Not to put too fine a point on it but...

 They're messing with you. 

GOP donors Lane Grigsby and Boysie Bollinger aren't concerned about the restrictions placed on the constitutional convention in the enabling legislation passed by the House.

They don't think they're enforceable, per @LaPoliticsNow. #lalege #lagov pic.twitter.com/yUoG9J87nC

— Julie O'Donoghue (@JSODonoghue) May 10, 2024

It's just Dracula's castle now

It's been a while since we did a round-up of our city's most "iconic" doomed redevelopment projects.  In what's now a twenty year race to see who gets "back into commerce" only one of these has made it all the way there... for better or worse. The Trade Mart building is now the Four Seasons hotel.  Boysie Bollinger will sell you his penthouse there for $19.5 million if you are interested.  As for our other favs, well let's take a look.

Plaza Tower: Please enjoy this recent NOLA.com slideshow on the history of the tower. Last month, the city put out an RFP on possible demolition.  That didn't make Joe Jaeger, the building's current owner, very happy. Both Jager and the city have made vague references to possible sale in the works.  But nobody knows who the buyer might be.

Six Flags: As of this past October, Troy Henry has a lease on the property and, apparently, the green light to begin demolition.  He does not, however, have any partners lined up to operate any of the attractions and amenities his pitches for the property have promised.  Nor does he have any financing outside of the potential public subsidy should anything materialize.

Municipal Auditorium: Thankfully this will not become the next City Hall. What it will become remains anyone's guess. There is finally a plan in place to spend the $37 million in FEMA funding to "stabilize" the structure. The years of arguing over what to do with the building almost allowed that to expire. But, even now, there's still no agreed upon vision for the building. An RFP could come soon though.

Charity Hospital: There is news today! Not very encouraging news, of course.  Remember that years-long and very pained public process of getting various entities private and public (LSU, Tulane, the state and city governments, a developer partnership called "1532 Partners") to agree on a development plan? Well that's all scrapped. Instead they're doing this new thing. 

The Domain Companies, a New York firm known in New Orleans for developing the South Market district on Loyola Avenue, has finalized a deal to take over redevelopment of the old Charity Hospital, a project that is more than three years behind schedule and has at least doubled in cost.

What will they build now?  Unclear. But as a placeholder, please enjoy a bunch of gobbledygook.

Domain CEO Matt Schwartz said he isn’t ready to unveil updated plans for the building, but he said the project’s most important component — Tulane’s presence as anchor tenant — will remain the same. Other elements, such as the specific number and configuration of apartments, labs and offices, will be adjusted to make the project more financially feasible.

“Some of it will have to be retooled to make sure the different components are speaking to each other,” Schwartz said in an interview Tuesday. “We are looking at rightsizing the different components for viability, finance ability and making sure we’re targeting the right market and right demographics for what will work.”

The project was originally estimated to cost $250 million, and was later revised to $300 million. After the pandemic, interest rate increases and inflation drove up construction costs. Sources familiar with the project said it could cost as much as $600 million now.

Thumbing back through our notes we are reminded that in 2019 the LSU board gave its final approval to the plan while meeting in Shreveport in order to get as far away as possible from any objections from the New Orleans public. Even at that moment, the emphasis was already moving away from "innovation hubs" and affordable housing and toward condos and STRs. 

Plans for the project also include renting about 150 residential units to Sonder, a short-term rental company that already has significant operations in New Orleans. That would be about 50% more units than would be allowed for the property under short-term rental rules the City Council passed earlier this year, which bar renting more than 25% of the units in commercial buildings to tourists.

And, now, what with all the "right sizing" and "market targeting" Domain is going to do, who knows what they'll end up with. 

Ghouls and goblins

Governor-elect Landry's transition team is populated with all of the infamous figures you might expect to see. You've got your Grigsbys and your Bollingers and whatnot. There are other things you might expect.  An oil company lawyer will chair the Coast & Environment committee, a charter school guy will chair a K-12 education group.  I also see there's a committee chaired by Gray Stream. That's an interesting character we highlighted last month as well. 

Lane Grigsby will be in charge of something called a "Constitutional Reform" committee which is itself a whole 'nother can of worms we've been trying not to have to open for quite some time, primarily because of some issues we brought up on election night. 

