Friends of the Municipal Auditorium: May 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Sign the Petition!

Please support the cause by signing our petition to City Council!

Dear Councilwoman Palmer,

As people who care deeply about the city of New Orleans, we are concerned about the current condition of the Municipal Auditorium, Armstrong Park, and Congo Square. These public facilities are very important to us and we have been discouraged to see them vacant and unusable since Katrina. The neighborhood kids need a park to play in; we miss the concerts, balls and other events that residents used to walk to; we need Congo Square to be open and accessible as a national heritage site.

Many of us have voiced our concerns, in the past and again recently, about the sad state of these public spaces and facilities to the members of the Treme Neighborhood Association. Now we respectfully request that the gates to Congo Square be opened immediately. Congo Square is not damaged and everybody should be allowed to use it. We want the gates at St. Peter, Rampart, and St. Ann Streets opened now. We are also requesting that Armstrong Park be reopened. We know that nothing happens overnight, but almost six years is just too long. The residents and voters of Treme want Armstrong Park and Congo Square to be opened this summer, and for the City to begin the restoration of the Municipal Auditorium into the proud performing arts facility it used to be.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We hope you will take our calls for action seriously and help champion the cause!

Sincerely,

Sign petition

FoMA on Good Morning New Orleans WGNO - 5/26/11

Check out the full interview here.

Monday, May 23, 2011

People United for Armstrong Park - Meeting Notes from Thursday, May 12, 2011

- Pat Evans spoke with Councilwoman Kristin Palmer on Tuesday, May 10th. As of that date, Councilwoman Palmer had contacted the Administration to confirm the Municipal Auditorium was not part of the 100 capital projects but that they were "actively moving forward to get an accurate estimate of Katrina-related damage." No RFP is prepared or released at this time, nor are any proposals by the Administration out there to re-bid the project.

- Luther Gray spoke to a representative at Park and Parkways, who were having a meeting Friday, May 13th with the contractor(s) and told him to call back to follow up this coming Monday, May 16th, at 10:00am. It was noted that the Jazz Heritage / Congo Square Rhythm Festivals were of the few that actually pay to use park space.

- Hearsay currently is that the Mayor's Office/City Administration has hired two other contractors (one is Cajun Construction) to oversee the continuing work of A.M.E. on Armstrong Park's renovation and repair.

- Questions remain as to why only one gate has been opened for now. It was noted that having only one point of entry/egress to Armstrong Park, or any park or public space, is a significant public safety issue in cases of emergency. This could help in the push to open another gate (ideally all gates) more quickly.

- End of the month/early June event to celebrate the heritage and history of Armstrong Park and Congo Square, as well as the recent rededication of Congo Square with its official name. A possible time to formally present the petition to City officials, including Mayor Landrieu and the City Council was discussed. We are currently aiming for Wednesday, June 8th, possibly at Shaka Zulu's Golden Feather Mardi Gras Indian Museum and Restaurant. Beth and Marie will meet in the near future to hammer out the details of the event and related invitation. Damon offered to help with arranging entertainment for the evening.

- In addition to a public celebratory event in early June, it was also noted that a private meeting with the Mayor could be effective to elicit a positive response to our campaign.

- As a reminder, Luther will be leading the drumming circle at Congo Square this Sunday, May 15th, from 2:00pm-4:00pm. All are welcome!

More information as we continue to work on these endeavors. A wonderful weekend to all!

- Marie

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

FoMA on FOX8 Morning News

Interview Here

Monday, May 9, 2011

Community Meeting 5/5/11 - Summary Notes

Good afternoon,

   This past Thursday, May 5th, 2011, we met at the Golden Feather Mardi Gras Indian Restaurant at 6:30pm to discuss the condition of Armstrong Park as well as the facilities and space within it - namely, the Municipal Auditorium, the other buildings located within the park's boundaries, and Congo Square. A big and hearty thank you to Shaka Zulu for his generosity in letting us meet in his colorful, vibrant space. The food was excellent, too!

   We acknowledged the work of historian Freddi Williams Evans on her recent book, "Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans" and her contribution to bringing further attention to Congo Square and the push to give the space the official name it has long deserved, as approved by City Council last week.

   We then discussed Mayor Landrieu's recent announcement that parts of Armstrong Park are to be reopened on Monday, May 9, 2011. The announcement was vague with details, and there is a general confusion as to what will actually happen on Monday, as there was no mention of a ceremony. The idea of forming different committees for different forms of contact in order to keep the pressure on the Administration was discussed, but the current plant was decided that Emanuel Lain would e-mail the Mayor's Office and Councilwoman Palmer, Pat Evans would call Mayor Landrieu and Councilwoman Palmer, and that Luther Gray would call Park and Parkways (Ann McDonald) to get more details and report back to this group.

   The second part of Mayor Landrieu's announcement was that all of Armstrong Park would be open by the end of the year. No details in the form of a work schedule or timeline were released. The meeting conversation turned to the topic of a reasonable timeline and highlighted the following events as target times to open the park:
- End of July 2011
       - Satchmo Fest (August 4-7, 2011)
       - Congo Square Rhythms Festival (September 24-25, 2011)
       - Fall/October 2011
There were differences in opinion within the group as to when we should reasonably expect to have Armstrong Park open, but there was absolutely a consensus that we wanted transparency and accountability of the stages of its renovation.

   To keep our momentum going, we also discussed drafting a letter to the Mayor's office, a new or revised petition, another cultural parade (with signs), and requesting a meeting with Mayor Landrieu (May 26th was suggested as a target date). Sondra, Luther, and Emanuel agreed to work together to compile information on the kind of economic impact a reopened Armstrong Park would have on the community as additional evidence as to why the Park must be opened ASAP. It also should be noted that the idea of residential and cultural equity could play an important role in the push to reopen Armstrong Park and Congo Square permanently; this should also carry over to the ultimate use of a restored Municipal Auditorium.

To that end, we closed the meeting by giving each person the chance to speak briefly about what they would like to see for the Municipal Auditorium's future as well as for Armstrong Park. A range of ideas and visions were shared, with the common ground being that the local community's best interests and ideas must be taken into account when any decisions are to be made. Lastly, we established that the working name for this current collective group of us is to be People United for Armstrong Park.

   We are aiming to have another meeting this coming Thursday, May 12, at 6:30pm, with the venue to be announced in the coming days. A reminder e-mail notice will be sent.

   Thank you to everyone who attended this past meeting, and we look forward to the next.

             Sincerely,
                   Marie Chinappi, FoMA

Friends of the Municipal Auditorium