August 25, 2021
“How did housing become so expensive in the United States, and how can the problem be solved?”
Here is what some people, and Redmellon, are saying. It’s time to get with a new program.
March 1, 2021
Who gets to live where? Land use issues affect us all whether you know it or not.
Read Neal’s thought provoking op-ed here.
July 29, 2020
Water, water everywhere …
What to do with all the rain? It’s a crucial question for New Orleanians. The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority has an idea. Shoutout to N.O.R.A. for showcasing the importance of green infrastructure. Be sure to check out this cool little oasis of Stormwater Management next time you’re in Central City or check out their other installations around town.
March 5, 2020
A Note from Our Sponsor:
@PreservationToolkit: Using Instagram to Build Connections and Content in New Orleans
October 1, 2019
The Preservation Toolkit Launches
The Preservation Toolkit is an online resource that presents the challenges and solutions associated with rehabilitating a suite of historic buildings on Canal Street, New Orleans. By sharing a series of videos and research documents, we hope to inspire mission-driven architects, developers and planners to pursue main street revitalization efforts in their own cities. The toolkit covers a range of topics, including the architectural, financial, legal, construction and historical issues involved in historic rehabilitation. How do we treat historic spaces that have been sites of core Civil Rights Movement activities? Follow the Preservation Toolkit here.
ACLU Lawsuit vs. City of New Orleans over Anti-Trump Mural (Mural Reform in New Orleans)
7-16-19
Last Tuesday the case of Morris v. City of N.O. was decided on Summary Judgment. It was a total victory for the First Amendment. The case arose when a local property owner (this one) allowed a mural on his property. A neighbor complained and the City threatened fines and jail. The ACLU stepped in and volunteered to sue the City. It’s those pesky amendments. The 1’st and 14’th.
The Nola Mural Project was founded to encourage reform of the law. We presented a list of reasonable compromises for a revised mural ordinance. (I don’t think compromise is a bad word and I never viewed the city government as my enemy. I still don’t.) But they decided to go it alone. They’d draft their own ordinance and we could comment at the public hearing.
“We got this,” they said.
“Not so fast,” said the judge.
So as of now if you want to paint a mural in the city of New Orleans and you have the permission of the property owner you can just do it. No application fee. No sketch or drawing required. No mural review committee. Resist. Or just put a bird on it. Or something in between. Just go out and create. You are only limited by your imagination and your ability.
I am so very grateful for the work of the ACLU. It’s easy to agree to be represented pro bono. But good lawyering is hard. The Nola Mural project would not exist but for the tireless volunteer labor of @annesouvignier and @sophie_peach , the 24 (and counting!) wall owners who agreed to have art painted on their walls without a permit, and the amazing, kickass artists who chose to work with us. Your work is SPEECH. CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED SPEECH!
Great work guys. The victory is yours!
And to the #cityofyes I say the victory is actually yours too. Vibrant, diverse art makes us a better city. The offer to sit down and come up with something constitutional still stands. I’ll meet you in front of the Dr. John mural on Toledano?
Not sure what is to come for the NMP. Open to suggestions.
Peace out. I’m going swimming.
-Neal Morris
Ready for Our Close Up
The Redmellon West office was featured in the May/June 2019 Issue of Sunset Magazine. Said Redmellon founder Neal Morris, “Wow, I sure do come off as pretentious. That’s not even in the top 5 of my character flaws. That camp sure does look good though.” For the full story click here.
Statement RE: ACLU Lawsuit vs. City of New Orleans over Anti-Trump Mural (Mural Reform in New Orleans)
Today the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in federal court on my behalf against the City of New Orleans over the City’s unconstitutional mural ordinance. Here’s how it went down.
My friend Cashy-D painted this mural at my warehouse:
There isn’t much to it but Cashy-D saw it as a slight act of resistance. Why is it acceptable for the President of the United States to grab women by their genitals? I posted a pic of the mural and soon thereafter the City of New Orleans ordered me to take it down. (You might think that an artist can paint on his or her own property without government permission….. and you would be wrong.)