Anyway, I'm linking back to old posts here because we're about to get swallowed up by some monsters that I, like a lot of people, have been warning about for a long time. You might say we're practically haunted. Not sure what anyone can do about it now. After all, the exorcist was two governors ago.

Bollinger ICE raid

Not sure what, exactly, is going on here but the possibility that a company with so many critical ties to the Republican Party in general and to Donald Trump's campaign in particular, might be calling out ICE on its own employees probably needs consideration.

Federal agents staged an extensive search of the Bollinger Shipyards facilities in Lockport on Tuesday as part of an "ongoing federal criminal investigation" led by the Department of Homeland Security and also detained several immigrants in the country illegally at the facility, authorities said.

The operation at the Lafourche Parish shipyard on Tuesday was led by agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Bryan Cox, an ICE spokesman. Cox referred additional questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser declined comment.

Cox said federal agents also arrested 19 "unlawfully present foreign nationals" at the Bollinger Shipyards location. Five of those people were placed in ICE detention while the other 14 were processed and released after being placed into deportation proceedings in federal immigration court, Cox said.

Of course it also says there is an "ongoing federal criminal investigation"  and it's the sort of thing that has ensnared other Republican Party figures in the state already.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who has railed against loose borders and lax immigration policies during his four years as the state’s top lawman, went into business in 2017 with a Houston labor broker named Marco Pesquera, who had become rich by helping his clients defraud the immigration system to import more than 1,000 Mexican laborers to the Gulf South.

They set out to make millions by winning federal approval to bring in hundreds of skilled Mexican construction workers to help build a massive liquefied natural gas terminal in Cameron Parish.

These are the guys who yell and scream about how we need tough immigration enforcement practices while they themselves are the ones profiting from the exploitation of migrant labor.  You ever wonder if maybe they just like to be able to threaten their workers?

Fine upstanding citizens

Bollinger and Cannizaro give a lot of money to local politicians (many of them Democrats!) and are active wheels in the non-profit industrial complex that more or less runs everything.  Also they do this.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will have a dinner fundraiser in New Orleans next month that will cost supporters a minimum of $2,800 apiece.

Those willing to shell out $100,000 per person will get "roundtable" access, and couples can pay $35,000 for a photo with the president at the May 14 event.

Shipbuilder Boysie Bollinger and developer Joe Canizaro, Trump's finance co-chairs for Louisiana, are listed as the event's hosts, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by The Advocate.

They all want to talk about how there's nothing more important than beating Trump (even if they have some stupid ideas about how to do that)  but they still accept Trump's guys into the club whenever. It makes you wonder if they take any of this seriously.

Billy and the redeemers

Nungesser told a bunch of  "tourism and cultural preservation officials" yesterday that he's going to put all the Jim Crow monuments back on public display soon.  That should go over really well.

I notice here, also, that Billy implies Mayor Cantrell is cooperating with him in this task.   That also should go over really well.  Even so he can't help but show a little ass toward her city even as the negotiations are ongoing.

“I’ve met with her several times. I really believe in my heart she wants it resolved in a way that satisfies -- as much as we can – everyone," he said. The event was hosted by the Robert E. Lee Monumental Association.

Attendees cheered Nungesser’s promise that public input will be taken on all proposals. He said he personally favors building a replica of Lee Circle in Mandeville’s Fontainebleau State Park, which his office oversees.

He says the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee would be back on top of his pedestal, with his back side facing New Orleans.

So... yeah... that ought to go over super well too.

Maybe somebody can follow up with the mayor on this.  When they do, I hope they would also ask her about the folks in Nungesser's cheering audience.  WWNO doesn't name any of them but describes them as "tourism and preservation officials" so you have to figure there are some prominent individuals among them.  The hosting "R.E. Lee Monumental Association" is listed on the Sec of State's website. Its president is William Mason.  His name does not appear on the organization's website. Nor does anyone else's.  It says here on the membership page that donations and members will remain anonymous.  I don't think Billy's audience was masked, though.  Mardi Gras is over and most of them have put their hoods away..... we think, anyway.

