Gambit: April 28, 2020 by Gambit New Orleans

April 28, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 15

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BLACK DIAMOND MARGARITAS 2 parts Dobel® Diamante 1/2 part agave syrup 1/2 part lime juice Shake and strain over cubed ice into glass with a black salt rim. Garnish with a lime wedge.

FRESH PALOMA 1 ½ parts Jose Cuervo Tradicional Plata (Silver) ¾ parts Grapefruit Juice ½ part Fresh Lime Juice ½ part Simple Syrup 1 part Club Soda Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour into the highball glass and enjoy.

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Cinco at Home

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Mom’s Special Day

CONTENTS

APRIL 28-MAY 4 VOLUME 41 || NUMBER 15 NEWS

IS ALMOST HERE

OPENING GAMBIT

COMMENTARY 9

SEND HER FLOWERS & LOTS OF LOVE

CLANCY DUBOS

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 12 FEATURES

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT 5

ORDER YOUR MOTHER’S DAY ARRANGEMENTS TODAY!

EAT + DRINK

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504-309-4717

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@The_Gambit @gambitneworleans

@GambitNewOrleans

Wall to wall

Murals provide public art all over New Orleans

COVER DESIGN BY DORA SISON

STAFF

Publisher | JEANNE EXNICIOS FOSTER

EDITORIAL (504) 483-3105// response@gambitweekly.com Editor | KANDACE POWER GRAVES Political Editor | CLANCY DUBOS Arts & Entertainment Editor | WILL COVIELLO

BLESSED! Inspirational p Mother’s Dayy gifts! g

COVER PHOTOS BY WILL COVIELLO

ADVERTISING Advertising Inquiries (504) 483-3150 Advertising Director | SANDY STEIN BRONDUM (504) 483-3150 [sstein@gambitweekly.com]

Staff Writers | JAKE CLAPP | SARAH RAVITS

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Listings Coordinator | VICTOR ANDREWS

Senior Sales Representative

Contributing Writers | KEVIN ALLMAN, JULES BENTLEY

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[jgieger@gambitweekly.com] Sales Representatives

Pre-Press Coordinator | JASON WHITTAKER Web & Classifieds Designer | MARIA BOUÉ

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BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

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[kbishop@gambitweekly.com]KELLY SONNIER

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Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2020 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

PR OV I D E D P H OTO

Sofa King Fest co-founder Travis Laurendine. The entrepreneur’s work regularly crosses between tech, music and the restaurant industry.

Couch surfing Sofa King Fest links cultural community and fans during the pandemic BY JAKE CLAPP ABOUT 300,000 UNIQUE VIEWERS

tuned in to an eight-hour virtual telethon on April 11 to raise funds to purchase personal protective equipment for New Orleans area hospitals. The 504LIFE Stream featured live and pre-recorded segments with notable people like Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, Walter Isaacson, Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Andrew Yang; actors Olivia Spencer and Wendell Pierce; and performances by Mannie Fresh, Big Freedia, George Porter Jr., Irma Thomas and Dee-1. The telethon — which raised more than $15,000 along with direct PPE donations to the city — was produced by a group that included New Orleans festival producers, artists and talent managers, a co-founder of the livestreaming platform Twitch, and Sofa King Fest.

The New Orleans-based Sofa King Fest launched on March 20, within days of New Orleans’ shut down under the stay-at-home order. The program — through its website (www.sofa-kingfest.com) and on social media — operates kind of like a TV guide for musicians and artists livestreaming their events and hosts some of those live videos on its platforms. But Sofa King Fest has steadily expanded into co-producing events, like the 504LIFE Stream, and has had a hand in raising more than $150,000 directly for musicians. Sofa King Fest will co-produce another 504LIFE online telethon, starting at 5:04 p.m. May 4, to raise money for the Foundation for Louisiana. It also will launch Jazz Feastival — a website (www.jazzfeastival.com) to connect users with food vendors who normally would be at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — during what would have been the second weekend of Jazz Fest. And Sofa King Fest is set to launch its own digital platform, says co-founder Travis Laurendine. Laurendine says he was on his way out of town after a draining Mardi Gras season when he got a call from Reid Martin of artist management firm MidCitizen. Laurendine, who regularly crosses between technology, music and food, was a co-founder of the 2019 Boycott Bowl, organizes New Orleans Ideas Sound &

