City Hall by Hyatt

Just thought I'd second Adrastos's reservations about the proposed big changes downtown. I'll add that I'm leery of the idea of a "Jazz Park" at all. Lolis Eric Elie had a pretty good point the other day along these lines.

Well, if money is not going to be a problem, and if jazz is going to be the centerpiece of this new development, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to invest in those historic jazz landmarks that have been neglected for the past several decades?

Trio of survivors

During the announcement of this new jazz-centric complex, it was noted that the facility will be built near Louis Armstrong's old home. But little was said about the importance of an area just a few blocks away, the 400 block of South Rampart Street.

That block is home to three crumbling buildings that might be the most important surviving structures in the history of early jazz. The Eagle Saloon, the Iroquois Theater and the Little Gem Saloon are all standing, though barely.

Building a sanitized park and "Jazz orchestra hall" while ignoring the historically significant landmarks nearby smells strongly of Disneyfication of street culture to me. In fact.. it looks like part of this project calls for building more condos in the very neighborhood Lolis is talking about.

Meanwhile it turns out that the city is making budgetary projections based on some um less than complete demographic info

Given the lack of consensus on the city's financial situation, some experts said the city should try to get more reliable information on where things stand before attempting a look into the future.

When asked about New Orleans' current population, Lomba said it is 200,000 to 250,000. That's far too wide a range to use for meaningful population studies, Stonecipher said. He noted that a study done by Rand Corp. estimated that the city's population was 155,000 in March and would reach about 198,000 by September.

Stonecipher is urging city officials to pay for their own census, which he said would cost less than $1 million but would provide an irrefutable starting point for economic forecasting.

"We ought to be asking ourselves: Why are we satisfied with sophisticated guesswork when we can do better?" Stonecipher said. "I think the answer is obvious: The (New Orleans) government is afraid of what it will show. And there is no need for that. Whatever it shows, it shows. I don't think we should be assuming the worst here."

Even without hard data, however, Stonecipher said he is "very skeptical" about the city's population estimates, which show the population climbing from 258,352 in 2007 to 333,386 in 2010.

... which might be understandable but one gets the impression from this article that some of those projections are deliberately self-delusional.

Demographers take issue with the city's best-case population estimates, which are the driving force behind the revenue gains. They say the slow pace of recovery could prompt many of those who have returned to pull up stakes. Although some population experts say the city could have as many as 300,000 people by 2010, they also say it is possible that New Orleans could be home to just 210,000 residents.

"These projections look extremely enthusiastic," said Elliott Stonecipher, a demographer and political scientist in Shreveport, about the city's presentation to the bankers.

Local assessors are equally skeptical. They question projections that show the city raking in $63 million in real estate taxes by 2008 -- $10 million more than the city collected in 2004. Assessor Erroll Williams, whose 3rd District includes nearly half the homes in New Orleans, said he thinks it will take at least five years for property tax collections to reach pre-Katrina levels.

This looks very much like government by cheerleaders who prefer to do as little homework as possible to get by.

Which.. finally brings us to the quote of the day which comes from.. of all places.. Ballzack who has the following to say to Antigravity Magazine regarding the city fathers.

AG: It sounds like you're really happy to be in New Orleans. Do you have any reservations about staying here?

BZ: I love to be able to stay in New Orleans. Sure, it might get destroyed but we'’ve lived with that risk even before. It'’s not much different, it'’s just now we'’re more aware of the consequences and know what it actually looks like. So, I'’m going to stick it out. I love the city and couldn'’t go anywhere else. But I do wish New Orleans would get its act together. It really seems like a city run by C students.