FQBA Representatives attended a number of the Taxi Reform meetings.  The following letter was submitted on behalf of the association.

FQBA Taxi Reform Letter

WHAT: VC-GAP Graffiti Eradication Campaign
WHEN: November 15th – 19th
WHERE: Jackson Square and the French Quarter

As many are aware, the French Quarter Business Association (FQBA), along with other prominent French Quarter groups, implemented an effort in 2010 dubbed Vieux Carre Graffiti Abatement Program or VC-GAP . Our effort is solely a community action plan to eradicate graffiti from the Vieux Carre.  This is a multifaceted program hoping to help property owners that have been wrongfully “tagged” as well as punish those defacing the property.

Tuesday, November 15th VC-GAP will host a press event in Jackson Square at 10:00 AM. We are asking the city administration, the police department, and the district attorney to “crack down” on the crime of graffiti in the French Quarter with the aid of the recent state law authored by Juan LaFonta which makes defacing a historic district building a felony offense punishable by up to 2 years at hard labor and up to $1,000.00 fine.  (La. R.S. 14.56.5) Property owners are also accountable to remove graffiti within 30 days, which will also be enforced by 8th District’s NOPD officers.  Among those expected to speak are State Representative Juan LaFonta, Superintendent Ronal Serpas, and Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer.  Each will speak to how their office is playing an active role in this community movement to rid the Quarter of illegal graffiti.

Following the press conference, the group plans to spend the week spreading the word about the campaign and signing up volunteers for a Saturday, November 19th community-wide graffiti cleanup.

Volunteers are being called to action.  All those passionate about making the French Quarter graffiti-free should sign up and be a part of a fun and worthwhile event.  This neighborhood beautification effort is just one of the commitments VC-GAP is making the community.  There are opportunities as group leaders as well as hands-on workers to participate. Volunteers receive a work t-shirt (while supplies last) and all cleaning products and tools for the cleanup. With the tools and instructions in hand, volunteers spread out through the quarter and remove as many marks as possible.

With this campaign, VC-GAP hopes to eradicate the structures in the French Quarter of the illegal graffiti.  The graffiti problem is not as insurmountable as once presumed and VC-GAP is working to help those victimized by offering information and solutions.  The group is also working to with law enforcement agencies to prosecute those defacing our historic landmark buildings with the full penalties of the law, which is punishable as a felony.

It is a real community issue that businesses, activists, residents, and volunteers are willing to face head on.  Please join VC-GAP the week of November 15th – 19th in the fight against illegal graffiti and the eradication campaign!

For more information, to volunteer or donate contact the FQBA office at 504.309.1423 or email graffiti@fqba.org

Click here to download the VC-GAP Flyer

Click here to download the Volunteer Agreement Form

The French Quarter Business Association supports the development of 1031 Canal Street as a viable business venture, and not left as an eyesore on one of the city’s main thoroughfares.  Although it is not technically in the French Quarter, it is important that all aspects from traffic impact to construction guidelines be considered and abided by, and to that end we submit the position of our Board of Directors.

We are not, nor purport to be, architects or city planners. Therefore, we believe that design or structural issues need to be addressed by the City Planning Commission and that they should provide full assistance and guidance to the development company with their plans.  The final recommendation of this business plan should be submitted to the City Council with all the amendments and guidelines that are acceptable to the City Planning Commission.  As long as all guidelines are met, we support whatever business plan developers deem workable.

We recognize that in the interest of making 1031 Canal Street a successful business venture,  this developer may or may not be able to conform to the necessary guidelines. We sincerely hope that an agreement with this or another development company will enable the city to put empty and deteriorating properties on Canal Street back in commerce and move this city forward.

City Business has followed the story extensively, click here to read more.

Click here to visit the developer’s 1031 Canal Street website and share your opinion with the developers.

Click here to read the full drafted ordinance as posted on the New Orleans City Council website.

FQBA Comments on Proposed Sound Ordinance

Sec. 66-175 Administration.

• Need to add language that gives enforcement authority to authorized administrator.

Sec. 66-176 Temporary permits

• (b) lists “director of the health department” as part of the permit process, even though that department is not mentioned in Sec. 66-175 as an authorized administrator.
• (d) (7) states “whether the sound level of the activity will be unreasonably excessive…….”  This appears to be arbitrary and needs some parameters to quantify what is excessive and what is not excessive.
• (h) states that if (4) specific complaints by residents within a (4) block area, reapplication for a permit may be denied.  This language should be modified to protect a temporary permit holder against capricious and malicious complaints by residents.  The complaints should have to be substantiated (measurement over allowed levels) by an authorized administrator.