Entertainment, a music and tech conference during Jazz Fest, and operates the hackathon company CODEMKRS, among other initiatives. Along with being recognized by the Obama Administration for a tech idea aimed at addressing New Orleans’ murder rate, Laurendine and developer Max Gaudin created AirPnP, a crowdsourced app that finds open bathrooms along Mardi Gras parade routes. Laurendine and Martin started to brainstorm ideas to help New Orleans musicians and artists who are out of work because of the pandemic. “We realized that everybody’s going to be going online to do a festival or to do a show,” Laurendine says. “We could create a platform that creates unity. A lot of people are doing things, but people weren’t creating things for the people who were doing things. We went a step above — since every musician is going to be doing this, it’ll be chaos. It’s going to be a million people going live on Facebook and you don’t know which one is when. There needs to be a guide.” Along with Laurendine, developers JT Gleason, Christi Schneider and Jeremy Gottfried are among the people involved with Sofa King Fest. Sofa King Fest’s first goal, Laurendine says, was to incentivize people to stay home during the pandemic, to give artists a digital platform to encourage their fans to “flatten the curve.” The next goal was to help musicians recover part of their lost business by connecting fans directly to the artists. “Luckily I have this network of people who do it for love, that’s the hackathon world,” Laurendine says. “We’ve had probably about 50 different contributors in one shape or form to the project, which is awesome scale. You should see my Slack, it’s insane.” Laurendine, who is from New Orleans, attended Vanderbilt University and moved back to the city in 2006, describes a lot of his work in the past as a “conduit between the city’s analog past and digital future.” In the mid2000s, he worked with musicians to set up social media pages and email accounts and shoot videos. This is a continuation of that kind of digital work, he says, as online platforms are now some of the only lifelines for artists. “We need to come up with a new way for music businesses to operate,” Laurendine says. “The way they used to operate is not working. It used to be that you gave away your music online, on Spotify, essentially getting paid pennies, because you made money performing live. Now you’re not making money live, what do you do?”

Next Fest options DURING MOST YEARS, partaking of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival can be a mix of time spent at the fair grounds and days listening to live broadcasts via WWOZ 90.7 FM, the community radio station owned by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. This year, with Jazz Fest canceled, WWOZ is the best option for all eight days. The station is hosting “Jazz Festing in Place,” which features sets from past festivals being aired during the event’s normal hours. From 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, listeners can enjoy memorable sets, some dating back to its early years. The second weekend (April 30-May3) features

P H OTO B Y W I LL C OV I E LLO

Herbie Hancock, Jon Cleary, BeauSoleil and the Radiators Thursday; Roy Hargrove, Big Freedia, Aaron Neville, Wynton Marsalis and a 1974 recording of Professor Longhair Friday; Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard and Allen Toussaint on Saturday; and Sunday features an Irma Thomas tribute to Mahalia Jackson, Pete Seeger, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, a tribute to Danny Barker and, as a closing act, a 1994 performance by the Neville Brothers. There also are a few second line parade recordings on the schedule. The WWOZ website (www.wwoz. org) also has some archived content, such as photos and videos, from the event’s first 50 years. Jazz Fest also has a YouTube channel (jazzfest), and while it has a lot of its online promotional videos and lineup announcements, it also has some highlight and interview videos. For those who want to add some of their favorite festival foods to the mix, see Fork + Center on page 21.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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OPENING GAMBIT N E W

O R L E A N S

N E W S

V I E W S

Money for hospitality workers ... Hard Rock Hotel update ... a recovery roadmap ... and more

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

200,000 The Al Copeland Foundation formed the “Be a

Hero. Thank a Hero” campaign to provide workers at Louisiana hospitals with requested items to make their lives easier. In its first two weeks, the campaign delivered more than 100,000 care items, including groceries, to hospital workers at Touro Infirmary, Ochsner facilities in Kenner and Slidell, and Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. The fund already has raised more than $70,000.

The ideal number of COVID-19 tests that should be administered per month across the state of Louisiana, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards.

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Members of the hospitality union Unite Here is leading a coalition demanding the New Orleans Convention Center allot more money for hospitality sector workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

EHA DONATES $1 MILLION TO HOSPITALITY WORKER FUNDS THE BOARD OF THE ERNEST N. MORIAL NEW ORLEANS EXHIBITION HALL AUTHORITY (EHA), which governs the New Orleans convention

Crescent Crown Distributing donated

$200,000 to the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation to benefit the South Louisiana Bar Owner Relief Fund to provide grants to Class AG bars in southern Louisiana amid the coronavirus pandemic. Crescent Crown Distributing also donated $10,000 to the Louisiana Nurses Foundation’s Nurse Relief Fund.

Raising Cane’s Louisiana

chicken restaurant chain produced “Cane’s In The Moment” twice-a-week virtual entertainment series to raise funds for health care workers and disaster relief organizations. The series, which ran through April 29, featured a concert by a different artist or group every Wednesday and Friday. Each event included a fundraiser for health care workers or disaster relief organizations. PAGE 8

center, passed a resolution last week to donate $1 million to two emergency relief funds for area hospitality workers suffering financially due to the coronavirus pandemic. Worker advocates say the $1 million one-time donation proposed by the EHA April 22 is only 1% of what’s needed to “meaningfully alleviate the financial stress of this crisis.” The resolution calls for donating $500,000 each to the Hospitality Cares Pandemic Response Fund, set up by the United Way of Southeast Louisiana and the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Service & Hospitality Family Assistance Program. Both funds provide one-time emergency relief grants (up to $500 from the Hospitality Cares fund and $1,000 from the Service & Hospitality program) to area hospitality workers put out of work by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. But need has regularly outstripped the resources available in those funds. Throughout April, the Coalition to Create a Fair Fund for Hospitality Workers, a group of local unions, cultural support organizations and worker advocates, has pressed the EHA to use $100 million from its cash reserves to support an emergency relief fund for the city’s unemployed hospitality workers. The coalition proposes $1,000 stimulus payments to industry workers while guaranteeing wages for Convention Center workers. According to a 2018 report, an estimated 72,000 people in the 10-parish greater New Orleans region are employed by the hospitality and tourism industry. The coalition cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that say 95,300 leisure and hospitality workers are employed in the region. The EHA has roughly $200 million in unrestricted funds, largely earned from hotel, food and beverage taxes. Earlier this month, the coalition, which now has 37 partner organizations, sent an open letter to the EHA calling for assistance, saying, “These ‘rainy day’ reserves were amassed through the booming success of the hospitality industry — an industry that only succeeds and exists because of the work of tens of thousands of New Orleanians and southeastern Louisianans.” On April 20, The Lens reported that The Communications Workers of America, a communications and media labor union that represents

