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When the FBI crime statistics came out, we had good
reason to cheer. New Orleans' murder rate had declined 34 percent in two years following
the implementation of our crime fighting initiatives, which had received national
recognition. President Clinton on a recent visit to New Orleans praised our tough juvenile
curfew law. We were suddenly on the national radar screen for our crime fighting efforts.
To continue to fight crime we had to follow-through on other community initiatives - like
public/private partnerships to help first-time homeowners rebuild neighborhood and
continue our work on the city's infrastructure by expanding the airport, assisting in the
development of a new sports arena, and promoting economic development incentives that
helped small businesses win competitive bids for major public works projects. The state of
our city was good, but it could still be better. -Mayor Marc H. Morial Ladies and gentlemen, members of the City Council, my fellow New Orleanians, we come together tonight in a very special place created through partnership. Thank you for joining us here at the Martin Luther King, Jr. School for Science and Technology on Caffin Avenue in the Lower Ninth Ward. This new school and adjacent public library symbolizes the new partnerships being created in every neighborhood throughout the city. These partnerships represent the new spirit of New Orleans - a spirit dedicated to our children, their education and their future. Later this evening, we will all walk over to a new NORD gymnasium for a dedication ceremony, further reinforcing our commitment to the youth of our city and the new spirit of New Orleans. Some may wonder why we have come to the Lower Ninth Ward to consider the state of our city. But those familiar with the history of our city understand that there is great symbolism here in this splendid new school dedicated to the teaching of science and technology, as well as the new gym and the new public library. In the past, the Lower Ninth Ward was always last in line - the last to get a gym and the last to get a public library, as well as the last to get their streets repaved. Like many other neighborhoods in New Orleans, the people of the Lower Ninth Ward too often were told, "we'll take care of you tomorrow. Be patient. Your time is coming." The message of this school, this gym and this library is a message for all the neighborhoods of New Orleans - that message is this, "Your time is now." No more waiting in the back of the line for this neighborhood or any other neighborhood. When I was elected mayor, I said that we would work to end an era when choices were made between St. Claude Avenue and St. Charles Avenue. Our mission, I said, was to do it all - to rebuild our streets, rebuild our neighborhoods, rebuild our schools, and rebuild our playgrounds. I said that we could not and would not differentiate between neighborhoods, and we have not. There is great pride in lower nine tonight as well there should be. This school, gym and library compare favorably to the best anywhere. Because our people deserve the best. But, equally important, we must do just as much for every neighborhood in New Orleans - be it Lower Nine, Upper Nine, Lakeview or Algiers. So what is the state of the city? We say this evening that the state of the city is good and getting better. But it is our goal to be the best. I report tonight that crime is down and jobs are up. We have seen murders reduced by 37 percent since 1994 - placing New Orleans among the top of the list of cities in the nation that shows measurable results in crime fighting initiatives. We have seen the number of jobs in our economy increase by thousands; good jobs with good wages in trade, tourism, construction and health care. Crime is down and jobs are up! New Orleans, we are moving in the right direction, at last. We come together tonight, at the mid-point of my first term as mayor. I must tell you that I am humbled by what we have been able to collectively accomplish so far. We have done it because we are a unified city, mayor and council working together, neighbor supporting neighbor, and people supporting people. That is why today we are enjoying a renaissance in New Orleans - the effort to make our city safer, to create more jobs, to build an economy that lifts all boats, and to create a place where residents speak with pride about their neighbors and their neighborhoods. Across the nation, yes, people are noticing that New Orleans is coming back strong. President Clinton had it right on his recent visit to New Orleans when he said that our teenage curfew is a model for the nation. The state of the city is good and getting better. This evening, FBI statistics show that our city is less violent than Atlanta, less violent than Miami, less violent than Dallas, less violent than Houston, and the time has come for us to stop comparing ourselves to them, and for them to compare themselves to us. To make the point clearer and more personal, I'd like to introduce you to one of our neighbors - homeowner Frances Breston. Frances is a former resident of the Lafitte Housing Development. She is an employee of the Charity Hospital Roman Street Clinic and the mother of a college student. This year, through her own efforts and her own hard work, and with the help of Third Shiloh Housing Incorporated and the Neighborhood Development Foundation, Frances became a first-time homeowner who has a real stake in our city and in her neighborhood. At this time, I'd like to ask Frances Breston and her daughter, Tomiko, to stand up so we can applaud them. They represent the new spirit of New Orleans. Now you might suppose that as we consider all that has been done in the last two years - the reform of the police department, the construction of new public buildings like the one we'll be in later tonight, the passage of the largest bond issue in New Orleans' history to benefit the city and our public schools, a rising economic tide, and a cleaner