News

In poker, there comes a time when the betting is done and everyone has to show his or her hand. In the case of beloved New Orleans’ radio station WWOZ and their proposal to expand their offices on city-owned Armstrong Park in the important Treme neighborhood, that time is now.

The adversarial relationship between WWOZ management and Leo Watermeier’s Friends of Armstrong Park has gone on for over a year now, with each side trying to win public support and by default, the support of Mayor Nagin. Previously, it appeared that Mayor Nagin’s office was willing to support WWOZ and their expansion, at least behind the scenes. However, last Friday’s press conference called by WWOZ was a plea for a public statement of support from City Hall. Apparently, City Hall is keeping mum about this project, which involves a key neighborhood, city land and resources. In this game, the dealer’s call should be for a public statement of intention.

This recent turn of events (or non-events) is a surprise to many observers, who had assumed the mayor’s support for the project to be evident by meetings between the mayor’s staff and WWOZ leadership and letters written to Senator Mary Landrieu’s office to ask for assistance with procuring federal funding for the project. WWOZ is being publicly represented by public relations firm Katz and Columbus, a local company that is known for its representation of pro Wal-Mart developers during their efforts to build in New Orleans’ Lower Garden District. Katz and Columbus organized Friday’s press conference, inviting local media and attempting to “un-invite” Leo Watermeier, ‘OZ’s most vocal critic. WWOZ officials announced that if they did not receive city support for the project in the form of formal agreements and support for their architectural plans, that they would move from Armstrong Park and seek another location for their studios. Watermeier’s Friends of Armstrong Park has been suggesting alternate locations for WWOZ for some time, so it would be interesting to understand how WWOZ’s move would adversely affect the city.

Friends of Armstrong Park claims support from a racially mixed coalition of community members, both inside and outside of the Trem� , but that hasn’t translated into more access to the other key organizations. WWOZ management has reacted angrily to Watermeier’s criticisms of the project, and the mayor’s CAO, Charles Rice, publicly asked to be removed from the Friends of Armstrong Park e-mail list in January of this year. The e-mail list has been a one of the few consistent sources of news on the project for an increasingly puzzled public. Watermeier’s persistence and follow up has made it hard to dismiss him as a crackpot with his own self-interests at heart. The Esplanade Ridge/Treme� Civic Association board recently reversed itself and suspended support for WWOZ’s plans after Watermeier presented his case at one of their meetings. It appears that only members of WWOZ and their public relations firm had secured the opportunity to address the board previously.

What is disheartening to us is to watch as an icon of community involvement and a cultural institution beyond compare stumbles and risks a loss of prestige over what appears to be a misguided but stubborn refusal to engage with the community. OZ’s communications with the public regarding this project have been overly secretive. The decision-makers appear to have adopted the siege mentality favored by certain real estate developers of the city, no doubt with counsel from PR companies that stand to reap big billings by churning controversy. It needn’t be this way. If OZ wants public land and public money for its project, they need to reach out to the public and help us understand why this in our best interest. They need to talk openly, share information, and be willing to get creative and compromise if the community has legitimate concerns. Send the PR spin-doctors home for a day or two. Really talk with the community. You might be surprised what acommunity can accomplish when we work together.

All of this does not necessarily prove that WWOZ’s expansion is good or bad. However, what it does point to is a greater need for public engagement on this issue by the mayor’s office. The Treme neighborhood that is the home of Armstrong Park is one of New Orleans’ most historically important African American communities. It has also had a history of suffering under wrong-headed government plans. Some of these include the decision to run the I-10 interstate through its commercial heart in the 1960’s and the destruction of nine square blocks of Trem� in the same decade to build the Mahalia Jackson Center for the Performing Arts and of course, Armstrong Park. The Trem� is identified as one of New Orleans’ seven Strategic Improvement Zones by the mayor’s office of Housing and Neighborhood Development. It is time to demonstrate the city’s commitment to that community on the issue of Armstrong Park by taking the pulse of the community on the issue.

You can raise, call, or fold.

Filed under: Projects