NEW ORLEANS — Chanting that they wanted the collapsed Hard Rock site taken down, a group of a few hundred protesters marched from the site to city hall Friday afternoon.
The group vented its frustration over the fact that it's been more than 100 days since the site partially collapsed. Anger erupted this week when a tarp that had been blocking public view of a deceased worker's body blew off its spot, exposing a horrifying scene in full view.
"This is the worst black mark on the city that you can possibly have to have this building collapsed in the middle, basically of the French Quarter," said one protester.
Plans currently call for the site to be imploded sometime in March, but that comes after previous plans called for a demolition in December, something that worried residents as it kept the structure up through the always-perilous hurricane season.
Fire Superintendent Tim McConnell, who has overseen the operation since the hotel site collapsed on October 12, said that the recent attempt to place a new tarp to block the body from view, revealed that the building continues to crumble internally.
Facing intense pressure over a bad situation the city has limited power over, Mayor Cantrell has made several statements on social media.
The latest statement from the city, released Friday just hours after the protest, stated: “We appreciate and we share the frustration our neighbors and fellow residents are feeling, and the Cantrell administration is doing everything within our power to ensure the disaster is dealt with appropriately. We are taking every step to ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable. The legal and structural challenges associated with the collapse make this a long and complicated process, but we are committed to due diligence, full transparency and absolute accountability.”