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Neighbors near Georgia Dome want benefits agreement

ATLANTA — Residents who live near the Georgia Dome say they don't want a promise or a plan to fix their neighborhood when the Falcons stadium is built. They say they want a binding agreement.

The Voices Within Vine City and English Avenue released a 10-minute video that starts with the words, "Making The Case For A Community Benefits Agreement."

The narrator then describes what he says are "broken promises" from the past when the Georgia Dome was built in 1992.

"Vine City and English Avenue are the voiceless population hidden beneath trees that are not seen, ignored by representatives, politicians and the rest of Atlanta," the video explains.

Neighbors say they want a profit-sharing agreement that lays out exactly how $45 million will be spent, and future revenue.

Rev. Anthony Motley, of the Lindsay Street Baptist Church, says the Atlanta City Council changed the wording of a deal between the neighborhoods and the city for the Falcons stadium.

"It gives the city the ability to put that plan and others on the shelf. We want an agreement, a binding legal contract," said Rev. Motley.

Timothy Cullins grew up in the English Avenue neighborhood.

"They promised us so much when they built the dome. They promised some of the senior citizens around here things they was going to do, and we ended up with parking lots," Cullins said.

Channel 2's Craig Lucie contacted Mayor Kasim Reed's office about the video, but we haven't heard back yet.

Councilman Michael Julian Bond told Lucie on the phone that the city is trying to put together a plan to reach an agreement, but he says the city doesn't have much leverage in the situation because the Falcons are paying for the majority of the new stadium.