Oh God help them

New Orleanians have had a lot of advice for victims of Hurricane Sandy as they embark on the long road to recovery. But one commonly expressed sentiment we could not possibly have stressed enough was, whatever you do, do NOT hire Ed Blakely to direct or advise your efforts.

And yet.

The University of Sydney (USyd) has sent Honorary Professor in Urban Policy, Edward Blakely, to New York to help its recovery efforts caused by October’s monster storm Hurricane Sandy.

Professor Blakely, an American academic working at USyd’s United States Studies Centre, is a seasoned veteran in dealing with disaster recovery efforts aftewr he earned the unofficial title of ‘Recovery Czar’ within the New Orleans Office of Recovery and Development Administration for his efforts to ameliorate the destruction inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Oh dear. He must have been attracted by the dangling "cranes on the skyline."

I'm busy watching the LSU game right now.  But this is another good opportunity to review the Ed Blakely Timeline. 

Also, throw Ed Blakely's name out on Twitter and it doesn't take New Orleans very long to start talking about their favorite archetypal con men.

@dakinikat @skooks @the_gambit Ed Blakely is like the Monorail guy from The Simpsons. bit.ly/Taw5Q7
— Nate Thompson (@NolaNate) November 23, 2012

And we think we're kidding for a moment but then we start reading his recent comments just to get an idea what he's thinking.

After Sandy, we need to reposition and not merely rebuild. Sandy presents the ideal opportunity to think about reorganizing Lower Manhattan with stronger, smarter—and higher—transportation modes. Building tidal barriers around the tip of the city is important, as well as creating better links between New York and New Jersey so evacuation and train travel can create more options for human movement in good and bad times.

And then the whole song starts playing.