The governor and public health officials have ramped up testing, which is a crucial element for re-evaluating the statewide stay-at-home order and potentially allowing businesses to reopen in May. The state also is focusing on sourcing items like testing swabs and viral transport media, some of which are being produced at local universities. As of press time, 135,079 commercial tests have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health since the first case was announced on March 9. At a minimum, Edwards says Louisiana needs to be able to administer 140,000-150,000 tests per month.

C’est What

? Aside from walking in your neighborhood, how often do you leave your house?

10%

32.7%

NEVER

TWO-FOUR TIMES A WEEK

22.8% EVERY DAY

34.5%

ONCE A WEEK

Vote on “C’est What?” at www.bestofneworleans.com

Hard Rock Hotel collapse update A demolition firm working for developers of the partially collapsed Hard rock Hotel say they can retrieve two bodies trapped in the rubble and bring the precarious upper stories of the building down by July. The proposal, which was discussed during a court hearing April 23, would involve using cranes to take apart the wreckage of the upper floors of the 18-story building, which collapsed last October, killing three workers. The bodies to two of those workers remain at the site. The hearing came amid disputes between the city and 1031 Canal Street Development llC, developer of the project, over what method that would be used to tear down the building.

The developers have sought to move forward with a conventional demolition, which would take the wreckage apart piece by piece, while the city has said such a plan would be more dangerous than a controlled implosion of the property. At the hearing, Civil District Court Judge Kern reese ordered developers to answer questions the city has posed about the demolition by Monday, April 27, and told the city it must respond by Wednesday, April 29. The new proposal outlined last week would involve using cranes for most of the demolition work, picking apart the wreckage and dropping it within the footprint of the site, said Jeremy Frye, a project manager with Marschel Wrecking. The plan would call for demolishing two historic buildings on the same block to clear the way for the demolition, he said. The demolition would occur in multiple phases. — JEFF ADElSON/THE TIMES-pICAyUNE | THE NEW OrlEANS ADVOCATE

Advocates offer roadmap to equitable disaster recovery A group of louisiana advocacy organizations is looking to when the state will be recovering from the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. louisiana isn’t a stranger to disaster recovery, but efforts in the past have often left out the state’s most vulnerable

populations or ultimately exacerbated problems that squeeze working communities and people of color. Almost 60% of the deaths attributed to the pandemic in louisiana have been among black residents, according to the louisiana Department of Health website. Dr. Corey Hebert, a professor, physician and the chief medical officer at Dillard University, directly connected that disproportionate mortality rate to the disproportionate rates of illnesses like hypertension, kidney disease, diabetes and heart disease that appear among African Americans. “There’s overwhelming data which points us squarely to the ‘social determinants of health,’ ” Hebert said, referencing a measurement used by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Social determinants of health are conditions in the places where people live, like poverty levels, access to healthy foods, education and neighborhood safety. Earlier this month, the nonpartisan nonprofit power Coalition for Equity and Justice (pCEJ) with more than 20 louisiana organizations issued “roadmap to recovery: powerful policy Demands to respond to COVID-19,” a list of specific policies and ideas for local and state lawmakers that could ensure a racially and economically equitable response and recovery after the pandemic. “Our collective response to this

OPENING GAMBIT disaster needs to be different than it has been in the past,” the introduction to the roadmap says. “We must center people, especially our most vulnerable populations, in every way we approach this response and recovery effort.” The roadmap can be viewed as a 17-page pDF on www.powecoalition.org. The document includes pointed policy recommendations that cover both immediate needs — avoiding a housing crisis; addressing health and safety in jails and prisons; supporting workers, children and families; building a state budget; and protecting voting rights and access — and more long-term issues, such as health care, education, environmental justice and housing access. “We’ve got to think about all of the ways in which we allow folks in the state of louisiana to walk in their full human dignity and actually recover,” says Ashley Shelton, executive director of the pCEJ. “The scale and scope of this disaster certainly is bigger than anything that any of us have seen in our lifetime,” Shelton said. “For us, it was a real opportunity to say that, yes, we have to make sure we have these pAGE 8

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about 700,000 workers, threatened to pull its 2021 convention from New Orleans if the center doesn’t negotiate with the local groups. The Coalition to Create a Fair Fund for Hospitality Workers issued a statement following the EHA meeting: “Today’s action by the Convention Center board translates into a donation of less than $10 for each New Orleans hospitality and tourism worker. This amount does not begin to alleviate the uncertainty as we struggle during this crisis.” — JAKE ClApp

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OPENING GAMBIT

The 2019

RosHavee’s

PAGE 7

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down PAGE 6

Arrived

Fleurs De Prairie 750 ML

The Peyton Manning Foundation and WOW American Eats delivered

Guilhem Moulin de Gassac 750 ML

about 2,000 meals to Ochsner Health hospital workers at seven area locations April 19 as part of a project to support essential health care workers battling the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier in the month Manning and his wife Ashley donated 140 meals to Tulane hospital workers and about 600 meals to a medical center in Tennessee in honor of his years playing football at the University of Tennessee.

