July 16, 2016
As Philadelphia residents brace for the impact of the Democratic National Convention, good news arrived in reports that one fewer protest would be conducted.
The City of Philadelphia denied a permit to the Bernie Sanders campaign to host a rally in South Philly a day before the DNC, according to philly.com.
The campaign had hoped to reserve Richie Ashburn Field in FDR Park on July 24 in order to rally an estimated crowd of 40,000 supporters.
The city did allow the campaign the option to apply for another location.
In June, Sanders had vowed to fight for the Democratic presidential nomination all the way to the floor of the DNC.
However, Sanders endorsed presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton earlier this week and will speak at the DNC on the first night, July 25.
NBC10 reports that the rejection letter noted that the area was not permitted to host "non-recreational" activities.
"The City Property requested is a non-public forum that has not been opened for expressive activity to the general public," Deputy Managing Director for Operations Jazelle Jones wrote.
Despite the city's rejection of the Sanders campaign's permit, there will be no shortage of Sanders supporters demonstrating in FDR Park during the DNC.
Billy Taylor, a vocal Sanders supporter, holds four of the six city-issued permits for protest zones.
The DNC will take place from July 25 to 28 at the Wells Fargo Center.
