The Culture Wars; a Chronicle of the Battles Between City Hall & The Cultures That Make New Orleans

So much has already been said on this subject, it's difficult to keep up. There are many points of view here, and many interests, pushing their own agendas.

 My intent is to look into the various aspects of this, one by one, avoiding the inevitable cross talk that clouds issues, already complex by their very nature.

 With that in mind, I'll be posting a series of these blogs, in an attempt to filter through the information, the cultural impact, the intentions involved, and the true nature of a society based on cultural & run by text book ordinance.

 During this series, let it always be with an eye to fairness, accurate representation of the actual population, and a profound respect for the history & the culture, themselves, which far out date our 'modern government', and are, in fact, the very life blood & back bone that the City of New Orleans depends upon to exist as anything other than another airport surrounded by malls, hotels & gift shops.

 At this time, let me begin by bringing us to the current events of the day;

SOUND ORDINANCES IN THE FRENCH QUARTER;

There has been a resurgence, by many, myself included, of those questioning City Council Member Kristin Palmer, regarding Rich Webster's story (9/8/2011), posted in City Business. Rich Webster wrote that Palmer was pushing a draft of a sound ordinance that would limit sound levels in the French Quarter to 70 Decibels, a ridiculously low level. The original story is here.
 Nicole Webre, legal council from CM Palmer's office, writes me that the individuals quoted in this article were incorrect, but Rich Webster tell me that there was such a draft, and it was abandoned, due to public outrage.

 Ms. Webre tells me that the draft in question is no longer available for viewing, but is supplying me with the current ordinances, unchanged, I am told, for years.
 In the first of these blogs, I will be posting those ordinances, attempting to define them clearly, explore legitimate enforcement tactics, and look at zoning maps that allow changes in these laws.

PERMIT & ZONING ENFORCEMENT ON LIVE MUSIC & LIVE MUSIC VENUES;

Last Wednesday (9/26/12), Kermit Ruffins held the first of what promises to be weekly meetings, as the Music Community "pushes back" against City Hall. Read the story here.
 The net result of these meetings, at this writing, is a short term solution, as Siberia & Mimi's in the Marigny, have been allowed to feature live music on a 'temporary basis', as New Rules of compliance are worked out. These new rules, according to Scott Hutcheson, Mayor Landrieu's Cultural Ambassador, include a 60 day grace period for unlicensed venues to get themselves straitened out. At this time, this is only a suggestion, and a temporary suspension. No legislation or actual promise from the City currently exists.

For the record, I spoke to Scott Hutcheson about 18 months ago, attempting get a permit to work as an artist, by commission. I was offered a vendors permit for $50, even though they are free to those, like myself, living in a 'Cultural Zone'. 
I declined, and asked for a permit to write & create as a freelance artist. I was told I would need a Home Office Permit, a Zoning Hearing ($400), and would not be able to store any artwork or "other materials" in my home. I would only be able to work in a specific 15% area of my house, and I could never, ever display any of my work when other people were there.
I contacted Scott again, demanding to know what 15% part of his house he ran to when HE had an idea or began to doodle. He assured me, as he assures us all now, that this was "being handled" and he would straighten it out, as he is "Straightening Out" the venue permit problem.

I have never heard from him since.

CULTURAL LICENSING: SECOND LINE & ART VENDORS;

Recent news has surfaced as the City Council has begun to require permits of Second Line vendors, mysteriously listed at $50, but "lowered by request" to $25. The story is here. Having spent several weeks in the Permit Section of City Hall one afternoon, and having been lost in the labyrinth of fiefdoms that demand notarized payment & absolute loyalty, I have my doubts about any requests for lowered rates. We'll see.
More importantly, these new Second Line Vendor Permits specifically prohibit the sales of any alcohol, criminalizing the tradition of filling a cooler up with beer & selling them off to your friends & neighbors, like people have done here for generations.

