Overview of City Services, Mardi Gras 2019

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 8, 2019 


Contact: LaTonya Norton

For Media Inquiries Only
communications@nola.gov
(504) 658-4962

Overview of City Services, Mardi Gras 2019

NEW ORLEANS -- The City of New Orleans today released an overview of the services provided during the Carnival season, culminating on Mardi Gras day, or Fat Tuesday. Services were provided by the following departments: New Orleans Police Department, New Orleans Fire Department, New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, Department of Health, Department of Public Works, Department of Sanitation, Department of Property Management, Parking Enforcement, Parks and Parkways, Orleans Parish Communication District, and the New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.


“I am grateful to our public safety team -- to the NOPD, the NOEMS, the NOFD and NOHSEP, to the Orleans Parish Communications District -- and to all of our federal and local law enforcement and public safety partners. Thank you to the Louisiana State Police, to the FBI, and to the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Thanks also to all of the parade krewes for their coordination, their communication, and the work they put in to put on such a fantastic Carnival,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

 

Watch Mayor Cantrell's video message here.


Here is a department-by-department look at the results of these efforts.

 

PUBLIC SAFETY

 

New Orleans Police Department (NOPD)

A total of 323 arrests were made citywide during the two-week period encompassing Mardi Gras 2019, a 21-percent decrease from the same time last year. In 2018, the NOPD made a total of 411 arrests during the Mardi Gras season. Of the 323 total arrests made during Mardi Gras 2019, 81 arrests were made for illegal possession of firearms – 63 arrests made by NOPD officers and 18 by Louisiana State Police troopers patrolling in the city. A total of 84 guns were seized during these incidents.


The 81 illegal-gun arrests is an increase from 2018’s Mardi Gras season, where a total of 54 arrests were made on the same charge. Of those total arrests, 43 were made by NOPD and 10 by Louisiana State Police. In these arrests, a total of 53 guns were seized by law enforcement.


“NOPD officers and our law enforcement partners with Louisiana State Police were aggressive in our stance that illegal gun possession would not be tolerated on our streets, especially during the Mardi Gras season,” NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said.


“We asked our citizens to say something if they saw something, and they did just that. The community’s partnership with police is vital to keeping everyone safe, and we appreciate their cooperation to that end.”

 

New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD)

The NOFD responded to 39 fire and 762 medical calls for service during the Mardi Gras season, including five working structure fires. The NOFD also inspected 34 parades, which included 846 traditional floats, 175 truck floats and 309 parade flambeaux. The department also inspected 123 mobile food vendors for compliance. NOFD members worked alongside Sanitation Department personnel, providing traffic safety during post-parade debris removal. NOFD also assisted the NOPD in managing the positioning and removal of barricades before and after parades. NOFD members created and managed a “Light Tower Fuel Team” to fuel city light towers along the parade route and in the French Quarter daily.


The department also worked alongside NOEMS in providing staffing of units with NOFD EMTs. This allowed NOEMS to enhance the coverage of ALS units throughout the city. The NOFD also provided 60 members for staffing of fire watch details for various krewe balls during the second weekend of Mardi Gras.

 

New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (NOEMS)

NOEMS responded to exactly 3,000 calls for service this Mardi Gras season, compared to 3,059 in 2018. 621 of these calls were attributed to parades, compared to 809 in 2018.


“While the overall numbers were relatively unchanged from last year, the significant drop in parade-related calls is a reflection of the collaborative effort between volunteers from NOEMS, NOHD, and the American Red Cross to provide care at our First Aid stations and prevent the need for hospital transports in many cases,” said NOEMS Director Dr. Emily Nichols.

 

New Orleans Health Department (NOHD)

The NOHD experienced an increase in the number of patients it treated. First Aid Volunteers worked with more than 300 volunteers serving 2,761 hours from three agencies. NOHD assisted 670 individuals with minor needs and provided hands-on patient care to 156 individuals – 37 of which were transported by NOEMS to a hospital. In total, NOHD served 826 individuals, compared to 711 individuals in 2018.


“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of countless volunteers, our First Aid stations kept revelers safe and healthy on the parade route. NOHD is proud to serve our community wherever they are, whenever they need us,” said NOHD Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno.

 

New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP)

NOLA Ready Public Information: NOHSEP provided public information leading up to and during Mardi Gras events through its NOLA Ready campaign. Nearly 9,000 residents and visitors signed up for MARDIGRAS text alerts that were sent about parade schedules, weather, traffic and transportation impacts. New this year, the City also launched routewise.nola.gov, a mobile-optimized website tracking the beginning and end of each parade in real time. The site also displayed locations of First Aid stations, lost-children stations, public restrooms and permitted food vendors. After its launch, Routewise received more than 40,000 pageviews. Routewise was developed by the City’s Department of Information Technology and Innovation in conjunction with NOHSEP and the New Orleans Police Department and will be used to track special events throughout the year.


Public Safety Coordination:
The City’s Emergency Operations Center was activated daily and the Real-Time Crime Center was at full staff and open 24/7. Public safety partners, including members from the State Fusion Center, State Fire Marshal, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, worked out of the Crime Center helping to provide situational awareness, information sharing and intelligence analysis. NOHSEP also deployed light towers and mobile camera trailers in strategic areas along the parade routes and in the French Quarter.


