Tag: French Quarter

NOPD 8th District officer dies after battle with coronavirus

A 30-year New Orleans Police veteran and 8th District officer passed away on Thursday following complications from COVID-19, according to the department.

Mark Hall Sr., a police officer assigned to NOPD’s 8th District in the French Quarter, died Thursday after he was diagnosed with coronavirus on April 3.

Hall served more than 30 years with the department, most recently with the 8th District, when he died. The NOPD announced his passing in a public statement posted to Facebook.

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gets early release from federal prison due to coronavirus pandemic

“It is with great sorry that the New Orleans Police Department announce the passing of a brother in blue due to complications from COVID-19,” the statement said. “Hall was a veteran of the NOPD with more than 30 years of service, most recently with the 8th District. Please keep his family in your prayers.”

The Louisiana Department of Health reported 447 coronavirus deaths and 6,557 confirmed cases in Orleans Parish, according to its most recent data published on Monday.

Additionally, public health officials on Monday reported a total of 29,673 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 1,991 deaths statewide.

New Orleans extends deadlines for alcoholic beverage permits

El Gato Negro bartender selling margaritas to go out front on French Market Place in 2012. Photo by Derek Bridges | CC Flickr.

New Orleans extended the renewal deadline for alcohol beverage permits to May 31.

Originally, the deadline was April 1 and was already extended to April 30, according to New Orleans spokeswoman LaTonya Norton.

Additionally, the city extended alcoholic beverage permit expirations to June 30.

New Orleans is processing a “healthy” amount of permits while the Office of Safety and Permits is open for emailed submissions.

Payments also are being accepted online. Residents may also drop off at City Hall.

For any questions, email Laura Barth at ABO@nola.gov,

New Orleans discontinuing French Quarter daily evening solid waste collection May 1

Trash in the 500 block of Bourbon Street on the morning of March 8. Photo by Tony Webster | CC Flickr.

Daily evening solid waste collection services in the French Quarter will be discontinued on May 1, although morning trash and recycling collection will still continue at various locations serviced by the city.

Evening solid waste pickup in the French Quarter, which occurred between 4 and 6 p.m. each day, will cease on Friday at eligible locations in the French Quarter and Downtown Development District, according to New Orleans spokeswoman LaTonya Norton.

Morning solid waste collection, however, will still continue to run between 4 and 8 a.m. every day and recycling will continue at eligible locations between 4 and 8 a.m. on Tuesdays.

Metairie-based Empire Services provides trash collection services in the French Quarter and DDD, according to the New Orleans Department of Sanitation website.

The reduction in trash service comes as the vast majority of French Quarter businesses were forced to close after Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a proclamation on March 22 to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The business closures have led to a significant decrease in the vast amounts of trash that’s normally generated each night and a level of consistent cleanliness in the French Quarter that hasn’t been seen in years, or possibly ever.

With the existing trash services, however, the city reminded eligible French Quarter residents to place carts and black bags curbside for collection after 4 p.m. on the day before collection and before 4 a.m. on the collection day.

Carts should be removed from sidewalks and public rights of way by 9 a.m. on collection day, Norton said.

Additionally, French Quarter residents must follow the following code requirements:

  • Trash collected for bulky waste collection for eligible residential properties on Wednesday can include up to: six secured bags of green waste or up to six bundles of tree limbs cut in four-inch lengths; metal pieces weighing no more than 25 pounds and no bigger than four inches in length; furniture, mattresses; appliances with the compressors removed; carpet pieces less than four inches in length, rolled and tied; and up to four tires.
  • Residents can call 311 to schedule a bulky waste collection of up to 15 secured bags of green waste or up to 15 bundles of tree limbs cut into four-inch lengths and other similar items. Weight limit is 50 pounds.
  • Solid waste containers or bags must be placed in front of the property generating the waste and not block pedestrian or vehicular rights of way.
  • Property owners and tenants are responsible for removing solid waste on their premises, including the area extending one-and-a-half-feet from the curb into the street.
  • No one can sweep, blow or pour items into storm drains.
  • Permanent dumpsters must be screened from public view.
  • Signs cannot be placed on public rights of way, such as on neutral grounds, utility posts or between the sidewalk and the curb.

Call 311 to report any sanitation-related issues or visit nola.gov/sanitation for more information.

NOPD searching for suspected thief who stole copper gutters from buildings on St. Louis, St. Phillip streets

  • NOPD

A suspected thief was captured on camera ripping pieces of copper gutters from buildings in the French Quarter early Friday morning, according to New Orleans Police.

The suspect allegedly struck two different locations in a matter of minutes, stealing copper gutters from the sides of buildings on St. Louis and St. Phillip streets, incidents that were captured on surveillance camera footage released by the NOPD on Tuesday.

The first incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Friday when the suspect was seen removing a copper gutter from a business in the 900 block of St. Louis Street.

Fifteen minutes later, the same person was seen again removing another copper gutter from the side of a building in the 600 block of St. Phillip Street.

Light scrap copper—which includes sheet copper, gutters and other unalloyed solids with at least 88% copper—fetches around $2 per pound in Louisiana, according to various indices.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.

Big Al Carson, longtime Bourbon Street blues and jazz singer, passes away at 66

Alton ‘Big Al’ Carson, right, performing with guitarist Harry Sterling live at Jazz Fest in 2012. Photo by robbiesaurus | CC.

Big Al Carson, a longtime jazz and blues singer whose vocal eminence packed crowds into Bourbon Street nightclubs for decades, died on Sunday. He was 66 years old.

Carson had suffered a heart attack two weeks ago, although it was later cited as his cause of death on Sunday, according to several local news reports.

Born Alton Carson in New Orleans on October 2, 1953, Carson grew up in the Lafitte Housing Projects and went on to study at Xavier University. He started off as a tuba player for local Bourbon Street brass bands before settling on a singing career, according to Offbeat.

Carson performed at Tropical Isle and Funky Pirate several nights each week for more than two decades with his band, The Blues Masters, which also included bassist Harold Scott, guitarist Harry Sterling and drummer Rodney Rollins.

As his weight approached 500 pounds, he’d use it to pull crowds off Bourbon Street and into bars with his “495 pounds of pure New Orleans” slogan advertised on placards displayed outside the door.

Carson’s power to sway a crowd occasionally included reminding them to not smoke cigars in his presence (he disliked the smell of the smoke), which was always obliged.

The Blues Masters performed regularly at Funky Pirate until Carson took time off to recover from health issues in 2013 before returning to the stage.

Carson and The Blues Masters were also regular performers at Jazz Fest and French Quarter Festivals.

Aside from performing live, Carson recorded several albums, including three in the 1990s under the Mardi Gras Records label.

On Sunday, the Tropical Isle and Funky Pirate released a Facebook statement on his passing.

“It is with a heavy heart that we extend our warmest condolences to his wife, Corina, and family, his friends and all that knew him, appreciated him – not only for his talents, but for who he was, his strength, his kind soul, his infectious smile, his sense of humor and, of course, his music.

“We were so fortunate to have him share his brillance with us for over 25 years at the Bourton St. Honky Tonky (Funky Pirate).”

Watch Big Al Carson and The Blues Masters perform at Funky Pirate in 2011: