New Orleans mayor halts city’s reopening

updated 9:18 p.m. ET Sept. 19, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - Under pressure from President Bush and other top federal officials, the mayor Monday suspended the reopening of large portions of the city over the next few days because of the threat of a new round of flooding from a tropical storm.

“I am concerned about this hurricane getting in the gulf. ... If we are off, I’d rather err on the side of conservatism to make sure we have everyone out,” Mayor Ray Nagin said.

The announcement came after repeated warnings from top federal officials — and the president himself — that the city was unsafe.

The mayor said his original plan was never intended to put people at risk.

“Now we have conditions that have changed. We have another hurricane that is approaching us,” he said. He warned that the city’s pumping system was not running at full capacity and that its levee system is still in a “very weak position.”

Mayor: Pumping facilities aren’t 100 percent
Nagin said that he was suspending the reopening of the city in large part because of Tropical Storm Rita, which is expected to strengthen to a hurricane later Monday as it makes its way into the Gulf of Mexico.

FREE VIDEO Mayor ends New Orleans re-entry Sept. 19: Mayor C. Ray Nagin ends plans to bring residents back to New Orleans and tells all those now in the stricken city to leave because of fears of a new storm. MSNBC

He said the city's pumping facilities aren't at full capacity — and that if there's anything above a 3-foot storm surge, there will be significant flooding.

Nagin spoke hours after residents of the Algiers neighborhood, across the river from the French Quarter, began to return. Under plans announced last week, two other neighborhoods were supposed to be repopulated later this week.

The return of residents Monday had prompted federal officials, including President Bush, to voice concerns that the city isn't yet ready to receive them.

Defended position earlier
Earlier, Nagin defended his decision to let people back in. “The citizens of New Orleans deserve the opportunity to see what they have left and what they can salvage,” Nagin told Fox News in response to warnings from the federal official in charge in New Orleans, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen.

“I’m a little surprised the admiral came out publicly on this,” he added. “Maybe since I’ve been away a day or two, maybe he’s the new crowned federal mayor of New Orleans.”

Bush on Monday questioned the plan to allow residents to return, saying there are too many concerns about additional flooding and safety in the city.

“We want this city to re-emerge. As I said, I can’t imagine America without a vibrant New Orleans. It’s just a matter of timing,” Bush said. “We’re cautious about encouraging people to return at this moment of history.”

Bush cites environmental hazards
Bush said there are significant environmental concerns. New Orleans still lacks drinkable water, and there are fears about the contamination levels in the remaining floodwaters and the muck left behind in drained areas of the city.

“We have made our position loud and clear,” Bush said. “The mayor is working hard. The mayor — you know, he’s got this dream about having a city up and running, and we share that dream. But we also want to be realistic about some of the hurdles and obstacles that we all confront in repopulating New Orleans.”

The president said he “absolutely” would intervene personally on the matter with Nagin and that he meant for his public comments to make sure that the mayor gets the point. White House chief of staff Andy Card also has been pressing the matter with Nagin.

But Bush stressed that Allen, head of the federal government’s hurricane response who was delivering the concerns to Nagin in person on Monday, was the administration’s primary voice.

“The mayor needs to hear him. So do the people of New Orleans,” Bush said.

Algiers creeps back to life
Algiers, a neighborhood that is situated across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans and saw little damage from Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago, was the first to be reopened to residents, if only briefly.

The Uptown neighborhood, the Garden District and the historic French Quarter had been set to reopen at Nagin's invitation, allowing a total of about one-third of New Orleans’ half-million inhabitants back.

John Schwab, 31, came back to Algiers with his brother and encountered no checkpoint getting into the neighborhood, despite warnings from the mayor that police would be checking IDs. Schwab owns a janitorial service that had contracts with movie studios.

But they have all pulled out of New Orleans because of the storm. “I'll probably have to look for a job in construction,” he said. “That's about the only thing around.”

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