The sun peaked over the buildings in Philly as the light falls onto Godfather Mako, standing on the block of a busy intersection in the middle of the city. With him stood one of his most trustworthy associates and one of his most loyal bodyguards. The streets were busy with citizens going to work and civilians enjoying the sights of the city, all without worry of organized crime. It was something that the city hadn’t been rebuilt to become all that used to once more, but the tourists were out and about after the dust settled within the city limits. It brought a bit of sadness to Mako’s face, but it was quickly drowned out by the smiles of the passing civilians who called this place home.

Mako’s associate brought him a soap box from one of the nearby dumpsters and his bodyguard cleared a way to the front of the Philadelphia City Hall. After placing the soap box down, Mako jumped on top of it, and focused his attention to the crowd before him.

“To everyone that will give me their attention, I have some news that is important to the members of this community; mafioso, and even those who roam the Philadelphia streets on a regular basis. I speak on behalf of the Godfather Council to notify you all that organized crime in the city limits of Philadelphia will cease for the foreseeable future.

Our population as mobsters is thin at the moment and we believe that there just aren't enough people interested in this life that we live to actually accumulate a stable population in Philly. With some steps in the place to get empty districts back on the path of crime, we will be concentrating on expanding and growing Las Vegas and Detroit, which have already started to tend to their own growths in population. When we have both cities of Vegas and Detroit flourishing with crime, then we might consider use from the city of Philadelphia.

We found it best to invest into what we already have stock in as criminals, and not make Philly bend its knee to organized crime if its not in the best interest for us all as a whole. It will only contribute to the problem with the population stability... a problem that has effected us all for some time now.

So for better or worse, these are the plans that have been decided on at the moment. We look forward to everyone's thoughts, concerns, and comments on the matter. Thank you all for your time.”

With that said, Mako kicked the soap box off the ground and into his hands. He threw it into the dumpster by the front door of city hall and sat down Indian style on the steps, perching his elbows on his knees. Philadelphia would be a luxury for the citizens who lived here free from organized crime. At least for the time being...

As he walked down the streets, he sighed thoughtfully about his old home as he slumped against the wall.  He couldn't say was a surprise to him really especially after how a growing city had fallen and so many crews with inactives on the books.

will there be any surprises like Las Vegas crews being relocated to Detroit so to cities don't look empty, or will it be a case of we will hear as get an uptake in numbers or when the GFC decide whats best in their minds.

While i agree with you on that point Vaelin_Al_Sorna i also see that we are struggeling to maintain what cities and districts we already have, That being said it is heartbreaking to see the city of Brotherly Love lay barren and deserted it has a rich history and has had many fine powerful GodMothers and GodFathers Anita and Deadlysin just to name 2.

I know there have been more but thats just 2 off the top of my head feel free to add others if you like though this isnt what the speech is about with luck we can find a way to make it viable to run all cities so theres a healthy spread across the board so to speak 

I disagree, it isn't simply about money Vaelin. Not that I'm in any way involved in the decision, but from my opinion it would also be about consolidating power. We speak of lack of population as a reason, yet we have over 100, yes 100, Upper Structure at this time. That to me tells me that we already have more crime familys than this community can perhaps sustain. Thats something that was touched on by Mako - however like you said Vaelin there could be some relocating from some of the already formed familys.. however I dont money for the move is the main issue, it all comes down to power.

All the largest cities right now have at most 3 crews per district. This is low compared to recent times where we often saw 4 and 5 crews occupied in one district, so it shows that the GFC have addressed that already and spread themselves thin to help accomodate the low population in other areas; to continue that trend and populate Philly would spread them even thiner, they've already explained that there are plans to expand other districts where a decent population already exists so it would be a waste of their man power to attempt to create a foot hold in Philly at the same time.

I see this as a smart move from the people in power, but also as a good move for the community. I don't think people moving to Philly for the sake of a cosmetic reason is very good for this thing of ours, we can handle the city remaining empty for a little while, we already have 2 more cities now than to make up for the lack of action in Philly so I can't see why its so bad really.

Anyway, thats my intial thoughts - I have to go now or I'd probably mumble on some more.

Those are some interesting thoughts and opinions on the matter, but when this was put into place I never really considered it about money or power. I looked at it as a chance to focus where our priorities should be in the expanding and filling department. We currently only have one district each in both Las Vegas and Detroit that are working towards getting those cities started. Where would it make any sense to fill Philly for the sake of filling the city? We already have a foothold in Vegas and Detroit and those cities should be the focus at the moment. Am I saying that Philly will never get used again? Not at all. I'm saying that it would be great to see Vegas and Detroit more stable before we tackle a whole other city to fill.