Whispering Angel 750 ML

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Tulane Health System

provided a $75,000 grant to Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana to help supply food to residents in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant was part of $1 million in grants Tulane’s parent company, HCA Healthcare, made April 17 to food banks and other community organizations across the country.

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economic strategies, but we also have to make sure we take care of our people.” The pandemic — and an inequitable recovery — exacerbates racial inequality, Shelton says, and puts those people already living close to or in poverty in a worse position. “It then just creates a domino effect, so their access to affordable housing, access to child care, transportation — all of these things, people can fall deeper and deeper into a cycle of poverty.” — JAKE CLAPP

Call for nominations: Gambit’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2020 It’s that time of year when we pay tribute to those among us who get things done, work for the community good, excel at their passions or just have extraordinary ideas and talents in Gambit’s annual 40 Under 40 issue. Tell us about your favorite do-gooders, over-achievers, unsung heroes and heroines or exceptionally proficient professionals. Elected officials are not eligible for the honor, and nominees must be 39 years old or younger on June 9, 2020. Submission deadline is May 18. Nominations can be submitted via email to kgraves@gambitweekly. com, or fill out a form at www.best-ofneworleans.com/ 40under40nomination.

C’est What

? Do you support expanding mail-in voting during the pandemic?

0.5% Joshua Bruno, owner of

MetroWide Apartments, sent several residents at Cypress Park apartment complex in Algiers eviction notices in early April in violation of a court order banning evictions until May 4 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The move also apparently violates the federal CARES Act passed in March, which put a moratorium on evictions until July 25 for landlords who receive money through federal housing programs, which Bruno does.

33.9%

I’M NOT VOTING

NO, THERE COULD BE FRAUD

65.6%

YES, IT’S SAFER

Vote on “C’est What?” at www.bestofneworleans.com

COMMENTARY david aubrey

shades of blue

@ gaetanasnola shop with us on instagram & facebook

AS THE WORLD CONTINUES TO GRAPPLE WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC,

leaders everywhere struggle with how to cope with the economic collapse wrought by the virus and efforts to contain it. At times the pressure to bring back regional and national economies has pitted political leaders against health experts. Interestingly, American voters are not so divided — they believe the doctors, not the politicians. One recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 12% of Americans say measures to curb the virus in their communities “go too far.” More than twice as many people — 26% — believe the limits don’t go far enough. The vast majority — 61% — feel steps taken by government officials are about right. The AP also reports that roughly 80% of Americans support measures requiring people to stay in their homes and limiting gatherings to 10 people or fewer. Other national polls show similar results, according to Ron Faucheux, a national pollster who lives in New Orleans. “Only 14% of Americans think it would be safe to reopen the economy within the next two weeks, and nearly half (49%) think it will take anywhere from several months to a year or longer,” Faucheux wrote in a summary of one national poll on April 24. Faucheux noted that 64% feel physical distancing will be necessary at least until June 1. Faucheux cited other significant survey results in a recent poll: 63% say stay-at-home orders are “extremely” or “very” effective, 28% say such orders are “somewhat effective,” while only 9% say they are not effective. Meanwhile, only 21% say stay-athome orders violate constitutional

P H OTO B Y S O P H I A G E R M E R / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O RL E A N S A DVO C AT E

rights, while 65% say such orders do not violate constitutional rights. Such findings run counter to moves by President Donald Trump and some governors to ease public health regulations that have upended daily life and roiled the global economy. They also far outstrip highly (and disproportionately) publicized protests by relatively small bands of people who, despite all medical evidence to the contrary, insist on violating stayat-home orders and physical distancing recommendations while claiming such orders violate their rights. Getting our state and nation back to work and to some sort of normalcy will take a balanced, measured approach. That’s what Gov. John Bel Edwards promises as he prepares to announce — on April 27 — a plan to begin easing some restrictions in our state. If there’s a conflict between public health and the economy, we should err on the side of public health. The reason is simple: Government can send money to people and businesses, but it cannot bring back the dead. Louisiana ranks among the hardest-hit places in the world by COVID-19, both medically and economically. Experts warn that even if the virus ebbs in the coming months, it likely will return with a vengeance in successive waves, as the 1918 flu pandemic did a century ago. Like so many others, we look forward to getting our region and state back on its feet. We also hang on the pronouncements of those with experience and expertise in fighting pandemics. In both respects, we stand with the vast majority of our fellow citizens.

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G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > A p r i l 2 8 - M ay 4 > 2 0 2 0

COVID-19 recovery will require balance, but public safety is paramount

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CLANCY DUBOS @clancygambit

Good, bad and worse news on voting by mail in Louisiana P H OTO B Y B I ZO O _ n /G e T T Y I M AG e S

SATURDAY, MAY 2 • 5-9 PM

A proposal going through the Louisiana Legislature would require most voters to go to the polls, even during the coronavirus pandemic.

