King's World of Marble Loses Fight With Phoenix City Hall

The pair of business owners, who locked themselves in their Phoenix marble store rather than relocate as they were ordered to do by the city, lost their fight with city hall last week. Seamus King and Alexandra Seals, owners of King's World of Marble, were ordered to give up their property, near...

By James King

October 5, 2009

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The pair of business owners, who locked themselves in their Phoenix marble store rather than relocate as they were ordered to do by the city, lost their fight with city hall last week.

Seamus King and Alexandra Seals, owners of King's World of Marble, were ordered to give up their property, near 44th and Washington streets, to make way for Sky Harbor Airport's new SKY Train project.

Needless to say, they weren't thrilled.

After battling with the city, a hunger strike, and rooftop pleas to Senator John McCain, a judge has ordered the pair relocate by today.

The city claims King never even owned the property and his legal fight has delayed construction of the train system and cost tax payers up to $25,000 a day since early September.

King has since moved his marble to a storage shed in north Phoenix and claims his business will be ruined as a result.

"It's a very bad day for small businesses in Phoenix. A day like today should never, ever come around," King tells My Fox Phoenix. "They don't see what it's like to lay off your staff. They don't see what it's like for your staff to lose their houses."

On the other hand, the city does see what it's like to spend $25,000 a day to basically give King's World of Marble a month of free advertising through media coverage. How about a little gratitude?

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