NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans says it has 12 properties on notice for blight violations and fines as it seeks to continue a path of demolition and remediation that has seen 130 demolitions so far in 2023.
As part of a show and tell on Tuesday, the city staged a press conference at 3418 Sullen Place in Algiers and then proceeded to demolish the property at that location.
Mayor Cantrell said the city had boosted the code enforcement budget by $10 million in 2023 and had seen a 23 percent increase in demolitions.
Among the “Dirty Dozen” as listed by Cantrell and code enforcement officials, include some well-known places, including the abandoned Lindy Boggs Medical Center in Mid-City, the Loew’s State Palace and Canal Street Hotels on Canal Street and the infamous Plaza Tower location on the edge of the CBD.
Here’s the list the city of New Orleans provided. These were listed as the city’s top 12 targets.
- Plaza Tower, 1001 Howard Ave. - owned by Joe Jaeger; City imposed a $180,000 fine to recoup costs of barricades and lost revenue due to closed metered parking spaces and later imposed $220,000 in fines for 11 guilty violations, which is the second largest fine the department has ever imposed due to a Code Enforcement matter; it is currently in litigation
- Harlequin Theatre, 1031 N. Claiborne Ave. - owned by Tracy Williams; found guilty of 10 violations, fined $4,500 and currently in litigation
- DeGaulle Manor, 3010 Sandra Drive - owned by Josh Bruno; found guilty of 15 violations, fined $7,000 and currently in litigation
- 6700 Plaza Drive - owned by Mitch Crusto; found guilty of 11 violations, fined $3,200 and currently in litigation
- 5501- 5585 Bundy Road - hundreds of owners; City began abatement efforts in May to clear debris, including abandoned vehicles and over 8,000 tires, as well as manage overgrown vegetation; once these efforts are complete, the long-term plan for the site is to sell it during a Sheriff’s sale or a sale of adjudicated property for future housing development
- Lindy Boggs Hospital, 301 Norman C. Francis Parkway - owned by Flower/Hoffman; found guilty of 4 violations, fined $1,500 and prior case been paid and closed. The owners are currently working on securing funding and developing a new plan
- Orwood Creek Apartments, 10151 Curran Blvd. - owned by Moshe Silber; found guilty of 13 violations, fined $5,000 and prior cases have been paid and abated. Currently awaiting Code Enforcement inspection in an opened administrative case to potentially impose new fines
- State Palace Theatre, 1108 Canal St. - owned by Chen Horng Lee; 7 violations have been recorded and awaiting hearing to potentially impose fines
- Canal Street Hotel, 1630 Canal St. - owned by Joe Jaeger; found guilty of 10 violations, fined $4,500 and Daily Fines hearing determined the property abated, but a new Code Enforcement hearing is under consideration
- 2025 Canal St./115 N Prieur St. - owned by Hirschkop/Rosenberg; 19 violations have been recorded and awaiting hearing to potentially impose fines
- Washington Gardens Apartments, 2119 Washington Ave. - owned by Josh Bruno; found guilty of 16 violations, fined $7,000 and property has been remediated and continues to be a work in progress
- Parc Fontaine Apartments, 3101 Rue Parc Fontaine – Many units of which are owned by: Global Ministries Foundation (GMF) Preservation of Affordability Corp; violations cited and imposition of fines are pending
WWL Louisiana investigator Mike Perlstein asked about the fines for Plaza Tower, which he said could potentially run into a few million. He wanted to know why the city was limiting the fines to $220,000.
Cantrell and the code enforcement department contended that the fines levied on the Plaza Tower is the highest ever.
"The fact that in theory you could get $2 million in fines, doesn't mean the hearing officer will impose that... in code enforcement, we have to craft a requested penalty, which is going to achieve the operational result, which is fix the property and bring the building back into compliance... This was one of the largest fines or one of the largest fines in code enforcement history so the idea, I think, that it was in anyway lenient, doesn't hold much water in my opinion," said Thomas Mulligan, the Deputy CAO over code enforcement.
Mulligan said that it would be "a shame" if it came to demolition of the Plaza Tower, but that it might come to that and they have to be ready for that possibility.