This year we’re bringing the party

ONLINE!

Virtually Champagne Stroll SCROLL INSTEAD OF STROLL!

POUR YOURSELF A GLASS OF BUBBLY & SHOP THE EVENT ONLINE.

HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN PARTICIPATE: WEBSITE: MagazineStreet.com Shop online at Magazine Street stores, shops, galleries & restaurants. Great gifts for Mother's Day.

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM:

@MagazineStreet Live Feed starting at 5pm. Hear from local merchants & chime in with your comments or give a virtual toast.

VISIT FACEBOOK:

@MagazineStreet Check out our Event page for door prizes, sales & specials.

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FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS: If you’ve

contracted COVID-19 or face a direct threat of contracting it, you should be able to vote by mail in Louisiana’s delayed (but largely inconsequential) delayed presidential primary in July and municipal elections now scheduled for August. now the bad news: If, like most people, you’re merely scared (however reasonably) to stand in line with scores of others who may or may not be infected, well, too bad. And the worst news: Things likely won’t improve much, if at all, for the nov. 3 presidential election. That’s the upshot of actions by a pair of Republican-controlled Louisiana legislative committees on April 22. A week earlier, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, the state’s chief elections officer and a Republican, submitted a more robust plan to expand mail balloting for the summer elections. Despite all good intentions, Ardoin ran into a buzzsaw of opposition from his fellow Republicans on the Senate committee whose approval was needed to move the plan forward. All five GOP Senate committee members in attendance on April 15 voted against Ardoin’s plan. Several claimed the plan would invite fraudulent balloting. election experts roundly say fraudulent voting by mail is extremely rare. What’s not so rare are efforts by Republicans to suppress turnout among likely Democratic voters. Keeping a lid on mail balloting is one way of doing that. To his credit, Ardoin returned with a revised plan, which the House and Senate committees approved. All state lawmakers must approve the plan by April 27.

The revised plan expands mail balloting for the summer elections, but only somewhat. Gone are provisions covering anyone with a “concern of exposure” to COVID-19. Instead, mail ballots will be available only to people currently allowed them and to those facing pandemic-related circumstances. Those include having a higher risk of COVID-19 due to serious underlying conditions; being subject to quarantine, caring for someone subject to quarantine, or advised by a health care provider to quarantine; and experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis. It offers nothing for those who think they’re healthy and want to stay that way. More good news: early voting will expand from seven to 13 days, which may allow early voters to practice physical distancing. In the best of circumstances, this much will be allowed in november as well. Historically, presidential elections produce the highest voter turnouts. Ardoin admitted under House committee questioning that he didn’t seek input from health experts in drafting the revised plan. Instead, he consulted with Republican lawmakers and state Attorney General Jeff Landry. Thus, in the midst of a pandemic that is the cause of changes in voting regulations, politicians — not doctors — guided this decision.Some GOP state representatives still expressed concerns because expanded mail balloting will not require a doctor’s note. The plan now goes to the full House and Senate, both of which will vote … by email or fax. Lucky them. They won’t need a doctor’s note, either.

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Hey Blake, Thanks for your column on Zacharie Place (Feb. 11). There’s another park on Toledano Street that runs south from St. Charles Avenue to Prytania. According to the New Orleans Public Library, it’s called McDonogh Place. What can you tell us about it? —JIMMY

Dear Jimmy,

McDonogh Place was created to honor philanthropist and landowner John McDonogh. When he died in 1850, McDonogh’s will called for the majority of his fortune to be used for the creation of public schools in New Orleans and in his native Baltimore. According to city ordinances, McDonogh Place, sometimes called McDonogh Park, was created in 1886. Each May beginning in 1891, local school children participated in McDonogh Day (also called Founder’s Day) ceremonies at McDonogh Place. Similar ceremonies honoring McDonogh took place in Lafayette Square, where a McDonogh statue was dedicated in 1898. In May 1938, a bust of McDonogh was unveiled at the Toledano Street park. It was created by sculptor Angela Gregory. According to the newspaper, the pedestal was constructed from Belgian stone paving blocks removed during a reconstruction of Tchoupitoulas Street.The McDonogh Place bust

P H OTO B Y K A N DAC E P O W E R G R AV E S

McDonogh Place stretches from St. Charles Avenue to Prytania Street.

was moved to Duncan Plaza in May 1958, when the new City Hall opened nearby. McDonogh Day ceremonies continued there into the 1970s. On May 4, 1962, students who took part in the McDonogh Day event at Duncan Plaza also heard President John F. Kennedy speak outside City Hall. “With stars in their eyes, thousands upon thousands of school children turned out here Friday to shout a rip roaring welcome to President John F. Kennedy,” wrote Times-Picayune reporter Podine Schoenberger. In March 2018, the group Take ‘Em Down Nola included the statue of John McDonogh, who was a slave owner, among a list of five statues that should be taken down as being “offensive to democratically minded people,” according to group spokesman Malcolm Suber.