THERE ARE MANY SIDES TO EVERY STORY;


 There residential groups, well monied, who are dead set on making the French Quarter a quiet residential neighborhood, just like the one they left to move to the exciting & culturally rich French Quarter.
There are street musicians who risk their lives by living where they do, and choosing a trumpet or trombone over a 9mm and a bag of rock. Yet the City of New Orleans has chosen to criminalize them for doing so.

 This is but the tip on an iceberg, years in the making, as Post K New Orleans becomes, once again, a Mecca for Free Spirited People & an Investment Paradise, all at once.

The HBO Series, 'Treme', is a national favorite, and has captured the attention of visitors & locals alike, by telling a story many thought would never be told, and, at the same time, exploiting the misery & death of tens of thousands of people, neighbors & friends alike, who lost their homes, treasures, livelihoods and some, their very lives, all in the name, it seems, of glorifying The New Tax Base.

Mayor Landrieu calls himself our 'Cultural Ambassador' while standing toe to toe with our defacto Musical Ambassador, Kermit Ruffins.

 The Mayor would "rebuild our infrastructure" by creating 'Hospitality Zones' that  would single out those areas made interesting by the artists & musicians who live there, and add additional taxes to the food & drink & lodging there. While this sounds like charging us for working to make our neighborhoods a more viable art community, it's actually much worse, in that these taxes would be paid to an ungoverned board of 'Hospitality Experts', mostly private hotel & business owners, who could then spend up to 85% of that tax revenue on advertising their own businesses, rather than the infrastructure of the neighborhoods bearing this load.

Even more frighteningly, they would gain the power of Eminent Domain, and have the ability to take your home or property at "fair market value", whatever that means, should they deem that necessary.
This legislation, while tabled for now, will be back, I assure you.
It's Free Money from the group least likely to be able to fight it;
The Musicans & Artists of New Orleans.

 Stepping back a bit, to view this on a longer time line (why is it so hard to get people to remember how they got screwed just 18 months ago?) we see the Eris Parade debacle, in which a dozen or so young people were viciously beaten, tasered and maced by a brute squad from the 5th District, much of it captured on video.
 In these cases, as they came to trial, all video was denied by judges, all reports from the 5thDistrict, including hospital reports from cops who claimed to be injured in "assaults" by puny unarmed musicians, were "lost". 

 The investigation went as far as to say that the officers were acting on the orders of their captain, Bernadine Kelly, and since she wasn't there, nothing bad could have happened. Captain Kelly was immediately moved laterally into a records department, never to be seen again.

A costume show, unmolested during almost two decades, was raided by the Department of Revenue, and told to move inside. Only minutes later, the NOPD arrived to shut down the whole shebang. Both the Club Owner & Event Organizers were summoned to court. I believe the Bartender was ticketed as well, just for being there.

The list goes on & on, recounting stories of unbridled law enforcement, under the leadership of Chief Ronal Serpas. The St Claude Art District was allowed to continue to operate, but many, myself included, received letters insisting we have wheelchair access (I'm on the second floor in a 150 year old building), ADA signage, men's & women's bathrooms, etc. It was made clear that ANY SERVING OF ALCOHOL AT ALL, even giving away tiny cups of wine, would require a Special Event Permit, starting at about $1000 in fees.

During all of this micromanagement of the arts, the MURDER RATE has continued to rise. The 5% reduction Serpas promised in the first year is a distant fantasy. If he could keep the increase down to 5% annually, it would be a notable achievement, considering his career here to date.

If we went through 2012 without the murder of a civilian by NOPD members, it would be a banner year. Unfortunately, that was made impossible, when, earlier this year, Wendall Allen was gunned down, unarmed & in his pajamas, because his brothers had purchased a frat boy amount of weed, and the dealer who sold it to them duped the NOPD into believing the pound he had on him had been purchased there.
Without questioning the dealer for more than an hour they went in, and Wendall Allen was killed for waking up from his nap at the wrong time.

