NEW ORLEANS — It's the long-awaited development the city, even the state has been waiting for; the redevelopment of the abandoned Six Flags in New Orleans East.
But public officials are saying their master plan has some holes.
The Six Flags site has been sitting vacant since Hurricane Katrina, but Bayou Phoenix's plan for the site is huge, and they have gotten a lot further than others, but the team has been facing another obstacle -- They were told their master plan needed to be redone.
Our partners at NOLA.com report on the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority said that Bayou Phoenix's 700-page master plan does not include important details about financing, infrastructure and demolition, even citing typos as a source of concern.
In a statement, Troy Henry with Bayou Phoenix said in part, "NORA has grossly mischaracterized our submittal. We will respond directly to NORA this week. Due to the volume of information we provided, they may have missed a number of key points."
Councilman Oliver Thomas told Eyewitness News, "It's time to iron these things out, it's time to you know what get off the pot."
In March, Bayou Phoenix showed the community their plan, which included a water park, athletic facilities, hotels and a movie studio. The hope was NORA would approve that plan and issue a lease – so Bayou Phoenix could begin development. Now all of that is on hold.
"If this is a developer, then let's work so they can have a lease and gain legal access to the property," said Councilman Thomas.
The councilman questioned why the city has been dragging its feet when it comes to investing in the East.
"They should've been invested In New Orleans East. We put a billion dollars of the public's money in the hospital downtown, we put a billion plus in the Convention Center and the River Front," Thomas said. "What's wrong with New Orleans East?"
Long-time New Orleans East resident, Pastor Debra Morton said she's tired of putting money in pockets outside of her neighborhood.
"I am going into their areas because we don't have it in our area ... so they like the East people's money but they don't like the East people," Pastor Morton said.
And Councilman Thomas seemed to agree.
"Man, this would be the carrot, this would be the payback, that New Orleans East people have dreamed for, and they've been waiting for, and more importantly they deserve."
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