Downtown Development District : Newsletter

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What's Up Downtown September 5, 2008

	DDD and City Crews Working Cooperatively to Clean Up Downtown Block-by-Block, the DDD's sidewalk cleaning contractor, continued its hurricane cleanup today, focusing on the Business District, Warehouse Arts District, and Lafayette Square neighborhood, after completing work on Canal Street, Poydras, and the area surrounding the Superdome on Thursday. Meanwhile, the City of New Orleans street sweeping machines could be seen on Poydras and other parts of Downtown on Friday morning, cleaning sand, silt, and other debris from streets and gutters. On Saturday, Block-by-Block will focus its hurricane response efforts on the Medical District and will begin to "detail" the rest of Downtown. The DDD’s contractor, Bayou Tree Service, has been removing fallen trees, as well as straightening and trimming those that were damaged throughout the district, while the City of New Orleans tree crews have cleaned up Poydras and Lafayette Square. The cleanup is expected to be complete in time for the Saints' season opener on Sunday. “There is plenty of work to be done,” DDD President Kurt Weigle said. “We will all do what is necessary to get Downtown back to normal.” DDD services, including pressure washing the sidewalks, will return to normal on Monday, September 8.

	Lots to Do This Weekend As New Orleanians return home, they will find plenty of Downtown activities to welcome them back to the Crescent City. Art Walk – In the Warehouse Arts District, art galleries will hold their monthly openings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Crescent City Farmer’s Market – From 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday, the Crescent City Farmer’s Market will offer fresh produce, seafood and other foodstuffs at the corner of Magazine and Girod streets. Harrah’ Casino – A second line parade will begin at the Canal Street Plaza to reopen Harrah’s Casino at 6 p.m. Saturday. Besh Steakhouse, Grand Isle, Ernst Café, Gordon Biersch, Bambu, the buffet, Fuddruckers, McAlister’s, Starbucks, Lucky Dog and Ruth’s Chris will all be open as well. Saints Game – The Saints play the season opener against the Tampa Bay Bucaneers at 12 noon Sunday at the Superdome.

	Transit Services Expected to Resume Next Week Transit services Downtown and throughout the city are scheduled to resume fully next week. The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) will begin normal service when it completes its support of the resident re-entry process following the hurricane. RTA is transporting those residents who will return to Union Passenger Terminal over the weekend. Forty buses and 50 para-transit vehicles are delivering people to drop-off points near their homes.

	Downtown Merchants Open as of Friday Downtown merchants are opening hotels, retail outlets and restaurants as employees return to the city. Click here to see the most current list of those open, although some restaurants report they are serving limited menus or may be unable to process credit cards.

	Audubon Offers Special Deal for Weekend Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Entergy IMAX® Theatre will celebrate the reopening of the city and return of its residents by offering a special ticket price this weekend. Both Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and Entergy IMAX® Theatre will be open Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Tickets to each facility are $5. The Audubon Insectarium will reopen on Monday, September 8.

For more information on any of the articles featured in What's Up Downtown, or to submit an item for consideration, contact Lauren Hotard at lhotard@neworleansdowntown.com.