In short, I intend to look into each of these areas, and ask why on earth such detailed persecution is being directed at the very culture that makes New Orleans New Orleans, as we are subjected to an abject failure of Law Enforcement to abate the machine gun battles in Mid-City, the shooting of children at playgrounds & parties, the crack dealers & crooked cops, all while handing out tickets to bicyclists for the licenses they don't have, even though the city neither issues or tracks them any more, and why young men who choose music over drugs & violence are being driven off the streets that made Louis Armstrong The Father of Our City.

Please share this with your friends & neighbors, and feel free to comment.
Conversation breeds communication.

Please note; these comments are moderated, and all vitriol, hate, name calling & other useless garbage will be summarily filtered out.

Truth For the Politically Impaired

If you vote for Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan, you're a fucking idiot and a disgrace to humanity. You should be broken like an animal and driven from the land in shame. 
You won't, of course.
Unless they win.

In From the Wilderness

There will come a time when

it will be said

that I was uncivilized and feral

even at my best

Not fit for the company

of  Society and The Duties of

The Endless Circles

it always entails

That I lived and loved

like an animal, subsisting far too well

on scraps and secrets

hidden or lost or tossed aside

And it is true that

while fierce in life, unafraid

and alone, one is also

wild and free

So speak well of me

or not at all, but keep this always,

like a whisper, remembered in

your secret heart;

I only came in from the wilderness for you.
 

LD - 9/12

The Coin of the Realm

While we may live in a country obsessed by celebrity & possessions, during an election based on the distribution of money, I put to you that there is only one wealth worth admiration; that is the wealth of compassion & understanding. 

These then, are signs of a life well lived, while money & power are but the bait of a greedy existence, unfulfilling & measured almost entirely by the power over the lives of others. 

Wish Freedom & Happiness for others, and you shall be rich in both, beyond your dreams.

Sean Cummings & The Elysio Lofts

For anyone not up to date, Sean Cummings is the developer pushing to build a 74 foot tall condominium building at 501 Elysian Fields Avenue, in the Faubourg Marigny, which has a 50 foot height limit in it's zoning law.
  
There are other issues involved, like the sheer ugliness of it, but it may just be me that thinks a flat series of boxes with a patchwork like this is ugly; "Something approaching the feel of siding. This is overlaid with smooth metal panels that, together with the windows and balconies, form an asymmetrical, Tetris-like pattern." - Cummings own description.

To my eye, it looks more like something a Japanese game console would come in. And of course, there's the parking issue; 75 spaces for 74 apartments, including many that are 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms, and a downstairs "Pedestrian Retail Interface" ( read; Strip Mall), as Cummings called it at the FMIA meeting, which has no designated parking at all. Mr. Cummings was quite reassuring that the multi-level parking garages across the street at Decatur & Elysian Fields would pick up that slack, as well as off set the height violation.

Except they haven't been built yet. Nor is there any real plan in effect, and if there were, they wouldn't pop up over night. It would take several years of having no parking at all. But what does that matter to a forward thinking guy like Cummings?

 In fact, Sean thought very far ahead on this project. While CEO of the New Orleans Building Corporation, he spearheaded the design of the River Front 2005 plan, which is part of the New Orleans Master Plan, at least in theory.

As Chris Maldonado reports in the Best Of New Orleans blog: "His name, as well as that of his father, John Cummings, appear in acknowledgements appended to the report."

When going before the City Planning Commission, Cummings submitted his own quotes from this plan, and the CPC accepted it as gospel. "The proposed development is located within a node at the intersection of a major access corridor, Elysian Fields Avenue, and the riverfront," they wrote. "The adopted Riverfront Vision 2005 Plan sets forth certain design criteria for development sites within such nodes that may justify additional height."

Besides writing future proposed development law (it has NOT yet been passed) that would allow him special treatment under the 'New Law', Cummings made a practice of buying up properties, or having his father buy them, while still CEO of the NOBC.

