City of New Orleans Public Works crews today removed banners placed on the front of historic Gallier Hall in advance of the inaugural celebration for Mayor-elect Helena Moreno.
Moreno had the banners hung on the building ahead of next month's swearing in.
Ian Auzenne
Her team says the mayor-elect secured approval from the city's Property Management Department on December 8th to erect the signage.
This morning the Cantrell administration sent public works to remove them.
Fire Chief Roman Nelson was at Gallier Hall just minutes before crews started removing the banners.
He did not speak to media on site, and his spokesman Gregory Davis said he "has no idea" why the chief was there.
There was no immediate comment from Mayor Cantrell or her administration. However, in an email obtained by WWL, chief administrative officer Joe Threat told city council budget chairman Joe Giarrusso and other city officials, "Mayor LaToya Cantrell's direction is to remove the banners now and reinstall them ahead of inauguration day."
A Cantrell Administration spokesman told our partners at NOLA.com that the removal of the banners is "standard operating procedure."
In a statement, the spokesman for Moreno's transition team, Todd Ragusa, said private funds paid for the banners' installation.
"We have been informed that Mayor Cantrell wants the banners removed, though no reason has been provided," the statement, issued by Todd Ragusa, said. "Councilmembers and the Inauguration Committee do not believe the banners should come down, and we do not believe it would be a responsible use of funds to pay for their removal."
The banners read: "ALL IN FOR NEW ORLEANS", "ALL IN FOR OUR COMMUNITY", "ALL IN FOR OUR CULTURE", "ALL IN FOR OUR YOUTH", "ALL IN FOR OUR FUTURE".
