Mayor Nagin holds town hall meeting in Houston
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin held a meeting in Houston today with some of his former constituents:
Frustration, doubt and anger greeted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Sunday as he implored displaced residents from his city to join in the process of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
Nagin, speaking during a town hall meeting at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Houston, asked New Orleans residents to help him in his efforts to bring the city back to life. The meeting was one of several Nagin has had since Katrina hit New Orleans in late August.
"I greet you all in the spirit of unity because if we don't unify, we will never come back to the New Orleans we all want to come back to," he said. "I know there is frustration out there. I can only do so much. I need your help."
Nagin told the more than 600 residents in attendance that 60 percent of New Orleans has electricity, 50 percent has natural gas service, most of the city has safe drinking water, 911 and police services are operational, debris has been removed from most city streets and jobs that pay well above minimum wage are readily available.
But he also told people that the city is broke with no revenues coming in, the public school system is still shut down and there is not enough housing for people to come back and help with the rebuilding process.
[snip]
Ingrid LeBlanc, a New Orleans resident living in north Houston with eight other family members, told Nagin she wants to return to her hometown and rebuild her home. But she has concerns about the levee system and whether officials have decided some neighborhoods, including her own, won't be rebuilt.
"I want to go back. I need to know where I stand," she said.
Nagin reassured LeBlanc, 54, that all of New Orleans is going to be rebuilt.
[snip]
Arthur Brown, 43, a truck driver, said because of New Orleans' uncertain future, he's decided to buy a home in suburban Houston.
"I'm not sure what (New Orleans) is going to do. I can't put my life on hold," he said. "I have a family. I need to move on."
Ultimately, many New Orleans residents will return one day, but there are many, many others who will do what Mr. Brown is doing -- move on with their lives, in someplace other than New Orleans. Mayor Nagin is going to have a tough sell.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/27/05 07:21 PM | Hurricane Stuff | Print | Comments (9)
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