Sec. 66-200 Sound level measurement

• (a) (1) replace “may be made with a properly calibrated Type 1 or Type 2 sound level meter” with “must be made…..”
• (a) (2) The measurement should be from the interior of an adjoining property, not at the property line of the alleged offender. Or in the case of a commercial or entertainment area (e.g. VCE), the measurement should be from the centerline of the street or thoroughfare.  At the very least, measurements should be taken at or within the property line of the affected party.
• (b) Language that replaces sound meter measurement with “the judgment of a reasonable person” as the standard must be stricken.  There should be no substitute for measurement by a Type 1 or Type 2 meter.
• (e) This section should not apply to VCE or any other designated Entertainment District.
• No outdoor measurement should be taken:
  • During periods when wind speeds (including gusts) exceed 15 mph
  • Without a windscreen, recommended by the measuring instrument manufacturer.
  • Under any condition that allows the measuring instrument to become wet.
  • When the ambient temperature is out of the tolerance of the measuring instrument.
  • Ambient sound levels should be accounted for, either as a deduct (if you will) from the measure, or that the measure is a violation if and only if the sound (over time and at the appropriate distance) is above the ambient level, assuming the ambient is in fact above the limit set forth.

Sec. 66-201 Maximum permissible sound levels

• (a) States  “ No person shall operate or cause to be operated any source of sound in such a manner as to create a sound level which exceeds the limits set forth in Table 1 or which is unreasonably excessive”  This creates a double standard, one of which is measureable and the other that is purely subjective.
• (a) This subsection seeks to make a violation a civil offense and further, constitute a “nuisance”.  As such, this language would empower any person to take civil action against an offender for damages or perceived damages in Civil Court.
• (b) “plainly audible “ language is too subjective.
• (d) This section changes the permissible levels from those measurements in Table 1 to “”be plainly audible at a distance of one foot from any exterior wall of a neighboring dwelling….” Plainly audible is too subjective.
• (e) Same “plainly audible” language is too subjective.

TABLE 1

• VCE Sound Level Limit is too low at 85 db.
• Table does not give any parameters for length of time at decibel levels.  Readings should be an average over a period of time (e.g. 1 hour) and should not be able to be interpreted as a violation if the limit is recorded for only an instant in a time interval.
• Where VCE is concerned, levels should be read at the middle of the street or thoroughfare.
• The measurement should be from the interior of an adjoining property, not at the property line of the alleged offender. Or in the case of a commercial or entertainment area (e.g. VCE), the measurement should be from the centerline of the street or thoroughfare.  At the very least, measurements should be taken at or within the property line of the affected party.

Sec. 66-202. exceptions from Section 66-201

• (12) Any outdoor evangelistic endeavor…….” This exception should be bound by reasonable time frames.
• (14) Jazz Funerals.  This exception should be bound by reasonable time frames.

Sec. 66-203. Specific nuisance sound prohibited.

• (3) Machinery, fans, and air conditioners. Measurement should always be within one foot of any interior wall of an adjacent dwelling.  Furthermore, “plainly audible” should be stricken and replaced with sound meter device Type 1 or Type 2.

Sec. 66-210. Fines and penalties for violations by alcoholic beverage outlets or alcoholic beverage holders and citizens’ sound level complaints of alcoholic beverage outlets.

• ABO permit holders should not be held to a different or higher standard than any other business or resident.
  • For all places of assembly, there should be language that includes that in addition to fines, habitual offenders keep windows and doors closed (except as necessary to provide for entry and exit to and from the establishment) between certain times for a predetermined period of time (e.g. 90 days).
  • For all habitual offenders, language should be included that give power to the authorized authority to seize noise producing property in order to summarily abate the noise.
  • (a) 2. Written complaints, without any measured documentation of violation of the ordinance, should have no weight whatsoever.  To give weight to unsubstantiated complaints is arbitrary and potentially capricious.

Sec. 66-211. Fines and penalties for an offense; appeals; alternative means of enforcement

• (f) States “…..any person and/or any duly organized neighborhood or preservation organization may institute proceedings to revoke or suspend a business’s tax receipts and/or occupational license and/or special permits…..regardless of whether an offender has been notified or cited by an authorized administrator of a specific violation, and regardless of the existence or outcome of any other proceedings against the offender”.  This language has the potential to allow neighborhood associations to decide who does and who does not have the right to operate a business.
• This section makes several references to revocation, suspension and/or restrictions imposed on licensees without any parameters for how long or under what circumstances.

Other:

• It should be a violation to place or cause to be placed speakers or amplified music or sound on or near the exterior of a building or property; any other location (patio, courtyard, balcony, etc) should not exceed the limits set forth in Table 1.
• Interior speakers or amplifying devices should be forbidden within X feet of an open door, doorway or window.
• There should not be any limit to sound levels within a business or property that does not affect adjoining property owners or the public beyond the limits set forth.
• Any ordinance, whether it is current or rewritten, needs a commitment from an enforcement authority that the ordinance will be enforced and that consequences will be meted out.
• The FQBA strongly urges that further work groups or task forces related to the Noise Ordinance include representatives from the FQBA and other French Quarter business interests.

