New Orleans City Park & City Council declined requests for documents & dialogue

In July 2015, City Park CEO Bob Becker and NOCPIA President Susan Hess met with Mayor Mitch Landrieu with the Beauregard Statute on the agenda.

Bob Becker never reported publicly what was discussed. None of the 30 members of NOCPIA have ever asked publicly what was discussed.

In July 2018. City Park removed the pedestal. The press asked who owned the statute and had rights to the land. City Park declined to answer.

Since City Park would not produce its research, research was done over two years. The result was numerous documents that show the UDC funded 60% of the cost of the statue and worked with City Park to pick the site. The monument was erected to promote patriotism and civic duty.

Since September 2019, the UDC has sought to meet with City Park and they refuse to answer.

Since NOCPIA CAO Bob Becker did not report any findings to NOCPA Board Meetings and place in the NOCPIA minutes for the public’s information, in August 2018, several specific Public Records Requests were made. They were not complied with by City Park.

In July 2018, NOCPIA Board members made comments to a large donor that they did not own the Beauregard Art. That inspired a trip to a museum that had orginal documents showing that City Park ‘tendered for free’ the land which the Beauregard Statue was displayed. Then a Public Records Request to City Park to see what their records indicated. Nothing was produced.

On January 31, 2019 Bob Becker offers for an inspection of some records of the August 30, 2018 Public Records Request. State law requires compliance in three days.

City Council refuses to have dialogue

Thu, Jun 18 at 10:32 AM

charles marsala <cemarsala@yahoo.com>

To:Joseph I. Giarrusso

Joseph,

So my contentions  would be:
1.  If you change the name, does the city provide money to those impacted?
2.  If you remove a statue that is not owned by the city, is it illegal for the city to keep it?   
3. Should you ask the City Attorney to make public the research on who owns which pieces of art on display? 

Regards,

Charles 

Tue, Jun 23 at 8:10 AM

Joseph I. Giarrusso <joseph.giarrusso@nola.gov>

To:Charles Marsala

I have answered the question multiple times.  The answer is as long as attorney-client privilege has been asserted and no court has ordered the City to produce those documents then they are protected by privilege.  
Thanks, Joe