city than we have seen before - we should be satisfied. We take no bow tonight because there is much work in the vineyards left to be done. We are not satisfied because the pace of change in our city must accelerate. While we have done much, we must pick up the pace. While we are getting better, we cannot rest until we are the best. I have directed the city attorney to use the municipal court to criminally prosecute slumlords. I have found that attacking slumlords solely through the civil system is too slow. We must accept the fact that knowingly maintaining a rental property that fails to meet the reasonable standards of human decency is not just immoral but is a violation of our municipal criminal code. If our prosecutorial efforts are unsuccessful, I will consider asking District Attorney Harry Connick to convene a special grand jury to prosecute slumlords. I will also appoint a city government reorganization commission to begin the process of reorganizing the city government for the 21st century. Our new revised city charter allows consolidation, merging and the creation of new departments. We need more than a position paper that offers theories of reorganization or a fancy organization chart. I want specific advice and counsel. If we consolidate and merge departments, where will we place them? How do we do it so that it promotes efficiency, saves money, and allows us to deliver services better? Will it be necessary to change state law to affect reorganization? How much physical space will be required to accommodate a reorganized city government, and where will we find it? Only a commission made up of the best minds and the most talented citizens representing a broad cross-section of interests can do this job. Since we all like to see New Orleans clean, we will begin tomorrow with a drive to prepare our city for the Super Bowl in January 1997. We'll call it, Clean Up New Orleans Now. We'll showcase New Orleans before the world when the Super Bowl comes to town. We want New Orleans to sparkle. We ask the residents of every neighborhood in New Orleans to join us. We are going to bring together all of our troops - the Sanitation Posse, the Environmental Rangers, the Clean Team, and the City Council Sanitation Committee. In the French Quarter tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., we will begin a massive effort to clean up this city in a way that's never been done before. We can do it, we must do it. Are you ready? In the context of continued change, we will soon dedicate the completed Phase I construction of the Tchoupitoulas Corridor. The state of our city is good and getting better, but we cannot rest until we are the best. Perhaps the best example our achievements is the reform of our police department. Police Chief Pennington and his force have done an admirable job. The crime statistics have shown good improvement and the city is safer. Many of the bad, corrupt and violent cops are gone. We do not miss them. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, we have seen a new police department emerge - a department filled with prideful men and women, a department proud of its professionalism with an excellent record of crime fighting and relating to the community. But once again, there is much still to be done. We cannot be pleased with the progress that has been made at the NOPD because we are not yet the best. Chief Pennington tells me that we still don't have nearly enough police. For more than 30 years, the size of the police department has remained constant at about 1,350 officers. Chief Pennington believes that a city our size with our problems needs more police officers. I agree. Beyond increasing the size of the department, Chief Pennington says our recruiting efforts must emphasize bringing in new officers, who have college experience or, even better, college degrees. I agree with that also. And Chief Pennington says that we must raise the pay of our police and provide education incentives so that our officers are encouraged to return to the classroom on their own time to further their education. Tomorrow, I will sign the police pay adjustment plan offered by Councilman Singleton. This plan is an important first step toward Chief Pennington's goals for the department. The challenge we face is to come up with a plan that represents a consensus, including our administration, the City Council and our civic leadership. Among our goals should be another pay raise for all city employees. The police are our priority but we don't want to forget the other city employees who are part of the renaissance of New Orleans. We must work to get all of this done, and we present it tonight as a goal to achieve and not a hollow promise. We present it tonight as a community goal and not a political promise. We can't rest until this goal is reached. In that context, I welcome the birth of the New Orleans Police Foundation, a non-profit civic group that brings energy, enthusiasm and a real push to the task of rebuilding our police department. I would ask Chief Pennington, and his command staff, as well as all the other police who have joined us tonight, to rise so we can show them how much we appreciate their courage, their integrity and their spirit. I believe that the net result of all our efforts has been to nurture a new generation of heroes and sheroes in New Orleans in many different fields of community endeavors. For example, the FirstNational Bank of Commerce has made a $12 million dollar commitment to the renaissance of Central City, providing 44 homes for resale. Other banks such Liberty, Hibernia and Premier are doing the same. Fannie Mae established a partnership office here in New Orleans, providing $530 million dollars for mortgages for affordable housing. Churches, community groups and non-profit organizations have joined in the work of revitalizing our neighborhoods. Location Initiative Support Corporation, the nation's leading community development support organization, has seen the potential of New Orleans and has founded