To be honest, its annoying to fill for the sake of filling. Casting out CLs that aren't ready or prepared for the sake of doing it or giving someone a chance to build a crew from scratch. If we want to bring a little bit more value back into some of the things we do, we can't just bitch about it. We have to take some steps that we believe are in the best interest for the community and the crews that are currently standing. We were told by the Gods that things are now in the communities hand and we will not be going back to the old life of crime of only 6 or 7 cities, so we have to make the best of what we have, which in this case is too much.

Closing down Philly will hopefully in turn make Detroit and Vegas stronger with time, and things can be transitioned a little more properly without the need to worry about three extra empty districts. Before we worry about those three, I think it's best to worry about the other four that currently lay empty.

Thank you Godfather Mako for this very nice news and a time to explain to everyone of us what is the GF Council decision, yes we all did see the glory of Philadelphia from the past and we have seen it many times though it has been a long time since the glory of Philadelphia has been seen in our street, though Las Vegas and Los Angeles glory has been seen far more longer than we have seen Philadelphia. We have all seen Los Angeles and Las Vegas close down and it sadden us all to see this happen, before the close down of both city, it did not prosper for how many months one, two, three or more than a year. We have all wanted to see this city goes up again to his foot and give everyone a chance to do business and make it proud. If we have to sacrifice a city to make two city glorious why not, Philadelphia will not be close only the GF Council want to make it more organize, then focus on that city in the future.

we believe that there just aren't enough people interested in this life that we live to actually accumulate a stable population in Philly.

Have you guys (3033) and "loyal" followers ever looked beyond your self glorified, ugly noses and asked the real question, why the populous has decreased? You can say this is another "3033 hater crusade" and you'd  probably be not to far off but that doesn't really bother me too much.

You guys(i know first hand) have sucked every thing form this place, ive sat in your meetings. ive seen you guys "at work" and you're a bunch of cow boys.  of course this is how this life works, factions come and go, but now every cunt wants to be apart of this clique, its sickening, sickening to the point that we now do not have the population to fill districts. 

I do agree thought, that you shouldn't just auth people for lols (melis)-yes its true, that what was done, sad, i know. in saying that there is currently enough people, who're iwp with very decent guns to be able to thin cities/districts out and IMO thats what is needed. 

In saying the 3033 are only to blame would be slightly wrong, you have too look deeper, all other cl's, gf's and big guns of this world war also to blame. People are so scared of dying that they wont risk anything, people are allowed to live for far too long, they invest far too much time and, like i said wont risk anything, its sad, really sad.

Just think about it, the people who are not 3033 will die, eventually. Its been proved, we can all see it. we have seen it. Take the risk, take the initiative, shoot first, do maximum damage, Cut this clique by a third, you can consider that a good job. then let the other, up and coming none 3033 cl's and gf's do the same. easier said than done, i get it but my logic still stands.  

if you loved this place liek most of you say you do, then change it, re-scape it. 

I like the overall idea of leaving Philly alone for a while to build something else, but why focus on both Vegas and DT  at the same time when Vegas is so ghost town/IA? They have 13 members in the entire city. And it doesn't look like The Strip competition is happening anymore. Why not move them to DT where there's already a GF in 1 of the districts, and let Chekov still get a district since he has his own in LV. This way you get DT filled up even quicker. 

Have you guys (3033) and "loyal" followers ever looked beyond your self glorified, ugly noses and asked the real question, why the populous has decreased?

in saying the 3033 are only to blame would be slightly wrong

You guys(i know first hand) have sucked every thing form this place, ive sat in your meetings. ive seen you guys "at work" and you're a bunch of cow boys.

You don't really seem to clear on who you want to blame here? The world itself or the 303 group who are in power right now?

of course this is how this life works, factions come and go

So you know that, I know that, everyone knows that. Why then can 303 be to blame for the disappearing of any of the bloodlines from this community? If they all know that 303 will someday be no more and there will be someone new to hate, then why would they just leave because of 303? They wouldn't. They would leave because they need a break from this thing of ours and will return someday, perhaps when 303 are no more, or perhaps when they have the stomach to stand up and fight those within the 303 group? Who knows. But you cannot blame the person in power for the fact someone doesn't like them and chooses not to join this life of crime.

I've lost a fair few family members to the group, so don't think that I'm some supporter or anything, but I know that each of my family died for a reason, whether that be a good or bad reason in my eyes, there was a reason. So to stomp on the hard work that 303 have put into this thing of ours and simply lay so much blame on them for the loss of members to the community is completely inaccurate and wrong in my opinion, it comes down to the personal choice of each bloodline that walks these streets. I decided to follow in the footsteps of my father and make a living in this thing of ours, others it seems didn't wish to continue that life. That choice was their own and not because of 303.

Anyway.. Back on topic. As I said before, sending people to Philly for the sake of it not being empty is pointless regardless of what the real reason behind the lack of movement is. I still would say its down to Power, and would agree to some extent with the other chap that said Money was part of the decision, but I'm pleased that they will focus some efforts on getting people to Vegas and Detroit, there are some very fine leaders in both thoes cities that deserve much more than a small handful of people to work with.

