On 10/11/2013, the Times-Picayune (
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"New Orleans Musical Legends Park disputes inspector general's report on land lease
By Katherine Sayre, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on October 11, 2013 at 1:43 PM, updated October 11, 2013 at 3:51 PM
A nonprofit foundation that leases the city-owned New Orleans Musical Legends Park in the French Quarter on Friday disputed an inspector general's report criticizing its rental arrangement. The nonprofit insisted that the public benefits from renting the space to a private restaurant by putting a troubled piece of land to good use.
"Unfortunately, the conclusions of the report are based either on misinformation and/or lack of knowledge of the history that brought about the current lease," Steven J. Lane, a lawyer for the nonprofit, wrote in a letter Friday to NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune.
The park, a pocket of land on Bourbon Street previously known as Edison Park, is managed by the French Market Corp. on behalf of the city. More than a decade ago, the corporation leased the land to New Orleans Music Legends Inc. for a fee of $1 per year.
Music Legends fixed up the rundown space and installed statues honoring the city's renowned musicians. It leased space in 2004 to Cafe Beignet to operate a restaurant in the courtyard.
This week, Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux said the French Market Corp. is missing out on $100,000 in rent every year that Cafe Beignet pays to Music Legends, money that is not shared with French Market Corp.
Quatrevaux recommended the corporation directly lease the land and reap the rental income. The French Market Corp. is a public benefits corporation that returns a portion of its revenues each year to the city.
The lease was negotiated in 1999 to help the nonprofit take the "dilapidated piece of property and turn it into a public oasis in the middle of the French Quarter," Lane said.
"Rent is collected, and that rent is used directly to fund educational, musical, tourism and other events, such as the Oyster Jubilee, school concerts, Santa in the Park, erect statues of New Orleans music legends, landscape, manage and insure the park, as well as other events that directly benefit the City of New Orleans," he said.
A management firm headed by Dottie Belletto is paid about $40,000 per year to manage the events and upkeep, Lane said.
Both the city and the French Market Corp. previously failed to manage the park themselves, Lane said, and the space was forced to close twice. While shuttered, it became a haven for crime and prostitutes, and the problems emerged with the electrical, plumbing, and sewer systems. "The property fell into complete disrepair and was and eyesore in the heart of the French Quarter," he said.
Lane also disputed the inspector general's comment that the property should be rented out at market rates. Lane argued that with restrictions on the space -- from banning adult entertainment or sale of clothing, to rules allowing only 40 percent of the space for commercial use -- private groups would not want to rent the property "except under the present arrangement." No such rules apply to other properties in the French Quarter, he said.
"Members of New Orleans Music Legends board have all worked diligently to turn an eyesore into something New Orleans can be proud of, and we hope to continue to do so in the future," Lane said.
In response to the report on Thursday, a statement issued by Mayor Mitch Landrieu's communications department, on behalf of the French Market Corp., said the organization would consider a new, direct lease. The current lease is slated to end in February."