Please sign this petition telling the Mayor and City Council to STOP the destruction of the FDR Meadows, South Philadelphia's only publicly accessible urban meadow and woodlands.

The development and privatization of our public lands is out of control. The administration's plan for FDR Park does not reflect the present-day needs and wants of the community. It is dangerous for the environment and public health, and it sets a precedent of privatization of our public lands that we, the public, do not accept.

• Parks & Rec would clearcut public parkland to build a $100 million sports complex with artificial turf fields for private rental, instead of improving the neglected playing fields in our neighborhoods.
  Artificial turf causes sports injuries, contains toxins linked to cancer (especially in children), and poisons the environment. Other municipalities, like Boston, are banning it.

• South Philadelphia would lose its largest tree canopy and wildlife habitat, a green space that protects us from stormwater flooding, increasingly hot summers, and pollutants.
  The wetlands project that has already cleared part of the Meadows is greenwashing — it enables the airport to pave over a large wetlands area in nearby Tinicum.

• The plan was developed behind closed doors. There’s no evidence that Parks & Rec incorporated community input into the design in any significant way.
  The plan was created in 2018 and 2019, before the pandemic and before community members discovered the healing effect of the Meadows.