The struggles appear to be never-ending for New Orleans downtown tourism and hospitality industry. Businesses are expected to take a financial hit as Jazz Fest, Red Dress Run and White Linen Night have all been canceled. Meanwhile, they have been dealing with restrictions due to Covid-19, and safety concerns remain after shootings in the French Quarter the last two weekends. Private entities and neighborhood groups have been asking the City of New Orleans to put more resources into public safety. Newell spoke with Stephen Perry, CEO of New Orleans and Company, about the ongoing struggle with city officials to ensure downtown New Orleans is safe so businesses can thrive and the jewel in the crown of Louisiana, the French Quarter, is protected.
“With all that’s happened recently, you have to feel almost like it’s one step forward, two steps back,” asked Newell Normand.
“It really has been,” confirmed Stephen Perry. “We had so much progress from the spring and we were doing so well. Right now the Delta variant has thrown some curve balls…we’ve got some potential things on the horizon that just caused us grave concerns. Canceling Jazz Fest was a very difficult decision. This was not the mayor’s decision; it was a business decision. A number of headliners were reluctant to travel with the Delta variant. We saw ticket sales beginning to be affected, and you’ve got a significant public health issue with hundreds of thousands of people crammed side-by-side singing, dancing and sharing drinks and so forth. The Delta variant was the thing that made the difference in canceling Jazz Fest, but we are exploring things that are potential vaccine friendly that could occur during those two weekends.”
“There are so many code violations of individuals who are conducting business on Bourbon Street and outside the Superdome,” Newell said. “We have the Saints preseason games coming up and there’s nobody enforcing the illegal sale of liquor, clothing, drugs, everything out of a wagon. Yet, the city is going to ask the restaurant industry to self-regulate? Restaurant owners and operators have reached out to the city many times to enforce the same provisions they have to abide by. They want these individuals engaging in illegal sales on public property to be forced to comply or stop. The city does nothing.”
“It’s absolutely crazy,” said Perry. “Police are not able to properly interact with folks in the Quarter. Vagrancy is at an all-time high. We’re dealing with aggressive solicitation on the streets. We’ve got unregulated sale of alcohol, food and drugs right out in public. We don’t have enough police officers. Officers are instructed, unless it’s a violent felony, not to give chase. The very idea that we as a government would not ask the same of the customers that come through the doors of City Hall as we would of a restaurant makes no sense. It makes absolutely no sense.”
“I spoke with a French Quarter bar owner the other day who told me, if they have another violent weekend, he’s done. The safety…security…for him, his family and others that work in their business…he just can’t take the risk or the hit,” Newell said.
“That’s the alarming part,” answered Perry. “That’s why it puts a spotlight on the fact that our public policy choices right now have to be the very best, well thought out, as well-reasoned policies as they can be.”
Hear the entire interview in the audio player below.