As we get closer to Mardi Gras, New Orleans city leaders continue their calls for Mardi Gras revelers to keep illegal obstructions, such as sofas, grills, and tents, off the neutral ground.
"You're not discovering the neutral ground. We all know it's there. You can't plant your flag and say this is the new land this is now mine," city council president J. P. Morrell said. "You're not Columbus or Magellan. That neutral ground's already been found. You can't claim it, you know, for the Smith Family or something."
Morrell told WWL's Tommy Tucker that everyone is entitled to enjoy the neutral ground and other public spaces along the parade route. That's why, he says, city officials are enforcing the city's ordinances banning objects that obstruct access to those areas.
"Mardi Gras is about everybody having a good time, not just you doing your damnedest to make sure you have the best time to the detriment of everyone around you," Morrell said. "The public space is everybody's. Just let everyone in. Enjoy Mardi Gras together.
According to Morrell, people who think they can claim a plot of neutral ground space by laying down a tarp or by putting up a tent need to think agian.
"It's when people feel like: this is my space. Get off it. Well, you're at the wrong event if you think that that tarp you laid on the ground makes that land your land."