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Cantrell says President Biden's emergency declaration for saltwater wedge 'paves way' for viable solutions

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell gives her weekly press conference from City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.

NEW ORLEANS — Following her weekly crime update at City Hall on Wednesday, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell briefly turned her attention toward the potential impact of saltwater intrusion affecting the city, and U.S. President Joe Biden's approval of a state of emergency declaration.

"I'm very proud of the coordinated efforts of my administration, the that of our state and federal partners... and regional leadership," she said. "Just thanking everyone for leaning in, calls are happening daily. Very excited that President Biden has moved forward with a federal declaration, and of course, that unlocks the necessary resources for the city, our region and our state to be more proactive in regards to viable solutions that have been identified, and that we continue to move forward. This declaration paves the way for that."

The mayor was asked to further expound on the newly approved declaration.

"Right now it comes in at the 75-split, but we are excited," said Cantrell referring to the federal government's 75-25 share of funding for the emergency projects. "Benjamin Abbott (of FEMA) has been designee by the president to be our boots-on-the-ground. So, more to come."

Watch the mayor's announcement of the federal emergency declaration below:

The mayor began her weekly press conference by providing data on public safety using preliminary stats from the New Orleans Police Department ending on Sept. 23 and comparing year-on-year with 2022.

Cantrell said crime is down, including murder at 24 percent, armed robberies down 33 percent, non-fatal shooting incidents down 18 percent, non-fatal shooting victims down 19 percent and carjackings remain down at 44 percent.

The NOPD has also confiscated 2, 143 guns compared to 1,994 by this time last year. Cantrell also boasted the city's graffiti abatement program, to date over 23,000 square feet of graffiti has been removed from 14 different locations.

Credit: NOPD

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