What's Up Downtown

March 14, 2010

DDD is LIVE On the Road Again for SXSWi Conference!

DDD team members are part of a group of representatives from the New Orleans' tech community and are live on the ground at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) engaging the worldwide digital media, film and music industry audience. The group of 30+ New Orleanians are here evangelizing the "New" New Orleans--one that is open for business and Industries of the Mind.

Just last year, this group of entrepreneurial Net2NO members hatched a plan to take the annual SXSWi conference by storm. Again this year, the group’s mission is to support local entrepreneurs participating in a panel at SXSWi, to promote New Orleans as a viable tech/startup community, and to showcase Louisiana as a great place to expand or start a business.

Taylor Davidson, a talented travel, landscape and documentary photographer says of last year's trip: “the group of New Orleans delegates changed my image of the area.” Influenced by his experience with the group, Taylor recently moved to New Orleans. “I knew about the deep history, the strong culture, the great food, the struggles of recent history; but I had no idea about the business opportunities, the emerging entrepreneurial community or the efforts by the State to energize local businesses. Maybe I would have learned about it from a website or a newspaper, but I wouldn’t have felt it if I hadn’t met New Orleans at SXSW; I wouldn’t have been invigorated by the spirit, the warmth or the “we’re doing this” attitude. And if I hadn’t met the people leading these efforts, I wouldn’t have decided to move to New Orleans.”

Another recent addition to New Orleans, Sloane Berrent, echoed Taylor’s sentiment. “I was awestruck by how ambitious and driven they were to build their community…Meeting the New Orleans crew at SXSW changed my life and in fact by year’s end I had moved to New Orleans permanently.”

Kurt Weigle, President & CEO of the Downtown Development District expresses his enthusiasm about the trip: “We are very excited to be a part of this group and for the opportunity to be a sponsor of the trip again this year. We feel the trip presents the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the business and cultural opportunities in New Orleans We want the world to know of the momentum and synergy we’re building as an entrepreneurial and digital media community and that Downtown is at the center of this movement.”

New Orleans Regional Business Coalition Announces Resolution to
Support Accelerated Development of VA & University Medical Centers

Since March 2006, the Downtown Development District has been a leading proponent of the construction of the Veterans Administration Medical Center and University Medical Center adjacent to Downtown New Orleans. The DDD believes that these projects are crucial to the development of a world-class Bioscience and medical corridor. In addition, these projects will also be a major component of the DDD's Industries of the Mind initiative.

In alignment with the 2006 resolution passed by the Downtown Development District Board of Commissioners, a coalition of the region's business organizations have come together to push for the accelerated development of the new Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) and the University Medical Center (UMC), proposed for the Biosciences District in lower Mid-City, adjacent to Downtown New Orleans.

The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region spearheaded the effort that includes business organizations from five parishes, including: The Black Economic Development Council, GNO, Inc., Greater New Orleans Bioscience Economic Development District, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, Jefferson Business Council, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, Northshore Business Council, Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry, and St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce.

The resolution, signed by each member of the coalition, outlines the opportunities for economic growth and expansion of the local medical and bioscience industries. The resolution calls for the accelerated development of the VAMC and the "speedy removal of any and all obstacles to the completion of this project". It also calls for the prompt development and approval of a business plan for the UMC.

For more information, please visit www.nolamedzone.com.

Downtown Public Space Cleaning Program
Sets the Bar for Cities Across the Country

The Downtown Development District's Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program instituted in early 2009 has been so successful in Downtown New Orleans that Downtown business improvement districts (BIDs) around the country are beginning to implement similar programs.

The DDD's Public Space Operations sidewalk cleaning contractor, Block-by-Block, recently announced that they would roll out a version of the DDD's CQI program in each of the downtowns in which they provide services.

In 2009, DDD staff measured the cleanliness of Downtown using seven metrics: sidewalk stains, litter, gum, graffiti, weeds, cigarette butts, and uncleaned trash receptacles. The DDD team continues to measure each of these factors on a weekly basis, then works with Block-by-Block to craft a strategy to address each factor through proactive changes to the cleaning process.

Overall, the benefits of CQI include cost savings, improved stakeholder satisfaction and an improvement in the contractor's quality of work.

For more information on the DDD's Public Space Operations program, visit www.neworleansdowntown.com/clean.

City of New Orleans Reporting System Has Changed

New Orleanians wishing to report issues and problems to the City of New Orleans should now call (504) 658-2299. Effective immediately, the 311 phone reporting system that handled city issues and problems has been dissolved.

The new line, (504) 658-2299, will offer the following prompts:

• Press #1 for Public Works (potholes, clogged drains, missing street signs and traffic signal outages)
• Press #2 for Housing / Code Enforcement (status of a hearing, report a blighted structure)
• Press #3 for Environmental Health (vacant lot with high grass)
• Press #4 for Department of Revenue (property tax, sales tax, occupational license, sanitation fee removal)
• Press #5 for Parks & Parkways (City tree trim request or downed trees)
• Press #6 for Emergency Preparedness (house elevation, hazardous mitigation, city assisted evacuation plan, Dept of Homeland Security)
• Press #0 for all other Department / Agencies
• To report streetlight outages, call 658.2299 and follow the prompts for streetlights. You will be directly connected with Robinson Industries, the City's contracted streetlight repair vendor.
  

Downtown residents, business owners and visitors with questions may call the DDD Public Space Operations department at (504) 561-8927.

New Parking Meter Policies Now in Effect

The City of New Orleans implemented changes to the parking meter program that affect commercial and residential areas of the City. The extended parking meter enforcement hours have been changed to Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Signage and changes to parking meters began on Monday, March 6. The City will begin issuing warning citations on Monday, March 18, with full enforcement to begin on March 27.

Changes to the parking meter policy include the following:

• New Parking Meter Hours
  • Current: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • New: Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• New Parking Meter Rates
• Current (Regular 2 Hour Meters): $1.25/hour
• New (Regular 2 Hour Meters): $1.50/hour
• Current (Long-Term Meters – Up to 10 Hours): $0.75/hour
• New (Long-Term Meters – Up to 10 Hours): $1.00/hour

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[at]neworleansdowntown.com.