BLAKEVIEW MAY MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the inauguration of Maurice Edwin “Moon” Landrieu as mayor of New Orleans. Landrieu, born in 1930, is a Jesuit High School graduate who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Loyola University. In the 1960s, he served in the state House of Representatives and on the New Orleans City Council. In the 1969 mayoral campaign, Landrieu’s campaign pledge to integrate city government helped him win a majority of African-American votes and put him in office. His May 4, 1970, inauguration began with a prayer service at St. Louis Cathedral, followed by a swearing-in ceremony at City Hall. Judge William Redmann administered the oath of office, with Landrieu’s wife Verna and his mother Loretta at his side. “New Orleans can be a city of hope, a city that illuminates the great opportunities of urban America,” Landrieu said in his address. “It can stand alone among other cities as an example of what can be done by common determination and sincere commitments to defeat the problems that afflict all major cities today.” Landrieu served as mayor for two terms, leaving office in 1978. He served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and later was a judge on the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. Several of his nine children followed him into public service, including former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, former Judge Madeleine Landrieu and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurice Landrieu.

L L A W

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S BY O T O H DP N A T X TE ELLO I V O C WILL

CLOCK WISE:

Henry Lipkis painted this samurai-inspired work at 1225 Japonica St. Fat Kids from Outer Space, aka @Fatkidsart, painted these aliens at 1225 Japonica St. Mural artist Uter painted this space vehicle at 1225 Japonica St.

New Orleans murals you can see while physical distancing Brandan “BMike” Odums has painted murals across New Orleans. His purple-hued portrait of Buddy Bolden’s band faces North Rampart Street, the site of many historic jazz clubs. His Studio BE warehouse space on Royal Street is adorned with his and other artists’ murals, featuring civil rights and cultural leaders and children aspiring to become artists. French soccer star Paul Pogba’s image is on a red wall on North Rocheblave Street near the Lafitte Greenway, where Odums currently is completing a collection of giant portraits on a warehouse on St. Louis and North Roman streets. Odums’ first museum show opened at the Newcomb Art Museum at Tulane University in late January. It’s titled “NOT Supposed 2-Be Here,” which reflects that much of his massive-scale work is in public PAGE 14

THIS PHOTO ESSAY FEATURES JUST A FEW OF THE MURALS AVAILABLE AROUND NEW ORLEANS. FOR PHOTOS OF MORE THAN 120 MURALS AND A MAP TO FIND THEM, VISIT WWW.BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM.

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Paul Athol Lewis painted these figures on the wall of Favela Chic on Frenchmen Street.

This mural is located on the side of the Art Garage at 2231 St. Claude Ave.

WALL TO WALL

This image is in a cluster of works by several artists at 1225 Japonica St.

Mr. Balloon Hands painted this creature at 1225 Japonica St.

New Orleans has become a city of murals, especially with an explosion of colorful new works created in the last 10 years. There are works of all sorts in public and private spaces, indoors and out, in heavily trafficked and out-ofthe-way locations, promoting businesses and protesting issues. There are works celebrating history and culture from traditional and outsider or underground perspectives. There are whimsical images of pets and wildlife, surreal space creatures and massive colorbursts. Some artists double as canvas painters or tattoo artists. Many tag their work with social media handles, so their art is viewable online, even while the artists maintain some degree of anonymity. Recent mural projects include the NOLA Mural Project (www.nolamuralproject.org), which spun off of a lawsuit that invalidated a city ordinance requiring fees and a permit process for murals. The mural project became a sort of “matchmaker” for artists and people or businesses

PAGE 18

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Brandan “BMike” Odums is completing this mural on the Lafitte Greenway at North Roman Street.

spaces, many of his murals address overcoming racial oppression and societal barriers, and that — in line with the creed of some graffiti artists — some of his best-known works were begun in places where he didn’t first secure permission to paint, such as his landmark Project BE and Studio BE efforts. But now, “NOT Supposed 2-Be Here” applies to everyone, as the coronavirus pandemic has ushered in physical distancing restrictions. Odums’ museum show is viewable on the Newcomb website (www.newcombartmuseum.tulane.edu), but locals can view his public works and other murals around the city while maintaining health precautions.

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Thank you for coordinating efforts for adopting small businesses. My family and I sponsored Feet First recently and Rachel, the owner, was so incredibly grateful and humbled. Until recently, my family owned a small retail business operation here in New Orleans and we experienced navigating retail for over 40 years including the time after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Small businesses and the community at large value Gambitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to keep us all connected in healthy, prosperous time and also in the darkest of times. Gambit and its family of staff help keep us informed, tuned in, and mindful of the important issues in our city, state and our world. For this, I sincerely thank you. Keep up the incredible work...we appreciate you more than you realize.

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Rebeka Skela painted this Tua Pa Mote figure at 1225 Japonica Street.

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These eyes by @hugogyrl are on N. Claiborne Avenue near Esplanade Avenue.

Jamar Pierre painted this mural about Homer Plessy at the Bywater Art Garden at 3800 Dauphine St.

A portrait of Princess Leia is on the garage door at Castillo Blanco at 4321 St. Claude Ave., the former den of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus.

