The pawn shop issue was raised the first time around, and back then the city determined that the zoning code did not explicitly define cash-for-gold stores as pawn shops. As far as the opponents are concerned, this store is a pawn shop, and pawn shops are a prohibited use at the site, which has an Allen Street address although it fronts on Delaware Ave. 'I thought we took care of this back in 2011,' McMonagle said. 'I thought it wasn't allowed, and this is not the kind of business people want near their homes.' Fishtown Neighbors Association's Matt Karp and Sean McMonagle, legislative aide to First District Councilman Mark Squilla, don't like this particular deja vu, either. 'I was surprised, and I was angry,' to see new signs advertising the purchase of gold and jewelry, said near-neighbor and activist Jethro Heiko. 'We were promised these kinds of businesses would be kept out, that this would never happen,' said Fishtown Action's Maggie O'Brien, as unhappy as she was when cash-for-gold signs went up on the same store back in 2011. A store that buys gold has opened up across Delaware Avenue from SugarHouse casino, and once again, neighborhood groups and city leaders are fighting it.
