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I went to New York with a Louisiana contingent,
including University of New Orleans Chancellor Greg O'Brien and Jefferson Parish Council
Chairman Aaron Broussard. We spoke before a group of consultants and businessmen eyeing
the New Orleans region. I may sound like a broken record sometimes, but I am in love with
New Orleans. And I can't stop praising her. We have to continue to educate others that New
Orleans is more than a tourist town, we have a serious side. We are creating a great place
to do business. Our growth figures prove it. -Mayor Marc H. Morial A New Orleans Renaissance New Orleans is experiencing a renaissance. Our economy has rebounded and we are continuing to experience steady job growth. How has New Orleans and the River Region made this dramatic comeback? New leadership, commitment and a willingness on the part of government and business to work together and support each other's initiatives to rebuild New Orleans. The proof of this cooperation was illustrated recently when metro New Orleans received the prestigious All-America City and Community Award from the National Civic League. Why did we receive this award? Because we have a spirited community that has a willingness to cooperate. Over 2,500 business, civic, community and religious groups are working with government to improve our city. This new partnership, "Rebuild New Orleans Now" and take- action attitude, is helping to make our government work. Last year, New Orleans voters overwhelmingly approved a bond referendum to fund capital improvements to our streets, public buildings, playgrounds and schools. We are one of few American cities to pass a referendum like this. We knew that for New Orleans to move forward, generate business activity and maintain a decent quality of life, funding for our infrastructure was vital. When I took office just two years ago, my first priority was to get a handle on the crime problem by reforming the New Orleans Police Department, long a bastion of corruption. I knew without fundamental change at NOPD and a reduction in crime, the city would be economically lost. The statistics we studied clearly showed that the majority of crimes were being committed by juveniles under 17 years of age. We took aggressive action. In 1994, one month after taking office, we instituted the toughest most controversial juvenile curfew law in the country. One year after the curfew, juvenile crime had decreased 27 percent. Jurisdictions across the country are now copying it. To address corruption at NOPD, I went outside the police department and hired a police chief who I believe is simply the best there is in the law enforcement community today. Superintendent Richard Pennington, a 26-year veteran of the Washington D.C. Police Department, has put together a comprehensive and far reaching reform and reorganization plan that addresses the internal problems of NOPD and crime outside on the streets. The components of the "Pennington Plan" root out corruption, tighten police hiring standards to build a quality police force and initiate crime fighting measures, which are already showing dramatic and swift results. The murder rate in New Orleans is down 25 percent from what it was two years ago. This means that we have had 30 fewer murders than this time a year ago, and 80 fewer murders than this time two years ago. This is a direct result of a community policing program set by the chief. A new Public Integrity Division was created to root out corruption and make it easier for citizens to file complaints against police officers. It monitors the behavior of officers to ensure they are protecting and serving the public to the best of their ability. Complaints against police officers for the first half of this year are down 50 percent from last year. We acknowledge that we have an urban crime problem, but we are fighting it with aggressive, visionary programs. And the results are being seen in the drop in our murder rate and the incidence of juvenile crime. Our effective crime-fighting in our city's streets is reflected in our neighborhoods. A renaissance is taking place in our neighborhoods. We are working with non-profits, investors, lenders, churches and neighborhood groups to revitalize our city's historic housing stock. Working in targeted areas with local groups, we are attacking abandoned housing while providing home ownership opportunities for lower-income individuals. Last year, we began the first demolition of one the nation's most troubled housing developments. When my administration came in and looked at the numbers, we took swift action to stop a renovation in progress that cost more per unit than building a new four bedroom house. We have just begun our 954 Demo Plan, which will bring down 954 dilapidated apartment units. We are cleaning up waste and mismanagement in public housing, and we are exploring innovative options such as privatization and resident management. All of these neighborhood initiatives are moving our economy forward. The region's economy is revived, and investment in New Orleans is up. Over 43,000 new jobs were created in the New Orleans region from 1990 to 1995. Over $13 billion in capital improvements