Voodoohead
02-16-2008, 10:10 PM
Jackson Square shut down for NBA party
by The Times-Picayune
Thursday February 14, 2008, 10:06 PM
By Michelle Krupa
Staff writer
In an unusual private takeover of New Orleans' pre-eminent public gathering place, Jackson Square will shut down tonight to host a private party for 2,500 people drawn from the ranks of pro basketball stars, politicians and other invited guests in town for Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.
The reception, featuring 20 food vendors, live music on three stages and a second-line parade, will honor volunteers, including NBA players, who are scheduled to participate today in 10 rebuilding projects across the city. The NBA has paid $5,000, plus a $2,500 deposit to cover damage and litter pickup, to rent the square and a pair of alleys next to St. Louis Cathedral, a mayoral spokesman said.
As part of a four-day basketball showcase expected to produce major economic benefits for the city, the "2008 Celebration of Contribution" party is expected to draw a cadre of famous customers to merchants' shops along Jackson Square. But musicians, artists and tarot card readers who peddle their services on the square's slate-lined streets are crying foul, saying the party is leaving them on the sidelines during a potentially huge payday.
As crews got to work early Thursday setting up barricades along Decatur Street at St. Peter and St. Ann streets, dozens of entertainers found themselves ejected from park benches and removed from areas along the wrought-iron fences that typically serve as art-for-sale galleries.
In a news release Thursday, a city official explained that "in following the protocol for past events held at Jackson Square," New Orleans police told the artists and vendors they would not be allowed on the square from Thursday morning through Saturday at 5 a.m.
"Artists and vendors who work around the perimeter of Jackson Square do not have licenses or permits which entitles them to a fixed location," Courtney Bagneris, an assistant chief administrative officer at City Hall, said in the statement.
In a nod to complaints lodged this week by carriage drivers hoping for big business on Valentine's Day, the city allowed mule-and-buggy operations to retain their home base along Decatur Street at Jackson Square through this morning, but made clear they would have to leave at that time to accommodate preparations for the megaparty, Bagneris said.
Tarot card reader Jennifer Waldron said city officials have not taken similar steps to oblige musicians, mimes, balloon artists, food vendors and others whose city-issued permits allow them to work only in specified areas on the square. According to city law, violating the rules could result in a misdemeanor charge and revocation of the permit.
"I'm not saying we don't want the NBA here," Waldron said. "I'm just saying that if the city's going to shut down the square, the city has to move us or compensate us."
The entertainers want City Hall to allow them to work outside areas specified on their city-issued permits during the three days of high-volume activity through the French Quarter, namely the Moonwalk along the Mississippi River or Royal Street between Orleans and Conti streets, Waldron said.
"It's a Mardi Gras-style week that we're being shut out of," said Joseph Zaba, another tarot card reader.
According to a Feb. 1 letter to NBA executive Patrick Mahoney signed by Mayor Ray Nagin, "the city will relocate street vendors via the New Orleans Police Department and relocate all 'horse and buggy' carriages .¤.¤. to a location outside of the Jackson Square area," during the three-day period.
The letter also says that "the city will provide New Orleans Police Department officers, at no cost to the NBA, during the hours of noon until midnight" today. Nagin spokesman James Ross did not respond to questions about the letter.
Meanwhile, proprietors of permanent businesses on the ground floor of the Pontalba Apartment complexes that straddle Jackson Square along St. Peter and St. Ann streets are not facing a similar problem.
Antoinette deAlteriis, an officer of the Jackson Square Association, said access to the stores and to four restaurants at the corners of the square will not be impeded because of the party, though security checkpoints will be in place during the event, which is scheduled to last from 8 p.m. to midnight.
The NBA actually has encouraged its invited guests to patronize Jackson Square's art and clothing stores during the event, a move that has prompted some owners to extend their hours today through 9 p.m., deAlteriis said. Mahoney also visited the merchants organization's monthly meeting this week to clear up confusion about how the party could affect them.
"They've done what they can do to make this a positive event for everyone," she said. "We're welcoming them to the city, and certainly the money that they bring is not going to hurt us."
However, in contrast to the shopkeepers' experience, deAlteriis acknowledged that a "communications breakdown" had occurred between City Hall and street performers.
Other French Quarter residents and business owners also complained Thursday that the city has not provided adequate information about street closures related to the event.
Longtime French Quarter resident and business owner Louis Sahuc said even though foot traffic will not be completely interrupted during the three days Jackson Square is blocked off, he expects the barricades to discourage visitors from heading into the lower end of the neighborhood, where his photography gallery is located.
"All these businesses, we could all just go home," he said.
Sahuc said he objects in principle to City Hall renting out the area. Heavy equipment used in staging the party will damage the area's infrastructure, he said, and the event perverts the sanctity of the area formerly known as "Public Square."
"The city has been pimping the square, and we get nothing for it," Sahuc said.
Though a wholesale shutdown of Jackson Square is rare, the area occasionally has been cordoned off as a security precaution, most recently during President Bush's televised address after Hurricane Katrina. Similar measures were taken in advance of the 1999 wedding of then-Mayor Marc Morial at St. Louis Cathedral.
The area usually is closed to vehicles on New Year's Eve, though the square remains open to the pedestrians. In perhaps the most public rejection of a request to shut down the area, the city declined the Walt Disney Co.'s appeal to use it in June 1996 as part of the premiere of the animated film "Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Frank Donze contributed to this report. Michelle Krupa can be reached at mkrupa@timespicayune.com or (504)¤826-3312.
