Nagin in New York

Nagin must like the taste of his own toes - he puts his foot in his mouth often enough ! Enjoy.

New Orleans Mayor Seeks Support in New York

By ANTHONY RAMIREZ and CARLA BARANAUCKAS

Published: September 1, 2006

Under fire for having referred to ground zero as “a hole in the ground,” Mayor C. Ray Nagin of New Orleans said today that he recognized that the place where nearly 3,000 people died on Sept. 11, 2001, is a “sacred site,” although he stopped short of an explicit apology.

Keith Bedford/Reuters

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin at a news conference in New York today.

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Video: Nagin in New York

“What I will never do again is refer to the site as ‘a hole in the ground,’ ” Mr. Nagin said in a news conference today in Tribeca. “It’s a sacred site that is presently in an undeveloped state. And I’ll leave it at that.”

Mayor Nagin had apologized earlier for a statement he made on the CBS News program “60 Minutes.” When he was asked why it was taking New Orleans so long to clean up after Hurricane Katrina devastated his city a year ago, the mayor said: “You guys in New York City can’t get a hole in the ground fixed, and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair.”

Today, leading a delegation of New Orleans officials to New York in an effort to promote investment in his city, Mr. Nagin focused on what he said the two cities had in common.

“I want to make sure that everyone in New York understands I love New York City,” he said. “I’ve been here on many occasions. And I think that we as New Orleanians and New Yorkers understand what tragedy is all about and we understand the difficulty in trying to recover from a tragedy.”

Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott indicated that New York City officials had moved past the controversy. “Mayor, it’s an honor to be here with you and to pledge our support in working with you and your city to make sure that we work together to bring New Orleans back,” Mr. Wolcott said on behalf of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who was attending the funeral of a firefighter.

“We are with you hand in hand as you rebuild New Orleans,” Mr. Wolcott said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton called Mayor Nagin’s remarks “intemperate” but added: “People in New Orleans have gotten over the media calling tax-paying New Orleans citizens refugees. So we’ve all had a lot to get over.”

Mr. Nagin said that New Orleans was at the “tipping point” in its effort to rebuild and would soon be receiving billions of dollars.

“Businesses are reopening,” he said. “Our population is increasing daily. Homes are being rebuilt. And many new developments are on the horizon. This is truly a new day for New Orleans.”

He said that regenerating the tourist economy and attracting new industries to the city were crucial in the efforts to rebuild.

“In my opinion,” he said, “New Orleans is at a tipping point. We’re about to see billions and billions of dollars flow into our city. We are about to see most of our citizens come back to our city. They’re struggling to come back but they are determined to come back even better and stronger.”

He added, “We want all business owners around the world to consider New Orleans.”