 He was called up more than once by the State of Louisiana Ethics Board for doing so. While Cummings will claim loudly, and to anyone that will listen, that he was 'cleared of all that', it is hardly the truth. A portion of the report from that meeting is here:

The last paragraph is telling;

 "The board instructed the Staff to tell Cummings and his father that if they own any property that will be SUBJECT TO REZONING, or any other action as a result of River Vision 2005, or Reinventing the Crescent, or any other plan developed in whole or in part by the NOBC, or any other committee on which he or the NOBC is a member, his service as the Director of the NOBC may be prohibited. If such a matter does arise in the future, Mr Cummings should request an advisory opinion prior to taking such action or submitting such an application."

As to being 'cleared of all that", as Cummings has repeatedly said, the same report offers this:

 

 To my knowledge, no approval from the Louisiana State Board of Ethics was ever requested by Cummings, his father, or anyone else. It seems that by leaving his position as CEO of the New Orleans Building Corporation, Sean thinks his greed can now go on unabated.

But let's look at what he DID plan out, shall we?

This is a map of the River Front Development, and the properties placed are from a map provided by Cummings, himself. The Red Squares are properties owned by Cummings and/or his father. Please note that the Main Entrance, where the planned 1500 seat amphitheater is scheduled to be, is only 2 blocks from 501 Elysian Fields.

The second entrance (moving down river) is at the Rice Mill Lofts and the adjacent parking lot, owned by Cummings, and certainly ripe for further condo development, especially if the height limitation is removed.
The third entrance is the Piety Street Wharf, a given in the plan before Cummings came on board, and the only one that must be reached by a huge walkover bridge.
The fourth, and final entrance, pours out directly to Mazant & Bartholomew, where Cummings father owns not one or two, but four separate residential properties, all of which are multi-unit.

So, it seems rather obvious that Sean Cummings was forward thinking enough to hold on to his wits while he & C. Ray. Nagin, the only other guy watching the purse strings, spent about $20 million designing a recreation area that would funnel money to the properties he & his Dad were accumulating, all the while claiming they would see "no substantial economic interest" from doing so.

It should also be pointed out that Cummings insisted that he & his father would see no more "substantial economic interest" than anyone else in that area.

Of course, this is before those homes have a 75 foot wall of condos between them & the River.

But that's just the graft, criminal misuse of public office and whatever other nastiness Sean & C.Ray were up to with the missing $20 million (has anyone seen any receipts?) The real fun begins with Cummings Double Speak and Rich Boy Arrogance.

Cummings claims he has "supporters" in this plan, but a quick glance shows us why.

The owner of Standard Coffee supports it. He owns two consecutive blocks directly between 501 & NOCCA, on Decatur Street (look at the map) and is positively drooling for this 'variation' to set precedent so he can build 75 foot condo towers, too.

The Cake Bakery guy, at Chartres & Spain is certainly on board, as his cafe, although often too busy to serve the customers it now has, stands to gain huge profit, and perhaps expansion, by the building of this thing.

Sean has also spoken repeatedly about the various heights of the 'stages' of his project, claiming that they "average out to 48 feet".

While I find this to be the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard, apparently, some people buying it, so for them, here's a little exercise:

Get yourself pulled over for doing 100 mph on the freeway. Explain to the cop that, although your were doing 100 mph for the last two miles, you were only doing 50 mph for the four miles before that. Adding 50 + 50 + 100, and getting 200, then dividing that by three sections of 2 miles each, you get 66.6 mph.

How could one get a ticket when the speed limit is 70 mph, and your 'average speed' is only 66.6?

If this works for you, please come over and walk across this swimming pool.

The LAW (that's what zoning law is, kids) states a clear limit of 50 feet.

Cummings has been told by the State Ethics Board that asking for zoning changes shows a clear violation of his trust as a public employee.

