NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has one more chance to hand over the keys to the Upper Pontalba apartment she once used.
The New Orleans City Council voted Thursday, March 7 to give the mayor until March 21, or else, council members say she will be evicted.
The council is hoping this move will force Cantrell to meet with the French Market Corporation to specify what is hers, if anything, inside the apartment and what belongs to the city, so repairs can be made for a tenant to move in.
In a March 1 news release, the city said they were in the process of drafting a cooperative endeavor agreement with the French Market Corporation regarding a multimillion-dollar renovation for the Pontalba building.
Some council members believe the French Market Corporation hasn’t seized control of the apartment despite an August ordinance, mandating they do so. They also believe a set of keys to the apartment are still in the hands of Cantrell.
“Weeks ago, my office reached out to the mayor’s office, and we said, how can we help you resolve this issue? How can we help you get movers in there? How can just we figure this out? Because we did not want to be here today,” said Council Vice President JP Morrell. “We did not want to do this.”
Morrell says he was told by the mayor’s office Wednesday night that the French Market Corporation has a set of keys but that the other set of keys would not be turned in.
That same day, a spokeswoman for Cantrell said she is not utilizing the apartment and that initiating an eviction process is unreasonable when there is no tenant to evict.
Some attending the meeting agreed.
“She was never actually a tenant of the unit, so whatever eviction that you would normally apply to a tenant, the way I’m looking at it, it doesn’t even apply here,” said one man attending the council meeting.
Councilman Eugene Green also shared concerns about a possible eviction.
“But I find it difficult, and only legal counsel could tell us that we can order an organization of which the mayor is the only shareholder to evict the mayor,” said Green.
According to Morrell, it’s possible.
“No board or commission in the city, regardless of who appoints them onto that commission, is beholden to any one person,” explained Morrell. “What I would say is that what should be troubling is that the French Market Commission of duly appointed people doesn’t do their job.”
If Cantrell doesn’t cooperate with the motion, the French Market Corporation would be in charge of executing the eviction process.
On Thursday, March 7 officials with the city responded regarding the apartment. Officials said Cantrell is not using apartment 530B in the Pontalba building.
“As stated, this week, the City of New Orleans is already working with the French Market Corporation on a multi-million-dollar renovation package and Mayor Cantrell remains committed to working collaboratively with all partners and putting the people of the city first,” officials said.
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