New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell today lashed out at the New Orleans City Council's plan to hold a hearing tomorrow into the deadly partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel construction site.
"We have to keep in mind, there are multiple investigations going on right now that are tied to real authority and accountability," the mayor told reporters. "Those are the most important investigations."
Council President Helena Moreno told WWL's Newell Normand that the council does indeed have "real authority" to hold hearings.
"It is our duty to be accountable to the people of our city and to be transparent," the councilwoman explained. "I do think that the more information that we put out there, the less type of misinformation that will be created."
The mayor added that the other investigations should not be impeded, saying, "Investigations that we need to need to not only allow to happen, but to move forward with seeking real justice as it relates to this tragic event."
Moreno insisted that they have no intention of interfering with anything.
"We certainly understand that there are all different types of investigations happening right now, and we do not want to get in the way of any of those," the council president explained.
Despite the mayor's objection, the council convenes at three o' clock Wednesday afternoon to hold a Hard Rock hearing.
Meanwhile Cantrell responded to the developer's assertion on the Newell Normand Show Monday that the development team was not responsible for the collapse because the developer is not a contractor or an engineer.
"The sole responsibility of this project, of it's construction, is the ownership of the site, and that is 1031 Canal. That's where it is, and that's where we as a city will ensure accountability at every level, as we have demonstrated literally from day one," the mayor told reporters.
In an advertisement that 1031 Canal Development bought Sunday, it insisted that the development team did not do the construction, the engineering nor the architecture.