The fact that he developed the park as a money funnel to properties owned by him and his father is probably criminal.

It's not like he, or his partner in this, C.Ray. Nagin, have great record so far, either.

But finally, we get to the soul of the project, itself.

Cummings has repeatedly called upon his New Yorker friends to come down and "reinvent" New Orleans, asking them to "Bring some real artists" to our hopeless little Faubourg. One of them, a divorcee from NYC, was quoted in the New York Times as saying she dreamed about the Rice Mills building, where she and the other tenants drank wine on the roof and psychoanalyzed each other.
She went on to say she dreamnt of "looking down on the homeless, below, building their little camps."

This must fit in tremendously with the 'Vision of Bernard Marigny" that Cummings claimed to be fulfilling  when I listened to him spilling tripe at the FMIA meeting. Hilariously, the last descendant of the Marigny family, who still lives there, watched in horror, and then laughter, as I asked Cummings, over & over again, about his "channeling Bernard Marigny." Sean, of course, was completely unaware that this man even existed, as he claimed his heritage out from under him, before his very eyes.
Finally leaving in a hissy fit, Poor Sean slammed down his pointer and stormed out, leaving his personal assistant to scramble for the projectors, et all.
A Man for The People, Sean Cummings.

As in other meetings with the FMIA, the height & parking, both in violation of local zoning law, were the hot button issues.

Cummings, however, keeps telling the press otherwise:

""The neighborhood association has exhibited a level of hostility towards us from the very beginning that is very difficult for me to pinpoint," Cummings says. "Exactly where it emanates from, I don't know. I'm not going to guess. I've asked, but they haven't been forthcoming. So I don't know.""

I suppose this is Rich Boy gaming, in that, when someone tells you the rules apply to you, too, you respond by saying "My teacher hates me & I don't know why."

Finally, there's Sean the Sensitive Artist.

 "Simply stated, Elisio Lofts is a lyrical tribute to the human tapestry, rich texture, of the-bell-curve patterns and highly eccentric character of Marigny."

If your flowers aren't doing well, shovel some of that on them. The "rich texture' and "bell curve patterns" I see are an extra floor of condos, some as small as 450 square feet (22x20) and renting for $1,000 a month. At only five per floor, that's an extra $60 grand a year.

Right.

Bell Curve my Aunt Mable's ass.

And then, finally, there's this, Sean's 'feelings' about it;

"We kind of feel that we're artists with buildings."

I'm an artist by trade, and it's how I make my living, if you can call it that.

I understand that every artist must struggle to find their vision & voice, and struggle harder to be heard.

But I don't know any, except vandals, who do it all over other peoples neighborhoods, in violation of their laws and ordinances, set up 40 years ago, by agreement and decree. 

I don't know any who scheme behind the scenes, stacking the deck against the populous, using millions of dollars of tax payer money to create a Funnel Of Greed, to build a Wall of Sycophants along the River, and sell out the rest of their city, because the only way they can get respect is to buy it.

And then, only when they cheat at the game, as well.


501 ELYSIAN FIELDS; Update from FMIA:
The City Council meeting on August 23 concerning 501 Elysian Fields was cancelled and rescheduled for September 6, 2012 in City Council Chambers.

According to an involved resident of the Marigny, a ral

ly scheduled for August 22 has been rescheduled for September 4. at 6:30 at Decatur and Elysian Fields on the neutral ground, rain or shine, wear your Size Matters Shirt, bring signs, make signs, bring your neighbors, friends and children.
It is important to show to City Council Members why their decision is important.

http://www.faubourgmarigny.org/sizematters.htm

Monster in the House

Sometimes I think that there's a Monster living in my house. It comes out, late at night, careening around in a most horrifying manner, garrumphing out the windows at passers by, and moaning in horror, as it is so often misunderstood & alone, yet too horrible to be seen by mortals. Then I realize it's just me.

Freedom Like Water