French Quarter residents concerned about crime, infrastructure: ‘I want to know where the money is’

French Quarter crime and infrastructure took center stage at a meeting in the New Orleans Jazz Museum Wednesday, where dozens of residents confronted Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser about his administration’s efforts to clean up the Crescent City’s most iconic neighborhood. 

Nungesser, who leads the state’s tourism efforts, assured attendees that cosmetic and structural improvements coming to the area thanks to Super Bowl LIX, which New Orleans will host in 2025, will be “long-lasting.”

“Whatever it takes to maintain that will continue long after the Super Bowl’s long and gone,” Nungesser said.

Wednesday’s meeting came after a string of violent weeks in the French Quarter that unnerved local home and business owners in the neighborhood, even despite Louisiana State Police efforts through Troop Nola to hone in on quality-of-life violations on and around Bourbon Street. 

“There’s a lot of things that are very concerning,” said Cathryn Giff, who works as a hotel manager at Hotel de la Monnaie at the edge of the French Quarter. “We are losing business.”

Locals like Giff said they are mostly concerned with crime, infrastructure and the prominence of unhoused people in the area. At an encampment near the hotel where Giff works, she said she regularly sees people openly using drugs.

Giff said she doesn’t see taxpayer dollars going toward her part of town.

“We have guests who don’t want to come back,” Giff said. “I want to know where the money is. Why isn’t it being spent?”

Nungesser promised residents that he’s on a mission to clean up Louisiana.

He said he trusts Troop Nola to help with crime but that the onus is mostly on judges and district attorneys to keep people in jail. Nungesser said he takes even petty crimes seriously, and offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who can help convict whoever vandalized the French Quarter’s historic Presbytere museum last month. 

“It takes police away from fighting the real crime, and it costs money to fix these things,” Nungesser said. 

Nungesser also suggested bettering city contracts to help with drainage and street repair efforts.

Shifting tourist focus from the French Quarter is another way Nungesser hopes to satisfy resident concerns. Showing visitors that Mardi Gras happens statewide has already impacted tourism elsewhere in Louisiana, he said. 

“We had people from Japan in Shreveport this year,” Nungesser said. “The good news is if you keep your foot on the gas and stay focused on this, we can get this done.”