The blighted Plaza Tower skyscraper, and what to do with it, comes up at today's New Orleans City Council meeting.
Councilmembers Lesli Harris and J.P. Morrell are offering two motions: one would find out how much it costs the city when it routinely closes streets around the crumbling tower, and the other would direct the office of code enforcement come up with a plan to enforce blight laws as they relate to Plaza Tower.
Morrell told WWL First News with Tommy Tucker that if someone gets hurt, they can't just point fingers at the owner.
"The entire city is watching Plaza Tower in real-time," he said. "If a disaster does occur, the city can't claim ignorance or feign ignorance."
Can the Plaza Tower be rehabilitated? The blighted skyscraper sits in Councilmember Lesli Harris' district, and she told WWL's Newell Normand that she would rather not have the disruption of a demolition.
"I certainly don't want to see it demolished if it can be redeveloped," she said.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell has also said the tower needs to be rehabilitated or demolished, but she says the motions being put forth today are not helping the situation.
"Those motions will not bring forth a solution to what we're dealing with right now," she said. "It is causing problems in the middle of negotiations with extremely viable options relative to the purchase of Plaza Tower."
