The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 1

Gfie iflnlabclpfna Inquirer i New Jersey Heard in the Hall B2 Michael Klein B2 Whatever Happened B2 Briefs B4 Faith Life B5 DA says inn killing is "difficult" to prosecute. B4 SECTION I South Jersey SUNDAY, JULY 22, 2001 www.philly.com 3 gion ttlSjjf Tom I FemckJr. In 'burbs, history has little chance DAVID WARREN Inquirer Suburban Staff Inside the Atlantic City tunnel, electrician Tim Windfelder of Margate installs the main cutoff for the tunnel's exhaust-fan system. The tunnel and road will open Friday. A.C.

tunnel bears a human cost The project has split a neighborhood and raised health worries. In a twist, Donald Trump is a big fan. j. ELIZABETH ROBERTSON Inquirer Suburban Staff Christie Brooks lives on Horace J. Bryant Jr.

Drive, with the tunnel site just across the street. She has concerns about carbon monoxide that will be pumped out of the tunnel. "We are so afraid of what it's going to bring," she said. By Amy S. Rosenberg INQUIRER STAFF WRITER ATLANTIC CITY Her water had turned red that morning.

For Christie Brooks, living directly across from the massive tunnel site, across from what used to be a block of homes and neighbors, it was just the latest annoyance. On her coffee table, beside the rusty water she had collected in a salad-dressing jar, sat the city's response: four half-liter bottles of water and a container of "Red-B-Gone" rust remover. "The mouth of the tunnel is 100 feet from my door," she said. "We're scared. We are so afraid of what it's going to bring." After 2i years of construction, some of it pushing nearby residents to the breaking point with noise, dust, vibrations, helicopters, and unsettling environmental and health concerns, the $330 million tunnel project linking the Atlantic City Expressway with the city's marina section is set to open Friday.

It is a project that gouged literally the heart of a neighborhood, redefined the city's political landscape, ignited feuds among casino moguls, and raised again and again a question that dogs this gambling city: how much should people who live here be expected to sacrifice for the casinos that dominate its skyline? Boyd Gaming of Las Vegas will not open until 2003. Another, to be built by MGM Mirage, is still in the planning stages. The casino landscape has changed drastically since impresario Steve Wynn first demanded the tunnel as a condition for building a Las Vegas-style resort on the H-tract, a former dump See TUNNEL on B3 scaped atop the tunnel site to be named for her father. "It's devastated the neighborhood," said Bryant, 57. "All the problems they're having, it's all of what we forecasted.

They never should have come that way." There is no new casino at the end of the tunnel, as initially promised. The $1 billion Borgata resort being built by Here is a vexing problem. Help me come find a solution. A city that is now home to millions but once was mostly farm and forest-land has a vast inventory of historic structures, many dating to before the Revolutionary War. People have a great deal of affection for these historic properties.

They see them as tangible links with the past and as an integral part of what makes this city unique. Sadly, a month rarely passes when one of these historic buildings isn't torn down to make way for retail or office development, new homes, or parking lots. With few exceptions, the city has no laws protecting such buildings by giving them special historic status. Sometimes, neighbors discover a building is in peril only after the bulldozers arrive. If you think I am talking about Philadelphia, hold your horses.

Philadelphia has an effective historic-preservation law. It has a Historical Commission, appointed by the mayor, which must OK any plans to demolish or alter historic buildings. The place I am talking about is larger and more populous with 2.3 million people, it is the equivalent of the fourth-largest city in the United States. It is the Philadelphia suburbs. A city without a name You say; The suburbs aren't a city.

I say: Look again. Today, they have densities of jobs, people and development similar to the fast-growing cities of the West and South. Our suburban city even has a downtown the King of Prussia Mall. What it doesn't have is a unified governmental structure, a la Houston, Denver, Phoenix, Orlando, etc. Instead, it is divided into 237 townships and boroughs, run by more than 1,000 supervisors, commissioners, council members or mayors.

A regular Tower of Babel. And folks seem to like it that way. The problem comes in dealing with "citywide" issues, such as sprawl, water resources, traffic congestion and historic preservation. For instance, the state has a law, datirg to 1961, that allows local governments to pass preservation laws with powers similar to Philadelphia's. About three dozen townships in our suburban city have such laws.

The list includes Cheltenham, Lower Merion, East Bradford, Trappe, Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships. But that means 85 percent have none." Tinicum Township is among the "nots," but I bet they wish they had one. Township officials there are working hard to save the Lazaretto, an 18th-century building located on a 10-acre site along the Delaware River. The Lazaretto served for more than a century as a quarantine station for Philadelphia-bound ships. Developers bought the property two years ago and want to convert it to a parking lot for nearby Philadelphia International Airport.

