Letter of False Hope

The following is a "Letter to the Editor" from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin that ran in Tuesday's (July 3, 2007) edition of The Times-Picayune. The Essence Festival runs Thursday-Saturday in the Superdome and features appearances by a number political (Hillary and Obama) and musical (Beyonce, Ne-Yo) big wigs.

On the eve of the return of the Essence Festival, I want to take a moment to reflect on progress in our great city.

We are recovering, and there are positive trends that both visitors and locals will notice:

-- A cleaner city. New Orleans has never looked better. This is a direct result of an innovative approach to trash and garbage removal and consistent attention to detail to make city streets and sidewalks shine.

-- A financially stable city. We made tough decisions to drastically reduce the city's workforce and took other belt-tightening measures. Today, our tax collections are at 90 percent of pre-Katrina levels, and more than 150,000 building permits, totaling $3.7 billion, have been issued in the last 22 months. Wall Street is taking notice by upgrading our city's financial status.

-- A city that cares enough to get people home. Our current population is estimated at 291,000, compared to a pre-Katrina level of 455,000. The slow pace and other problems of the Road Home program are an impediment, but citizens are rebuilding with their savings, 401(K)s and SBA loans. We've partnered with Chase and Liberty Bank to create the Road Home Fast Track Program, which provides no-interest loans to people waiting for their Road Home proceeds. We continue to reach out to the thousands who make up the diaspora.

-- A city that's rebuilding. Our Citywide Strategic Recovery and Redevelopment Plan has been approved by the Louisiana Recovery Authority, and our recovery action plan is focusing on rebuilding 17 target areas across New Orleans.

Thousands have come here for the Essence Festival -- not only to enjoy what makes our city unique, but to do their part in helping to rebuild New Orleans, one of America's greatest cities.

Welcome home.
C. Ray Nagin
Mayor
New Orleans

Nagin apparently wanted to write a letter to drum up enthusiasm not only for the festival but for the city as well. Unfortunately, this letter just proves that Nagin still doesn't get it. Yes, it's fine to point out the progress and the positives. Optimism and hope are imperative at a time like this, but not at the expense of reality. Here you have an event that is slated to draw thousands of visitors to New Orleans, and instead of Nagin using it as an opportunity to raise more awareness and show people how crippled some neighborhoods still are, as well as encourage visitors to get involved and perhaps spend one of their days here volunteering, he writes a letter littered with idealistic falsehoods and minimal gains that will lead people visiting downtown for a few days to think everything is O.K. Well, I'll use this opportunity to say, the Greater New Orleans area is anything but O.K.