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Murals cover the pillars supporting the I10 overpass, which was constructed on a strip of North Claiborne Avenue once lined with oak trees.

interested in commissioning them, says founder Neal Morris. The website has a map of its murals and others have been added to it. The Helis Foundation (www. thehelisfoundation.org) created “Unframed,” which includes five large murals in the Warehouse District. Gambit viewed and compiled a list and photos of more than 120 outdoor murals in public view in Orleans and Jefferson parishes, though there are many more. There also are many other types of public art in the city, including sculpture installations, smaller-scale painted works, murals on food trucks, historic works from Work Projects Administration projects and much more. Murals have ephemeral existences. The artist Robert Wyland created the massive seascape with blue whales and other creatures on the wall of the Hilton Riverside New Orleans in 1997 and refreshed the faded work in 2019. Some murals are quickly tagged by graffiti artists, sometimes in approval or disapproval of its content or placement. Artist Henry Lipkis, who moved to New Orleans in 2014 and has painted works across the U.S., Europe and Australia, painted over one of his own murals in collaboration with two other artists to create the “Bounce” mural on a building at Laharpe Street and North Claiborne Avenue (viewable from the parking lot of Circle Food Store).

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Local scoop

Jazz feasting in place

Ice cream and gelato shops keep keep cool during the pandemic

for classic Jazz Fest food are not. Many vendors are still cooking, and some are holding pop-ups to serve their traditional festival dishes. One collaboration can provide crawfish Monica, crawfish strudel and white chocolate bread pudding for stay-athome Jazz Fest celebrations. Elmwood-based crawfish Monica maker Kajun Kettle Foods (www.kajunkettle.com) and Cottage Catering, maker of crawfish strudel

THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL is canceled, but cravings

BY W I LL C OV I E LLO WHILE SUMMER MIGHT SEEM LIKE PEAK SEASON for ice cream parlors,

spring is actually the sweet spot. “March and April are usually our busiest months,” says David Bergeron, owner of Creole Creamery. The season isn’t as hot, but warm temperatures, festivals, graduations and students finishing semesters at local universities keep Creole Creamery and other shops busy. They’ve been able to remain open like restaurants during the pandemic, but they’ve had to adjust to a steep drop in traffic. Creole Creamery locations in Uptown (4924 Prytania St., 504-894-8680; www.creolecreamery.com) and Lakeview (6260 Vicksburg St., 504482-2924) allow a few customers at a time to enter, although tables were removed and all orders must be to go. Sampling is not allowed, and while that’s a necessary health precaution, it affects Creole Creamery’s menu. “Normally we’d be offering our spring floral flavors, like magnolia and jasmine,” he says. “But people have to be able to taste them or they don’t sell well.” The Uptown shop still offers a full roster of 36 flavors, but it emphasizes popular, recognizable ones, such as Black and Gold Crunch, which it normally offers only during the New Orleans Saints season. Mango Unchained, which includes cayenne pepper, is off the menu while sampling is unavailable. The shop is selling fewer sundaes and root beer floats, but it’s selling more larger containers of ice cream, Bergeron says. Catering and supplying restaurants are on hold, but more customers are buying pints and quarts to have at home, he says. Creole Creamery also supplies a franchise location in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and Rieger’s on the Trace on the Northshore. Both report selling more pints and quarts, he says. Creole Creamery will extend its evening hours to 9 p.m. at both locations this week. At Piccola Gelateria (4525 Freret St., Suite 103, 504-493-5999; www.piccolagelateria.com), selling more gelato cakes for families to enjoy at home has been a little boost, says owner Ria

Turnbull. The shop also has temporarily lost its business supplying 30 restaurants and catering events. Gift cards purchased by patrons have helped support the store, and the shop has given its own gifts to friends in the hospitality industry who are out of work, Turnbull says. Piccola Gelateria specializes in Italian-style gelato in flavors such as chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio, stracciatella and salted almond. Nondairy fruit flavors include mango, raspberry and watermelon. Cones are not available. There also is a small menu of crepes. The menu is a little smaller than usual and is updated regularly on its social media pages. All orders are brought to the door or curb for pickup, and delivery is available. Ria and husband Ross are the store’s sole employees during the pandemic; most of the students who worked part-time at the store have gone home. Its hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Customers are encouraged to call in orders and they’re flexible with customers. “As long as my phone is ringing, I’m open,” Turnbull says. Angelo Brocato’s (214 N. Carrollton, 504-486-1465; www.angelobrocatoicecream.com) normally is very busy this time of year. Its business picks up in March, when customers buy Italian cookies for St. Joesph’s Day altars, and remains busy through festivals and graduations. After closing for a couple of weeks, the shop will reopen May 1 with a window for pickup, says Arthur Brocato. It’ll be open noon to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday and will expand days of service as demand dictates. Brocato’s normally offers a wide range of ice cream, Italian ices, cannolis and cookies at the shop and sup-

P H OTO B Y I A N M C N U LT Y

Piccola Gelateria is bringing gelato orders to the door during the pandemic.