seven community development organizations here. The Mid-City Bienville Corridor Consortium, which includes several churches, is a five-year project to help families buy homes. It will impact 200 families in its first year. At the same time, we are rebuilding the New Orleans economy in a diversified fashion. In that context, I would like to tell you about two grass-roots entrepreneurs, George Wilson, president of Barriere Construction Company and Jessie Conerly of the Conerly Corporation. For many years, Barriere has sought construction projects throughout the Southeast, because, quite candidly, there wasn't enough work in New Orleans to keep them at home. For the first time since the 1984 World's Fair, there is enough work available in New Orleans to keep Barriere and other New Orleans construction firms right at home. The Conerly Corporation was recently the low bidder on a substantial public works department street maintenance project. This is another example of how small and emerging businesses are continuing to develop and contribute to rebuilding New Orleans. I'd like to ask George and Jessie to stand. They exemplify the new spirit of New Orleans. Thank you. Over the next five years, ongoing public sector infrastructure construction activity will invest $415 million in rebuilding our city and pump more than $800 million into our economy. An expanded convention center and a new downtown arena are two jewels that are the product of this public investment. We have already begun the first 20 percent of the new projects authorized by the bond issue. And we are going to stay on top of it. This is a five-year plan that will be completed in five years. At the same time, the New Orleans international airport - our airport of the future - is spending $100 million a year on construction projects, including world-class air cargo facilities, new concourses that can handle the newest and largest airplanes, as well as a much needed expansion of the West Terminal. We are rebuilding an old airport into a great airport that will become the aviation Gateway to the Americas once again. From the convention center to the arena, to the airport, to rebuilding streets and schools, we adhere to the goal that minority and women-owned firms must have a fair share of the work. We must follow the lead of Atlanta in insisting that when the tide rises, all boats must be lifted. Finally, I want to talk about the children of New Orleans. When we took office, I told you that we would rebuild the New Orleans Recreation Department as part of our effort to fight crime. NORD was once the finest program of its kind in the nation, but a mere ghost of its former self in 1994. Today, NORD is resurgent, revitalized and re-energized. Playgrounds overgrown with weeds have been restored. New swimming pools will be opened, especially an Olympic-size pool in Joe Brown Park in New Orleans East next summer. Lights are being repaired at playgrounds where they have been broken for years. This new spirit of New Orleans can be best seen in the work of two individuals, I'm proud to tell you about. Lloyd Dillon, director of tennis at NORD, has developed a program that has introduced tennis to over 8,000 children who never before held a tennis racket or stepped on a tennis court. And I am especially proud to tell you about Vicki Judice. She resides in the historic Holy Cross neighborhood in the Lower Ninth Ward. When the neighborhood decided it was time to build a playground, Ms. Judice, stepped up to the plate. Working with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, schools, volunteers and churches, she and many others organized a team of 200 to build the Delery Street Riverfront Playground. The children of the Holy Cross Community will soon enjoy a new playground. And I'd like to ask Lloyd Dillon and Vicki Judice to stand so that we can express our gratitude to them for their untiring efforts. They represent the new spirit of New Orleans. Thank you. As we look across our community, we can see hundreds of success stories that tell of our progress. I am pleased too that the world is noticing our progress. That is why the Disney organization has chosen New Orleans as the site to premiere their new film, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." That is why the National Football League will be here in January 1997 for the Super Bowl game in the Superdome. That is why the Essence Festival is coming to New Orleans for the second year in a row. That is why Fortune Magazine selected New Orleans as the site of their Fortune 500 Forum. That is why banks are underwriting the financing of new hotels in New Orleans. That is why the finance ministers of North and South America came here for their Summit of the Americas meeting. And that is why President Clinton came to New Orleans to dedicate the new Nashville Avenue Wharf and to applaud our juvenile curfew. The state of the city is good and getting better. But we cannot rest until we are the best. We are a renaissance city that has rebuilt, regrouped, and recovered much of what had been lost to us. We are on the road of change - all of us, together, working as one. The road of change is like the road from Jerusalem to Jericho - strewn with obstacles, lined by diversions, a hard road that tests the patience and the spirit. But we have made a great beginning. Let's not be weary. This is no time to falter or to sag. I close tonight with a message for our young people. Respect our summer curfew. It is not there to make it harder for you to have a good time but to protect your lives. During the summer, we ask you to be home by 9 p.m. week nights and by 11 p.m. on weekends. And please participate in the activities of the New Orleans Recreation Department. Rebuilding New Orleans is a task that requires all of us - regardless of age - to do our part. With God's help, I will certainly try to do mine. Let's work together, as one, because we cannot rest until we are the best. Thank you and God bless. |
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