I am insanely pleased to hear about this. It has been quite a while since I've seen any move taken by the leaders of this world that says 'We run this world how we want to' and not 'Oh....We will just find a way to work with the Gods' plan for us'.

While this may not be the most dramatic of actions, this is quite a nice step to see.

Kudos.

lronSight listens, double checks his notes on his own speech notes from another corner then wonders allowed,

"This idea sounds awfully familiar... but congratulations on putting back the piece of candy. Expanding for the sake of expanding was stupid and I'm glad a public opinion on what's best for the public seemed to make a difference and I thank anyone who backed it publicly or privately whether we had anything to do with influencing the decision or not, to me it feels like we did and I hope for more changes of the sort in the future."

but will the bars still be open!?!??!?!????

A very good question MissPinky one that i think needs to be answered.

this SERIOUS ISSUE!!

As someone who comes from a long line of people who have never been afraid to disagree with the Godfather Council when we have felt it was needed, today I'd like to come out here and say that I believe that the Godfather Council have things spot on with this decision, and that I feel as though they are doing the right thing. 

Few of us are too blind to see that the population of our world is far too small to warrant the current set up. It's nice to see those with the power to change the status quo actually doing so. 

I wish the Godfathers the best of luck in their plans to fill Detroit and Las Vegas and look forward to the day that Philadelphia finds itself with a permanent population of mafiosi once more. 

Maria turns to Kal_El, feeling as though his comment is the only one she particularly feels the need to respond to, with proof currently in the process of being transported to the funeral home. 

I like the overall idea of leaving Philly alone for a while to build something else, but why focus on both Vegas and DT  at the same timewhen Vegas is so ghost town/IA? They have 13 members in the entire city. And it doesn't look like The Strip competition is happening anymore. Why not move them to DT where there's already a GF in 1 of the districts, and let Chekov still get a district since he has his own in LV. This way you get DT filled up even quicker. 

Kal_El - why the rush? Why go to the expense of relocating two leaders from Las Vegas to Detroit? As far as I can tell, this announcement is not about racing to fill these empty districts. This is about the Godfather Council informing everybody of their decisions to take their time over filling the empty districts.

With Philadelphia now officially closed by the Godfathers for the time being, perhaps those people who like to try to pressure the Godfathers to fill districts for the sake of filling them will respect their decision and back off pushing at them.  

I also would love to know what makes you think that these people SHOULD just up and move? They are the last ones standing from the Paradise competition, why shouldn't they enjoy their prize? I seem to recall you having an ancestor who was a right hand to a leader who died as soon as the protection time was up on that competition. How would they have reacted to being informed that they were moving, just for the sake of filling somewhere else up faster? 

You can say all you like about Las Vegas being a ghost town, but at the end of the day, Chekov and Sydney have done everything that the Godfathers asked them to do. The Godfathers are obviously not sufficiently unimpressed by their achievements that they have taken the decision to remove them. The Godfathers quite obviously have the capacity to do so. Why should they be punished for that by being made to move to another city? What happens if the current Godfather of Detroit decides he doesn't want to share with them? They all get killed off just because we wanted to try to make Detroit fill faster? 

Four empty districts to focus on is much less than seven. Based on the positive actions here by the Godfather Council, I'm quite sure we will see both Las Vegas and Detroit flourishing again. I'm sure a little patience from the rest of us while the Godfathers do what they can to ensure the best future possible for these two cities, whether it takes days, weeks or months to fill those districts, would be the most helpful thing we all could offer now. 

This doesn't surprise me, but coupling it with recent expansions (ironically in Mako's city), I feel like this sentiment is artificial at best and deliberately misleading at worst. Not sure if the meeting was timed up well enough for all your auths to come through just before this "ruling," but it makes everything seem like an inside joke. Basically, you thought we had enough people to auth Genocide, Tesla, and give SammyGravano his own district in Chicago, but we don't have enough people for Philly. Doesn't that seem a bit like "do as we say not as we do"?

You claim to have the "good of the country" or whatever as your primary interest in this decision, yet whatever influenced you to expand within your own city was contrary to that interest. I'd recommend that someone else within the GFC should have made the announcement, but I fear many members can't remember the route to the Streets anymore and get lost when they try to show up.

Regardless, I do hope this has the beneficial effect you're looking for. It just seems like as long as we promote inter-city rules and disregard them within our own cities, there's no real point to making inter-city rules except to make it look like we're doing something productive.

Is generally how much empires consolidate their grip Denam as i am sure you know, assist in removing a city, to recruit and then close it off.  It could be exploited for dfp's i guess for extra income by moving people in, but the less cities you run, the easier to keep a watchful eye and fill ia ranks of a family.  Orangejuice also gained a move i believe Denam from Queens to Manhattan so can possibly see a need for another crew there in time if Orangejuice took Godfather.