Or as the City delicately put it in their Violation Notice, “The penalty for failure to comply is a maximum fine or jail time for each and every day the violation continues…” Laissez les bons temps rouler indeed.
Keep in mind that we aren’t talking about painting art on public property and we aren’t talking about illegal tagging on private property. This is the City of New Orleans threatening jail time over a citizen painting art on his or her own property.
So what does it take to legally obtain a mural permit? Who knows. The process is so complex, so onerous, and so arbitrary as to be a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. A mural permit requires multiple pages of applications, a sketch of the proposed art, a minimum $500 fee, and a 3-6 month wait while EIGHT different agencies, staffs, and panels weigh in on whether the art will be allowed. They can't articulate the standards being applied and at the end of the process you may or may not get your permit. There isn’t even agreement within City Hall over which city law should be applied. I was told, “We need to figure it out and we will get back to you.” They didn’t.
I’m not sure what led to this mess but I suspect it was honorable people with good intentions doing the best they can in an imperfect world. But they got it wrong and it is time to make it right.
Never missing an opportunity to stir the pot, Cashy D then painted this.
And for good measure, this.
And the kick ass Jules Muck painted this.
The City of New Orleans cited me for those as well (even after I explained that the Muck Bunnies were just doing a special kind of bunny hug that a mommy bunny and daddy bunny do when they love each other very, very much.)
Maybe you can see where this is going.
The ACLU reached out and asked if I would like their assistance. Well, yes, I would. Like Michael Dukakis on his tank I am a proud, card-carrying member of the ACLU. We filed a few public records requests and, HUGE surprise here….the City of New Orleans selectively enforces the mural ordinance!
For example, suppose your mural does not depict cartoon breasts, is not critical of President Trump, and also you are Yoko Ono. No permit required!
It is true. Mad respect to Ms. Yoko Ono but her lovely “HAVE YOU SEEN THE HORIZON LATELY?” (which was painted on the exterior of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art as part of the Prospect 4 Exhibition) still does not have a mural permit.* Not surprisingly, the Ogden Museum was never cited for a zoning violation. I’m sure Ms. Ono and the Ogden were doing as instructed but there shouldn't be one set of rules for them and another for you or me or Cashy-D.
The City also gives a pass to muralists who didn't release Plastic Ono Band (1972). For example, they give a pass to themselves.
Here’s a super cool mural painted this past Fall by Ryan Christenson on a City-owned fire house at 801 Girod St.
Nice, right? But did the City of New Orleans follow its own procedure? (Hint: No, they didn’t.)**
The way the City decides whom to give a permit and whom to cite for a violation is arbitrary and inconsistent. It is also just plain wrong.
If an artist wants to create a work of art on her own building she shouldn’t have to submit a sketch the City and have a bunch of men on the Architectural Review Committee of the Historic District Landmarks Commission give her feedback on whether they think her art is aesthetically pleasing. Just let her create.
The Arts Council of New Orleans is an important non-profit organization. They project images on buildings. They are the custodian of city-owned art. They attend meetings. Clearly they do a lot of great work. But they shouldn’t be weighing in at all on whether an artist should be issued a permit to create art on her own property. This is to you Arts Council: Whether it is just for your technical expertise (as you told me) or for your aesthetic judgment (as the City told me) you shouldn't be involved. Anything that adds another layer of process and bureaucracy stands in the way of an artist creating his work. Shouldn't you want to make it easier for artists to create? When the City asks you to be a part of this convoluted process politely tell them, “No,” and get out of the way.***
As you might be able to tell from the sentence above, I am not particularly tied into the art scene. And I am certainly not an artist. But I support artists and their first amendment right to freedom of expression. It isn't a pose. It’s me.
I love street art because it is so democratic. You don't need to drop thousands of dollars in a gallery. All you have to do is look up. I don’t have to agree with a political message to respect the art and occasionally there is street art I dislike. But so what? Vibrant diverse art makes for vibrant diverse communities. Occasionally being confronted with something we find distasteful is preferable to living in a city where bureaucrats and busybodies decide what we see.
