NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — One New Orleans neighborhood wants to cut down on crime by banning public drinking, and neighbors are getting support from at least one city councilman.
Faubourg St. John neighbors are asking for change, telling WGNO random people repeatedly sit and drink for hours, leaving behind beer bottles and trash.
“You’ve got some of those guys that come out here and they drink. I’ve watched some of them get stupid out here and I don’t. I get away from it,” says one resident.
Neighborhood Association President Andy Ryan explains it’s not a homeless problem, but visitors of the park have created a quality-of-life issue.
“A group of individuals that drink, I mean from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or seven to 10 all day. Usually get into altercations with each other or someone passing by,” says Ryan.
He adds they aren’t just drinking.
“They’ve cut out water pipes, they’ve cut our electrical boxes. The neighborhood association has spent good money to keep the park upkeep. Why they do that, I don’t know,” says Ryan.
Councilman Joe Giarusso has drafted an ordinance temporarily banning the use of alcohol in public along the three streets bordering the park. This will make it off-limits to the people causing the problems.
“We had a homicide here a couple of weeks ago. Two of the regulars had been drinking all day and got in an altercation and one of them beat the other to death. A couple of years ago we had a stabbing,” says Ryan.
If passed, the ban could be lifted for special events like the annual Bastille Day celebration held in the neighborhood.
Ryan says the ordinance is a last-ditch effort to make the park more family-friendly.
“The stabbings, the homicides, the exposing yourself. We have an all-girl school, Cabrini. So, if girls are walking through, if a gentleman is exposing himself or a lady at that matter that’s something we need to resolve,” says Ryan.
The ordinance is on the agenda, if approved by the council, it would then be up to the mayor to decide whether or not the ordinance will pass.
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