the key factor here, NOT race. Paying customers do not want to stay at a hotel with a huge potential for being involved in a crime, and HIP HOP parties usually mean crime. SORRY FACTS ARE FACTS can not change them just because somebody is offended.
RE Foster

its about business not racism. no one of any race wants to stay in a hotel with a hip hop party going on until 2 or 3 (or later) in the morning. get it?
SockRayBlue

Good business practice. Who wants their property trashed by a Hip Hop party or any other festivity that attracts the less inhibited levels of our society?
john

They don’t tip. They bring guns, cause fights and damage….