New Orleans City Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen apologizes for her remarks regarding Lower Ninth Ward residents and the abundance of ‘greasy fried chicken’ restaurants in the neighborhood.
The Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate featured op-ed article published Saturday, focused on Lower Ninth Ward residents and businesses still struggling to bounce back 15 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region.
"To all residents of the Lower Ninth Ward, you know where my heart is at, and you have seen the work I put into the community every day. I recognize that injustice has been done to many of our minority communities, and I am working daily to change that dynamic,” Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen said in an official statement released Sunday.
Nguyen says Nola.com’s article got her comments wrong.
“An article published yesterday on Nola.com quoted a conversation out of context regarding the permeation of unhealthy foods such as fried chicken in the Lower Ninth Ward. In the context they were presented, my example of residents enjoying fried chicken and its abundance in the area came off as insensitive, and for that, I apologize. It was also not my intent to imply that fried chicken is all residents of the Lower Ninth Ward want or deserve, it was to describe that the Lower Ninth Ward is a food desert with a lack of access to healthy food alternatives due to the saturation of convenience stores and gas stations with unhealthy food options," Nguyen said.
Nguyen says the conversation with reporters was about market analyses that identify local business trends and consumer buying trends in the Lower Ninth Ward.
“Not only do we want development, but we also want beneficial development that will lift up residents and the entire area with healthy food options and a diversification of businesses that allows residents to reinvest in their own community rather than having to travel outside of it,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen also posted her apology in a Facebook video.
She encourages residents in the Lower Ninth Ward to participate in the 2020 Census as a way to better attract new businesses to the neighborhood as it continues to redevelop.