In the middle of Gert Town, NOPD 2nd District officers come and go, and for the last few weeks they have called the 3400 block of Broadway home.
Their former headquarters in Uptown now sits empty.
Neighbors knew the day when the NOPD would pack up and move was coming, but some, like Gary Owen, didn’t realize the move happened already.
“I didn't see it, and I watch the news all the time,” he said.
City leaders broke ground on the new station, next door to a new NORD Center, back in March 2017. On Monday, there was no sign the officers moved out of the former headquarters.
The only indication something was different was a barricade across the front door and an empty parking lot.
“You see police up and down this street all the time. Hopefully that doesn't change,” he said.
The NOPD’s District maps were redrawn years ago and while the station was at a high-profile corner, it was literally on the edge of the 2nd District’s new boundaries. Now, the new station is more centrally located.
The old station was nearly 120 years old.
“We were pretty much patching it up as we went,” NOPD 2nd District Commander Jennifer Dupree said.
Dupree says the new station is a big upgrade.
“Each lieutenant has their own office. The sergeants have their own office. And then when the patrolmen need to come do paperwork or anything, they never had this before,” Commander Dupree said as she showed the new space.
Commander Dupree has been the head of the 2nd District since June. She says that on top of officers having proper spaces to work, the new location should help with response times since they won’t be fighting congestion near their headquarters.
“Deployment is staying the same,” Dupree said.
And for residents like Brittany Earin, who live near the new station, welcome their new neighbors.
"You feel more secure in the neighborhood, like you could be able to walk to the store by yourself and not have anything bad try to happen or have to watch your back or nothing,” she said.
As for why there was no formal note about the move, City Hall wanted to have one ribbon cutting for the 2nd District Station and NORD facility, but so far those schedules haven’t worked out.
Danny Monteverde can be reached at danny@wwltv.com.