Weather:
There were a number of weather challenges during this year’s festivities. Close communication and coordination between NOHSEP, NOPD, the National Weather Service and krewe leaders led to quick and strategic decision-making around parade start times ahead of or behind severe weather. The City is particularly grateful to daytime krewes on Sunday, March 3, which agreed to roll early and with floats only ahead of stormy weather.


“During this year’s Mardi Gras festivities, I’m proud to say that we accomplished what we have trained for. The strong coordination between public safety agencies at the local, state, and federal level ensured that decisions were made quickly, issues were addressed immediately, and information was communicated publicly in innovative ways. I thank all of our partners for their role in making this Mardi Gras a safe and successful one,” said NOHSEP Director Collin Arnold.


Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD)

OPCD operated at “Level 2” staffing during the Mardi Gras season to provide 911/311 service on a 24-hour basis. Additionally, the agency staffed the Special Operations Center (SOC), which provided specialized tactical coverage of all parades and major balls. During the Mardi Gras season, the agency received more than 33,000 calls for service and managed more than 21,000 responses for our public safety partners.


“We look forward to Mardi Gras every year as we get to #SHOWUP and demonstrate excellence. New Orleans is a wonderful city, and our professional emergency telecommunicators train hard to get the right people, to the right place, at the right time,” said OPCD Executive Director Tyrell Morris.

 

OPERATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

 

“There is a tremendous amount of operational work that goes on behind the scenes to carry out a successful Mardi Gras,” said Ramsey Green, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Infrastructure. “It is an interagency team effort, but I would especially like to thank the City employees whose work ensured that our routes were safe and clean prior to, during and after each parade.”

 

Department of Sanitation

While the exact final numbers are still being calculated, as of Thursday, March 8, the Department of Sanitation’s reported trash volume to the Riverbirch Landfill was 974 tons collected.


This work involved as many as 600 workers scheduled, including City staff, contractors, JOB1, and Empire, depending on the day. It also featured as many as 119 pieces of equipment, depending on the day.


The JOB1 partnership, now in its sixth year, was initiated utilizing 50 persons. This year, 335 persons completed orientation and were offered the opportunity to work, while 203 persons actually worked during the 2019 clean up. (Some persons found other jobs or were not available when contacted.)


Also, the department’s clean-up work was completed within three hours of the ending of the last parade in each area.


“The Department of Sanitation would like to thank all of the departments, agencies and contractors who worked with us, including Parks and Parkways, NORDC, DPW, DPM, NOPD, NOFD, RTA, S&WB, DDD, JOB1, Empire Services, Richard’s Disposal, Metro Services and MDL Enterprises. In addition, we thank all of the residents and tourists who assisted us by bagging their trash and recycling beads, cans, paper and plastics. Together, we can CleanUp NOLA!” said Department of Sanitation Director Cynthia Sylvain-Lear.

 

Department of Public Works (DPW)

Bourbon Phase 2: Hard Rock Construction, LLC demobilized all labor and materials including fencing from the site and back-filled open trenches two weeks prior to Mardi Gras to minimize pedestrian and vehicular traffic disruption.


DPW Maintenance:
Crews cleaned 651 catch basins along parade routes, and installed approximately 450 gutter buddies in front of catch basins along St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street to protect additional debris from entering the drainage system.


Max Pave:
Paved 78 open roadway utility cuts on or adjacent to Mardi Gras parade routes.


DPW Sign Shop:
Crews checked and installed 550 metal signs along the St. Charles Avenue parade route in advance of Mardi Gras. Crews installed approximately 3,150 temporary signs one to two days prior to each parade.

Parking Enforcement: Enforcement and towing performed sweeps of parade routes prior to and after (two hours) parades. Approximately 16 personnel working 12 hour shifts daily throughout Mardi Gras towed 937 vehicles (93.7 per day). 35 Parking Enforcement Personnel working 12-16 hour shifts daily throughout Mardi Gras wrote 22,127 citations; 932 were issued on the parade route during sweeps, 264 were issued in the French Quarter (specifically for the closure), and 20,931 were issued for safety violations, residential permit parking enforcement, RV enforcement, neutral grounds, etc.


Parks and Parkways

Forestry Crews trimmed 783 trees (with one section remaining), with route inspections with NOPD and Kern on Feb. 19, 2019.


The department also installed protective fencing and 75 barricades at Howard Avenue and St. Charles Avenue (formerly Lee Circle); Dr. Martin Luther King Monument; Poydras Street and St. Charles Avenue.


Ongoing Mardi Gras Support/Enforcement: 45 Parkways personnel worked with Sanitation on post-parade clean-up detail; removal of ladders, tarps, tents (Public Safety) and other personal items on medians and right-of-ways; continued inspection and monitoring of fencing/barricades throughout season; unforeseen tree trimming and removal during season.


Right-Of-Way Fencing Permits to protect landscaping: 24 permits were issued for fencing on the Uptown route (four outstanding); five permits were issued for fencing on the Mid-City route.

 

Property Management (DPM)

Department of Property Management personnel (nine from Property Management and seven from the Reentry Program) worked tirelessly behind the scenes to set up and safely maintain the grand viewing stand at Gallier Hall for the Mayor, Carnival organizations and other dignitaries, as well as the Lafayette Park stands and stages for Tambourine & Fan Mardi Gras Indians.

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