are underway in the metro region. We have diversified our economy from the oil boom days of the early 1980s. In terms of employment sectors, oil and gas accounts for about 19 percent, the port accounts for 19 percent, tourism accounts for 16 percent, shipbuilding and aerospace accounts for 11 percent and all others account for 15 percent. A recent report released by University of New Orleans economists predict that oil and gas, the maritime industry and tourism will continue to pull our economy. Most of the new job growth will be in the service and retail trade sectors with local entrepreneurial businesses providing the foundation for our economy. All economic predictions show positive growth for the future. State Department of Labor figures released in August show that the metro area gained 2,600 jobs from the same time last year. This is in spite of casino closures and job losses in the gaming industry. My administration is active in the economic development of New Orleans. We created one of the first public offices in the country to coordinate the tourism, arts and entertainment industries. Tourism is the number one industry in New Orleans. But there was room to develop that industry further, branching out in the city's arts and entertainment industries to capitalize on its diverse music and culture. New Orleans has become a hot location for producers in the film and video industry, generating a $99 million economic impact last year. That creates business for local companies and free lance musicians who use our city for on-location projects. One television series is currently being filmed in New Orleans (The Big Easy) and two others are in the works. Just this week, a Fox television movie, Dark Angel, which was filmed in New Orleans, aired on national TV. New Orleans is also recognized as a premier location for conventions and major events. We host the Sugar Bowl, the Bayou Classic, and this January New Orleans will host its 8th Superbowl. We are building a new downtown sports arena next to the Superdome to expand the type of events we can hold. And when construction is complete on the third phase of our convention center, we will have more continuous floor space than any other convention center in America. Just this past June, the Walt Disney Company chose New Orleans to host its world premiere of the Hunchback of Notre Dame which included an extravaganza at the Superdome with a 65,000 attendance and a Disney parade through our downtown. They found our city to be one of the best at accommodating large crowds and events. The Port of New Orleans continued to beat records in 1994 and 1995 for cargo handled. Together, the port and the city agreed to to complete a $60 million port roadway which will improve cargo loading at the port and reduce neighborhood traffic. For the first time in years, new trade offices are opening in New Orleans. These include Guatemala and Argentina as well as a new branch of the National Bank of Canada. New Orleans is a prime location to do business with Latin America. We have a diverse economy with a productive workforce, low costs of living and doing business, and there are tremendous incentives for investment. Last year, New Orleans' trade with Latin America increased 10.6 percent. World Trade Magazine, based in southern California, recently named the New Orleans region as one of the "Top 10 U.S. Global Business Meccas." We are number four on the list for the fastest growth rate in international trade. We are investing nearly a billion dollars in trade related infrastructure; this includes $250 million at the Port of New Orleans, $100 million at the New Orleans International Airport, $175 million to our convention center and $347 million to the city's capital improvements program. New Orleans took center stage as host of a Summit of the America's meeting this past summer which brought to our city the hemisphere's top finance ministers such as Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin as well as a flood of national business and trade reporters. For the first time in the city's history, we have a coordinated state legislative agenda. We are active participants in the Metrovision Council of Governments, a regional group that helps local governments find common ground and develop solutions to challenges like sanitation, government finance and transportation. Through these efforts, we have made important progress, particularly in the area of transportation at the Port of New Orleans, the airport and the future of a light rail system. Our goal is to work together to establish New Orleans and the metropolitan area as well as the rest of Louisiana as an important transportation and economic hub of the Southeast. We look forward to continuing these efforts with all jurisdictions to improve the quality of life and economic opportunities in the New Orleans region and state of Louisiana. Together, with the business community and citizens, we are rebuilding New Orleans. For the first time in many years, we share a vision for the future, and are moving together toward common goals. We are poised to regain our rightful place as one of the great American cities of the South. Thank you. |
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