NEW ORLEANS — The streets of Algiers Point are empty. For business owners, it’s a sign of what’s to come for the Fall season thanks to an inoperable ferry system.
“We are really feeling it now where as three weeks ago it was a projected theory that businesses would be down,” Hillary Hanning, owner of Tavolino Pizza and Lounge said. “We are actually in the depletion now and it's getting a little scary.”
Hanning and Carly Hammond, owner of One Stone, say their worst fears are coming true. No ferry means no visitors from Downtown or the French Quarter, which both women say makes up 30-50% of their business.
This week alone, they say they’ve lost thousands of dollars. Now, they’re facing tough decisions about their future in Algiers Point.
“We’ve frozen everything that we’re doing,” Hammond said. “We’ve frozen out dinner service now, we’ve cut back and it’s actually effecting our operating hours .. I’m losing some staff, I’ve had to lay people off.”
“And this is just the beginning of it doesn’t come back. This is just the beginning of it.” Hanning said.
For folk artist and founder of the Algiers Folk Art Festival, Charles Gillam, Sr., no ferry almost led to the festival’s cancellation. Visitors use it as their main mode of transportation to get to the festival across the river.
“Most of the time now, a lot of them come over in the Uber,” Gillam said. “I wish we had an Uber ferry.”
While they've decided to let the festival roll, Gilliam still isn't sure if it will be a success, since no one really knows when the new $10 million ferry boats will kick in.
“We see it and it stinks and these new boats -- these $10 million new boats sitting for almost two years, I don't think any of us have any faith in it anymore,” he said.
RTA CEO Alex Wiggins offered few details when pressed about why the new boats still haven’t passed inspection as they sit along the river, untouched.
“It’s a combination of a variety of issues that have to be addressed,” Wiggins said.
He told WWL-TV Reporter Paul Murphy there were plans to find a replacement vessel, or to use one of the older ferry boats until the new boats pass inspection. When we contacted RTA asking for an update on those plans, they would not confirm if or when that was going to happen.
While they decide what to do next, business owners are left with little hope.
“Why did we spend $10 million on these boats and they've been sitting for two years almost,” Hanning said. “Who benefited from it? Nothing is adding up … we need the ferry back.”
District C Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer, who represents Algiers Point, said that she is frustrated with the interruption in ferry services and regularly presses the RTA for updates on when they'll return to service.
"I will continue demanding RTA work as quickly as possible to get one of the ferries back into service. In the interim, my office is also working diligently with a number of different entities to increase marketing efforts for businesses that rely on foot traffic from the ferries. I encourage residents from across the City to patronize Algiers Point businesses because they need our support," she said.