Of course the anonymous donations to the white supremacist organization are tax deductible.  That's in keeping with the standard practice for culture and tourism oriented non-profits in New Orleans.  Take plantation owner, Joe Jaeger's proposed hotel for example.  It says here, Jaeger and his partners want to configure their development as a non-profit also in order to aquire a property tax exemption.  Assessor Erroll Williams is not so keen on that at the moment.

The tourism cabal is also seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in additional rebates and subsidies beyond just the propety tax exemption.

The proposed deal calls for $41 million in upfront cash from the Convention Center, a free 50-year land lease with four optional 10-year extensions, and a 40-year break on property taxes. It also would include complete rebates of a 10 percent hotel-occupancy tax and a 4 percent sales tax on all hotel revenue from sources other than room rentals.

Besides the $330 million value identified by BGR, the proposed plan also calls for other subsidies from the Convention Center: $26 million to perform “site prep” to remediate any hazardous soil and to install utilities on the site, and $20 million to connect the hotel to the Convention Center at Henderson Street

All of this, the wealthiest developers in town insist, is absolutely necessary for them to finance their surefire money making project on some of the most desirable real estate in the city.   If they need that much help, the tourism economy in New Orleans must be in a lot worse shape than they say it is. Either that or they're just not very good businessmen.

Another possibility is that's just how business is done around here. The Advocate points out that the World War II Museum, another of our celebrated tourism and cultural non-profits, is looking to build its own tax-exempt hotel.

Williams said he also isn’t inclined to grant a property tax exemption sought by officials at the National World War II Museum for the hotel they are building across Magazine Street from the museum. The officials say the hotel would be an “educational” facility, according to Williams. No one from the museum was available for comment.

Maybe if they hadn't spent their endowment on the Bollinger Canopy Of Peace they wouldn't have to ask for stuff like this, I dunno.  Anyway, they need more public money now.  And even though Williams is leaning away from giving them more, it isn't clear he's made a final decision yet.

Which is why, as this process goes on, he, and the mayor, may wish to consider the very likely overlapping rosters of individuals involved in the Convention Center project, the World War II Museum, AND the members of Nungesser's audience who cheered when he suggested we could all kiss General Lee's ass for him yesterday.  Can't imagine that's going to win them much favor.  But one never knows. 

They told Bollinger no

Not a bad start.

The Orleans Parish School Board Thursday (Oct. 11) denied a company's tax breaks request in the district's first-ever vote on the topic ever since it gained the power to review industrial tax exemption applications.

Six members of the board voted to deny Bollinger Algiers' application for a five-year property tax exemption under Louisiana's Industrial Tax Exemption Program . District 3 member Sarah Usdin recused herself from the vote. The district rejected the request because the application failed to meet two of four recently established rules for tax breaks approved by the OPSB.

But it's just the one time. The trick is make it a habit.

Just taaake the moneeeys

Earlier in the year Ben Kleban proposed an across the board freeze on the school board granting these kinds of tax breaks now that they have the discretion to do that. Instead they're considering each request individually so the schools can continue to die by a thousand cuts. 

The request from Bollinger Algiers, a subsidiary of shipbuilding and vessel repair firm Bollinger Shipyards, did not meet two of the district’s four requirements to secure an exemption, according to the notes in a board resolution to deny the exemption.

It’s unclear what project or Bollinger property the exemption would apply to. The company did not return a phone call, and school district officials did not immediately respond to a question from The Lens.

The industrial tax exemption is the state’s most expensive tax break, costing local governments $13.7 billion in lost tax revenue between 2006 and 2016, according to The Advocate.

The exemption has allowed eligible manufacturers to forgo all property taxes related to new facility improvements for up to 10 years. That was recently capped at 80 percent of property taxes for 10 years, but because Bollinger applied for the exemption before the rules changed, it is seeking a 100 percent exemption, emails from the company show.

It's still possible that the board could deny this one.  But, really, they ought to be in the habit of denying these and just taking all the money they're entitled to. Instead, they're very likely to follow the lead of the mayor's office since they've weighed in.

At the July meeting, Kleban said the school board’s criteria were adopted after consulting with Cantrell’s office. But on Tuesday, Cantrell spokesman Beau Tidwell said the city “is still in the process of developing a procedure for reviewing ITEP requests,” which will be done in collaboration with the school board and the sheriff’s sffice.