Recently the FQBA’s government affairs committee wrote a letter along with a position statement to city officials requesting assistance to remedy the current deplorable condition of the French Quarter sidewalks. The group rallied support from a number of organizations.

Click here to read the full FQBA position statement. You may also read the letters of support from New Orleans Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Louisiana Restaurant Association, Greater New Orleans Chapter, Bourbon Business Alliance, and the French Quarter Business Women’s Network.

June 1st, 2011  NOPD 8th District, 334 Royal Street

The Request, Donation & Challenge

Early this year, Councilmember Gisleson Palmer requested support from the community to find the means to financially support a new NOPD 8th District Bike Patrol Unit along with other police districts around the city. The goal was 10 bicycles per NOPD district.   The French Quarter Business Association worked with its members to sponsor the bicycles for the 8th District and is proud to spearhead a drive for other community groups to support police in their district.

Sponsors from the FQBA membership for the 8^th District Bike Patrol Unit are Acme Oyster House, Krystal on Bourbon, Muriel’s Jackson Square, New Orleans Convention Company, Inc., New Orleans Musical Legends Park, New Orleans Oyster Festival, Pat O’Brien’s and Steamboat Natchez/Grayline Tours.

Hopefully this challenge will be taken up by other districts and community groups to work together in an effort for community policing and creating more neighborhood cohesion. The French Quarter Business Women’s Network has donated the first of the 10 bicycle goal for the 1^st District and is optimistic that other community groups will follow their lead.

Donations toward the bicycles should be sent to the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, noting the NOPD Bicycle Unit and a specified district for the funds to be allocated accordingly.  The amount if the donation is tax deductible.

Read the rest of this entry »

WHAT: Call for Volunteers for Graffiti Cleanup
WHEN: Saturday, May 21st  9 am Check-in
WHERE: LaTrobe Park in the French Market ( Decatur Street at Ursulines Ave)

New Orleans, LA– As many are aware, the French Quarter Business Association (FQBA), along with other prominent French Quarter groups have implemented an effort dubbed Vieux Carre Graffiti Abatement Program or VC-GAP.

We need help!

This is our call to action to all those passionate about making the French Quarter graffiti free.  We are reaching out to concerned citizens willing to participate in a “hands-on” positive neighborhood beautification effort.  To get involved in this effort, please join us on Saturday, May 21^st.

How can you participate?

There are opportunities as group leaders as well as hands on workers to participate in this community wide cleanup.

How does it work?

Volunteers receive a work t-shirt (while supplies last) and all cleaning products and tools for the cleanup. With the tools and instructions in hand, volunteers spread out through the quarter and remove as many marks as possible.

With this initiative the French Quarter community hopes to spark a neighborhood and city wide perspective that the graffiti problem is not as insurmountable as once presumed.  It is a real community issue that businesses, activists, residents and volunteers are willing to face head on.  Over one hundred volunteers took to the streets last summer on two separate cleanup days.  They not only removed unsightly graffiti, but also had an enjoyable time exploring the streets of our historic neighborhood with old friends and new friends.  They went with a passion to eradicate some of the unsightly marks that offend our visitors, businesses and residents.

Our effort is solely a community action plan to eradicate graffiti from the Vieux Carre.  This event is generously supported by Bevolo Gas & Electric Lights, Café Du Monde, French Market Corporation, French Quarter Citizens & Pat O’Brien’s.

To volunteer or donate contact the FQBA office at 504.309.1423 or email graffiti@fqba.org

Donations to the effort are also graciously appreciated.  Everyone can help!

Volunteer Agreement Form-May 21st

Join FQBA at the 2011 Awards & Installation Dinner hosted at the Royal Sonesta. 

Click here for the event homepage and to register online.

FQBA compiles and distributes a monthly email blast.  To view the latest click here.  To be added to the distribution list please send your contact information through the contact us page.

Information for Oct 2nd Vote 

Please consider voting Saturday, October 2, in support of the FQ Security District. There is a lot of misinformation out there but after careful consideration of the facts, the FQBA Board voted unanimously to support this.

This security district has the support of Chief of police Eddie Serpas, the 8th District Commander, Former commander, Louis Dabdoub, Councilwomen Kristen Palmer and Jackie Clarkson, Councilman Arnie Fielkow, and Senator Ed Murray.

Vincent Marcello has offered free office space for the district, should it pass, which will reduce overhead and allow 12 addition shifts of security people per week.  Once passed, the Executive Director will be charged with going after grant money, foundations, etc. to further enhance security and quality of life issues.