For $5000.00 and a $2500.00 deposit, we should put the Threadhead Party there! Yea, they got Shaq and Lebron, but we got Swag and Chris Joseph!
by The Times-Picayune
Thursday February 14, 2008, 10:06 PM
By Michelle Krupa
Staff writer
In an unusual private takeover of New Orleans' pre-eminent public gathering place, Jackson Square will shut down tonight to host a private party for 2,500 people drawn from the ranks of pro basketball stars, politicians and other invited guests in town for Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.
The reception, featuring 20 food vendors, live music on three stages and a second-line parade, will honor volunteers, including NBA players, who are scheduled to participate today in 10 rebuilding projects across the city. The NBA has paid $5,000, plus a $2,500 deposit to cover damage and litter pickup, to rent the square and a pair of alleys next to St. Louis Cathedral, a mayoral spokesman said.
As part of a four-day basketball showcase expected to produce major economic benefits for the city, the "2008 Celebration of Contribution" party is expected to draw a cadre of famous customers to merchants' shops along Jackson Square. But musicians, artists and tarot card readers who peddle their services on the square's slate-lined streets are crying foul, saying the party is leaving them on the sidelines during a potentially huge payday.
As crews got to work early Thursday setting up barricades along Decatur Street at St. Peter and St. Ann streets, dozens of entertainers found themselves ejected from park benches and removed from areas along the wrought-iron fences that typically serve as art-for-sale galleries.
In a news release Thursday, a city official explained that "in following the protocol for past events held at Jackson Square," New Orleans police told the artists and vendors they would not be allowed on the square from Thursday morning through Saturday at 5 a.m.
"Artists and vendors who work around the perimeter of Jackson Square do not have licenses or permits which entitles them to a fixed location," Courtney Bagneris, an assistant chief administrative officer at City Hall, said in the statement.
In a nod to complaints lodged this week by carriage drivers hoping for big business on Valentine's Day, the city allowed mule-and-buggy operations to retain their home base along Decatur Street at Jackson Square through this morning, but made clear they would have to leave at that time to accommodate preparations for the megaparty, Bagneris said.
Tarot card reader Jennifer Waldron said city officials have not taken similar steps to oblige musicians, mimes, balloon artists, food vendors and others whose city-issued permits allow them to work only in specified areas on the square. According to city law, violating the rules could result in a misdemeanor charge and revocation of the permit.
"I'm not saying we don't want the NBA here," Waldron said. "I'm just saying that if the city's going to shut down the square, the city has to move us or compensate us."
The entertainers want City Hall to allow them to work outside areas specified on their city-issued permits during the three days of high-volume activity through the French Quarter, namely the Moonwalk along the Mississippi River or Royal Street between Orleans and Conti streets, Waldron said.
"It's a Mardi Gras-style week that we're being shut out of," said Joseph Zaba, another tarot card reader.
According to a Feb. 1 letter to NBA executive Patrick Mahoney signed by Mayor Ray Nagin, "the city will relocate street vendors via the New Orleans Police Department and relocate all 'horse and buggy' carriages .¤.¤. to a location outside of the Jackson Square area," during the three-day period.
The letter also says that "the city will provide New Orleans Police Department officers, at no cost to the NBA, during the hours of noon until midnight" today. Nagin spokesman James Ross did not respond to questions about the letter.
Meanwhile, proprietors of permanent businesses on the ground floor of the Pontalba Apartment complexes that straddle Jackson Square along St. Peter and St. Ann streets are not facing a similar problem.
Antoinette deAlteriis, an officer of the Jackson Square Association, said access to the stores and to four restaurants at the corners of the square will not be impeded because of the party, though security checkpoints will be in place during the event, which is scheduled to last from 8 p.m. to midnight.
The NBA actually has encouraged its invited guests to patronize Jackson Square's art and clothing stores during the event, a move that has prompted some owners to extend their hours today through 9 p.m., deAlteriis said. Mahoney also visited the merchants organization's monthly meeting this week to clear up confusion about how the party could affect them.
"They've done what they can do to make this a positive event for everyone," she said. "We're welcoming them to the city, and certainly the money that they bring is not going to hurt us."
However, in contrast to the shopkeepers' experience, deAlteriis acknowledged that a "communications breakdown" had occurred between City Hall and street performers.
Other French Quarter residents and business owners also complained Thursday that the city has not provided adequate information about street closures related to the event.
Longtime French Quarter resident and business owner Louis Sahuc said even though foot traffic will not be completely interrupted during the three days Jackson Square is blocked off, he expects the barricades to discourage visitors from heading into the lower end of the neighborhood, where his photography gallery is located.
"All these businesses, we could all just go home," he said.
Sahuc said he objects in principle to City Hall renting out the area. Heavy equipment used in staging the party will damage the area's infrastructure, he said, and the event perverts the sanctity of the area formerly known as "Public Square."
"The city has been pimping the square, and we get nothing for it," Sahuc said.
Though a wholesale shutdown of Jackson Square is rare, the area occasionally has been cordoned off as a security precaution, most recently during President Bush's televised address after Hurricane Katrina. Similar measures were taken in advance of the 1999 wedding of then-Mayor Marc Morial at St. Louis Cathedral.
The area usually is closed to vehicles on New Year's Eve, though the square remains open to the pedestrians. In perhaps the most public rejection of a request to shut down the area, the city declined the Walt Disney Co.'s appeal to use it in June 1996 as part of the premiere of the animated film "Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Frank Donze contributed to this report. Michelle Krupa can be reached at mkrupa@timespicayune.com or (504)¤826-3312.
For $5000.00 and a $2500.00 deposit, we should put the Threadhead Party there! Yea, they got Shaq and Lebron, but we got Swag and Chris Joseph!