plies grocery stores and restaurants. When the Mid-City shop reopens, it’ll have a dozen flavors of gelato, Italian ices, cannolis, sesame and fig cookies, biscotti, almond macaroons, tiramisu, some pastries and espresso and cappuccino. Customers can walk up to the store and order by phone. Presentation is a big part of the appeal at Freezy Street (2633 St. Claude Ave., 504-228-4149; www.freezystreet. com). During normal times, customers can watch as a liquid cream base is poured on a chilled metal slab where it freezes instantly and is scraped into rolls and served. Customers still can enter the store but must watch from afar and maintain physical distancing, says owner Adam Enterkin. Popular flavors include Strawberry Shorty with strawberry and graham crackers, Cookie Monster with regular or mint Oreos and Praw-Leen with candied pecans and caramel. Customers can phone in orders or get ice cream delivered through several apps. All the shops are looking forward to returning to normal business, and Bergeron is happy to offer more than ice cream. He opened the first Creole Creamery a year before Hurricane Katrina. “We were one of the first businesses to reopen after the storm,” he says. “We didn’t know if the city was going to come back then. But (the shop) was one of the places you could forget about stuff and have a little bit of normalcy. It feels a little bit similar now.”

P H OTO B Y DAV I D G R U N F E L D , N O L A . C O M | T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E

Pheasant, quail, andouille gumbo from Prejeans is available from Pythian Market Thursday through Saturday

and white chocolate bread pudding, are holding the pop-up together at the Mahony’s Original Po-Boys & Seafood French Quarter location at 901 Iberville St. (that Mahony’s location currently is closed, while its po-boy shop at 3454 Magazine St. is open for take-out). Orders for both can be made on the Cottage Catering website (www.cottagecatering. com/nolafestfood). This pop-up will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, through Sunday, May 3. The dishes will be sold cold for heating at home. Each company also has options to order these dishes in larger quantities for shipping nationally. Vaucresson Sausage Co. (www. shop.vaucressonsausage.com), which has served its sausage poboys at every Jazz Fest, is working on a plan to distribute sausage directly to local customers. Other Jazz Fest classics are available via restaurant takeout, special orders shipped to your door or, in a few cases, in local groceries. The festival’s crawfish bread vendor is Marksville-based Panaroma Foods, which will ship whole loaves of crawfish bread, sausage and PAGE 23

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EAT+DRINK jalapeno bread and shrimp bread from its kitchens in central Louisiana (www.nolacrawfishbread.com). Bennachin Restaurant (1212 Royal St., 504-522-1230; www.bennachinrestaurant.com) serves jama jama at the Congo Square food area at the festival. This sauteed spinach dish and other African dishes are always on the menu at this French Quarter eatery. Diners also can get fried plantains, another fest option. The Uptown Tunisian restaurant Jamila’s Cafe (7808 Maple St., 504866-4366; www.jamilascafe.com) serves crawfish, spinach and zucchini bisque and merguez sausage at the festival. Jamila’s remains open for takeout with its full menu. Since the crisis began, the Uptown location of Langenstein’s (1330 Arabella St.) has been stocking the bisque along with Jamila’s lentil soup. Fried soft-shell crab po-boys are a specialty of Galley Seafood (2535 Metairie Road., Metairie, 504-8320955; www.thegalleyseafood.net), which is open for takeout with a good supply of soft shell crabs for its Jazz Fest staple and its full menu. Mrs. Wheat’s savory Natchitoches meat pies come with a variety of fillings and in different sizes. Local maker Mrs. Wheat’s has an online ordering option for shipping at www. meatpies.com/shop. Lorretta Harrison ships orders for her Creole candies around the country, and on Fridays she opens her Marigny restaurant, Loretta’s Authentic Pralines (2101 N. Rampart St., 504-944-7068; www.lorettaspralines.com), for takeout with a menu including fried seafood plates and her Jazz Fest specialty: sweet or savory stuffed beignets. Miss Linda Green is known for her version of “old sober,” a beefy, brothy remedy in a cup. Green sells jars of her “yakamein juice,” or broth, directly so you can make your own at home (she recommends mixing the juice with hot sauce for a revitalizing drink). She’s also working on a bottled bloody mary yakamein mix. Contact Green directly for purchase and curbside pickup information at (504) 344-7218. There are several popular sandwiches from Jazz Fest available from groceries and restaurants. The delis at Canseco’s Markets (www. cansecos.com) spell out the festival connection with their “Jazz Fest Cuban.” Dimartino’s offers traditional and vegetarian muffulettas, and the roast beef po-boy and turkey giardiniera po-boy also are served at Jazz Fest. They are available at four Dimartino’s locations on the West Bank and in Covington (www.dimartinos.com). Longtime festival vendor Ajun Cajun (8433 Oak St., 504-8667077; www.ajuncajun.com) opened its own restaurant earlier this year.

It’s yakiniku po-boy features Japanese-style shredded beef and it also offers shrimp yakisoba. Food from some Jazz Fest vendors is available for pickup at Pythian Market (234 Loyola Ave.; www.pythianmarket.com) Thursday through Saturday. That includes pheasant, quail and andouille gumbo and crawfish enchiladas from Prejean’s Restaurant in Lafayette. TJ Gourmet is offering its chicken and tasso with rice and shrimp remoulade po-boys through the market. See the online ordering form on the Pythian Market website for a list of Jazz Fest dishes and its regular menu. — IAN McNULTY / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

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