Tonight a community meeting will discuss New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s idea to convert Municipal Auditorium in Armstrong Park into a new New Orleans City Hall.
It is an idea that doesn’t sit well with preservationists and residents near the park.
“The building is not suitable to be converted into an office building, for one thing,” said Leo Watermeier, an historic preservationist and founder of the group “Friends of Armstrong Park.
Cantrell administration spokesman Beau Tidwell says they want to return it to public use, and also says New Orleans City Hall needs replacing.
“We want to really make an effort to return this space to public use. City Hall is a public building,” said Tidwell. “So that conversation’s going to be ongoing. The mayor’s going to continue to hear directly from residents and speak directly to residents. We want to make sure that people feel that their heard, and that the mayor’s able to articulate why she thinks it’s the right move.”
Watermeier says it feels to him and others like him the mayor is not interested in hearing from the people, and only wants to tell them the move is going to happen.
“They have not been open,” said Watermeier. “They have not responded to our suggestions.”
The meeting happens at 6:30 p.m. at the Broadmoor Community Church at 2021 S. Dupre Street.