Bollinger has also submitted requests with the city and the sheriff’s office for exemptions on property taxes they oversee.

“Until the new process is in place, we believe it’s fair that requests such as Bollinger Algiers’ request — which was submitted under the old system — should be allowed to move forward,” Tidwell said.

During last year's mayoral election Boysie Bollinger donated heavily to a PAC attacking Cantrell's opponent as having been "for sale" to special interests.  It's taken several months to finish this "review" process. Maybe because of complicating factors like that.

Team Jeb! in Louisiana

Who even knew Suzie Terrell was still around?

Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush’s campaign on Tuesday named his Louisiana steering committee and finance chairs.

St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister, state Sen. Conrad Appel of Metairie, state Rep. Nancy Landry of Lafayette and former state Commissioner of Elections Suzie Terrell will work to build Bush’s grassroots infrastructure.

And on the fundraising end, some of your favorites. 

Meanwhile, fundraising efforts will be led by New Orleans developer Joe Canizaro, Lockport shipbuilder Boysie Bollinger and Ruston businessman James Davison.

Everybody Hates Vitty

Last night in previewing the Governor's race we mentioned some of the intrigue last month over recruiting a spoiler Democrat to enter the race and keep John Bel Edwards out of the runoff. If you don't like Gomer, but you're sure he can't win in a runoff, why even bother with this?

Well, for one thing, everybody.. including many Republicans.. really don't like David Vitter so they'd prefer to have another Republican around to vote for in November.  And for another thing, people dislike Vitter so much that this gives credence to the theory that Edwards really might win.

The belief all along has been that any Republican would be favored if he got into the Nov. 21 runoff with state Rep. John Bel Edwards, the only Democrat in the race. Democrats haven’t fared well in running for statewide offices.

Recent polls have indicated that might not guarantee a Republican victory. Edwards is running an effective campaign and is doing well in the polls. Some GOP voters we have spoken with have said casting a ballot for Edwards wouldn’t be a problem if Vitter were his opponent.

Uh oh.  Right now Vitter ally Boysie Bollinger is lining up money to support legislative candidates who pledge to enact new "tort reforms" that further immunize businesses like, say Bollinger's shipping or other oil field and offshore services concerns from pesky lawsuits like, say, the one the levee board tried to bring against oil and gas companies last year.

Bollinger's group likely prefers Vitter. But they'd settle for anybody but Edwards who they see as a potential disaster for them. Word is they've tried like hell to run a patsy Democrat to keep Edwards out of the runoff. If they can't do that, how do they deal with their Everybody Hates Vitty problem before it's too late?

Quarter monopoly

NOLA.com: Napoleon House sold to Ralph Brennan

Great. Another damn Brennan-owned French Quarter establishment.  Brennan says he doesn't want to change anything. I hope that's true. Despite its obvious touristy quality, there was still a decided lack of pretentiousness about the place. (Also, Menckles and I got married there five years ago. It was by a wide margin the only affordable venue in the Quarter for losers like us to have an event like that.)

In related events, John Georges is cutting other local plutocrats in on his Galatoire's racket.

This week, that group added two high-profile members, with Louisiana
shipbuilding magnate Donald “Boysie” Bollinger and banker John C.
Simpson becoming minority owners.

John Georges, majority owner of the historic restaurant and
publisher of The Advocate, sold 10 percent of his ownership in
Galatoire’s to the two men, according to a statement from Galatoire’s
released Monday.

The 10 percent stake includes an interest in the related Galatoire’s
 Bistro in Baton Rouge and in Galatoire’s 33 Bar & Steak, located
adjacent to the original Bourbon Street restaurant, as well as “in any
future endeavors involving the Galatoire’s ownership group,” according
to the statement.

Bollinger is the chairman and chief executive officer of Bollinger
Enterprises and the former chairman and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards Inc.
Simpson is chairman of Alexandria-based Red River Bank.

Someday we'll learn who wins the big game of French Quarter Monopoly they're all playing. The winner gets to build his own Iconic hotel on the Moonwalk.