A historic inn Springfield Township in Montgomery County is another "not." The campaign there is to save the Black Horse Inn on Bethlehem Pike, which a developer wants to demolish to make room for a CVS and state liquor store. Even in towns where there are preservation laws, pressure for development is often so intense that the fight to save historic properties is uphill. Witness the battle under way in West Chester, where the county courts are seeking to expand by tearing down the better part of a block of historic retail buildings in the heart of downtown. Brent Glass, who is head of the state's historical commission, proselytizes for local governments to enact preservation ordinances. "The beginning point," he says, "is for people to recognize that there are cultural resources worth protecting." The path is steep and long.

Glass says about 125 of the state's local governments have enacted such laws out of a total of 2,600. There surely is a better way dare I say it? a regional way to deal with this issue. Until that happy day arrives (Want to join the pool? My pick is the year 2106), if you are interested in your local government enacting a preservation law, call the state historical commission at 717-783-8946 and ask to talk to someone about Act 167 of 1961. 4 Tom Ferrick's e-mail fddress is fferrickphillynews.corn. Prosecutor is silent on ex-official's suicide mm i For residents like Lillian Bryant, it meant giving up her home on a street named for her father and seeing the entire block of nine homes the centerpiece of a desirable middle-class African American neighborhood bulldozed.

Bryant is so bitter that she has refused to allow the park being land mi the three-day Riyaadah, which includes prayer, fellowship and athletic competition. "You get a sense of camaraderie. It's just a very nice feeling," said Djamila Abdeljaleel, 43, of Long Island, N.Y., who came to the event with nine family members. "It's like a big family gathering." The event began Friday and ends today with a free public barbecue at 11 a.m. at South George's Hill in Fair-mount Park.

Imam Asim Abdur Rashid, leader of Majlis As-Shura of Philadelphia, a Muslim group that is the principal sponsor of this year's Riyaadah, said the program was designed to promote health and physical fitness as CHARLES FOX Inquirer Staff Photographer Madonna began the U.S. leg of her Drowned World Tour in Philadelphia last night, performing at the First Union Center. "That she can stay on top of fashion, music and everything for so long is what keeps her fans coming back," said one fan. Another said, "Her music made my childhood happier." Story on B4 The Gloucester County-medical examiner has ruled on Anthony Scarduzio's death. But questions remain.

ByVickiMcClure and Angela Couloumbis INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS Anthony Scarduzio was laid to rest more than a week ago, but the circumstances surrounding the death of the former Camden Parking Authority chief remain a mystery. Gloucester County Medical Examiner Gerald Feigin has ruled Scarduzio's death a suicide. Feigin said Scarduzio, who authorities believe shot and wounded former friend and colleague Joseph Bowen, died of a shotgun wound to the head. But Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Yurick, whose office is investigat well as address key issues in the Muslim community. "It's a friendly sports competition," Imam Rashid said.

"Everything is fun." The events included swimming, a track and field competition, and potato-sack races. Separate sporting events were held next door in the Pearson Hall gym for women who must adhere to a strict Muslim dress Code. The Riyaadah was founded by Imam Jamil Al-Amin, formerly the Black Panther leader H. Rap Brown. He is in an Atlanta jail awaiting trial in the March 2000 shooting death of a Fulton County, sher- See MUSLIMS on B7 ing the double shootings, has not said whether Scarduzio, of Washington Township, who was found shot to death July 9, died of a self-inflicted wound.

"We're looking into every possibility," he has repeatedly said, steadfastly declining to say what those other possibilities are. Yurick's silence on Scarduzio's death has spawned a sense of unease in Washington Township, which is trying to make sense of one of the most high-profile crimes in recent memory. And the fact that questions have remained unanswered has triggered concerns about whether the truth will ever be known. "The silence is causing people to speculate," said Frank Cianci, a Washington Township resident who knew Scarduzio and Bowen. "There isn't a sense of closure.

It makes it seem like someone else is involved." Said Domenic Leone, one of Scarduzio's closest friends: "I don't know what See SCARDUZIO on B3 APRIL SAUL Inquirer Staff Photographer Raihana Akhdar, 11, gives her sister Rayyan, 7, a lift during Riyaadah events at Temple University. i Vi I- A 1 f. fc- r-r-v 1 fe I hi nflr Mm Lnn'itiif The 19th annual Islamic Riyaadah draws thousands to Phila. Muslims meet for fellowship and fun By Melanie Burney INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Shortly before 1:30 p.m. yesterday, the activity ceased on the basketball court at Temple University's McGoni-gle Hall.

The game wasn't over. It was time for afternoon prayer for those attending the 19th annual Islamic Riyaadah, a national gathering of Muslims. Men, women and children lined up on the hardwood floor for one of five prayers that Muslims say daily. Minutes later, the gym again buzzed with activities. The worshipers were among thousands of Muslims from around he country meeting in Philadelphia.