From what I understand, even within City Hall there is some acknowledgement that the existing process needs to be reformed. I hope so. I would love for this to be an opportunity for the current and incoming mayoral administration to create an ordinance that is more than just barely constitutional. Should that be our goal? Barely constitutional? Barely Legal? We can do better. New Orleans is a City that celebrates difference and our mural ordinance should reflect this. This is an opportunity for the City of New Orleans to be a progressive leader in how we treat artists. Let’s revise our mural ordinance so that it is a progressive model for other cities.
So here is the call to action….
If you are a New Orleanian (or a lover of New Orleans) who supports the notion that vibrant diverse art makes for vibrant diverse neighborhoods and that Art By Committee is an awful idea I respectfully ask that you consider signing this Change.org petition for Mural Reform in New Orleans.
And follow Mural Reform Nola on Facebook.
#muralreformnola
Sincerely,
Neal Morris
Helpful Links:
The Complaint filed in Federal Court
The Change.org petition for Mural Reform in New Orleans
The Mural Reform Nola Facebook Group.
Neal Morris on Instagram
Neal Morris on Twitter
Cashy-D on Instagram
Any images in this post may be used freely by anyone. All photos by © Neal Morris
* They have a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Landmarks Commission but that is just one of many, many required steps in the process. The Certificate of Appropriateness was issued after the mural was already being painted.
**The Historic District Landmarks Commission voted to deny the mural because it felt the mural did not, “enhance the design quality and character of the surrounding community.” They also noted that, “due to the zoning district of the station, a private owner would not be allowed to add a mural and the City should follow its own rules.” But the City Planning commission overruled the HDLC. Then in response to a Public Records Request the City said there was no record of a permit being issued. They really need to get their act together.
***At 3:13 p.m. on 3-13-18 the staff of the HDLC informed me that the “informal” practice of soliciting input from the Arts Council was discontinued after my inquiry into the practice in November of last year. This is progress!
THANKS FOR ASKING ....
The New Orleans Times Picayune asks,"Would You Want This Edgy Trump Mural in Your Neighborhood?" Why yes, actually we would ... First Amendment Rülz. Busybodies Drülz.
JUST WHAT ARE WE REGISTERING FOR?
I believe safe decent affordable housing is a fundamental right. But the proposed mandatory registry for rental apartments in New Orleans is an awful idea. Read More of Neal's Op-Ed on Nola.com
DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK
July 26, 2016
... ghettos in America have remained the central point of reference for anyone who wants to understand poverty and segregation. Read more ... from the New Yorker
NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP?
For the love of god, keep adding homes. Keep adding homes so things don’t get any worse and you’re not trapped in a lose-lose-lose shitstorm like San Francisco. Read more ... from Medium.com
WHAT WAS AND WHAT NEVER SHALL BE
May 23, 2016
Yet for almost every New Yorker, the zoning code plays an outsize role in daily life, shaping virtually every inch of the city. Read more ... from The New York Times
No Parking HERE:
January 26, 2016
You've heard about how robocars are going to upend the economy. But have you thought about what they'll do to urban space? Read more ...from The New Republic
PARKS AND REQ'S
January 7, 2016
Why am I making this pledge? The reason is simple. Government has been a terrible predictor of human behavior – and minimum parking requirements is a zoning standard predicated on human behavior. Read more ... from StrongTowns.org
A FEW MEW-SINGS ON DEVELOPMENT
November 25, 2015
If you watch enough zoning hearings, the testimony begins to sound pretty repetitive. That novel argument you’re making? The Council members have heard it a million times before. Here are 9 of the things we hear most often at zoning hearings, illustrated by cats. from Austin on Your Feet.com
BEYOND SEMANTICS
July 7, 2015
A GLOBAL DEBATE IS RAGING INSIDE THE ARCHITECTURE COMMUNITY OVER WHO EARNS THE TITLE "ARCHITECT." Read more from Co.Design
PATIENCE v. SATISFACTION
June 16, 2015
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development embraced the trapezoid, dubbed Iberville-Treme, along with an exhaustive New Orleans plan that called for 2,314 apartments constructed within 54 months.
Yet after 48 months — four years — the work in New Orleans is far from done. Read more ... from NextCity.org
A DECADE OF DOINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
June 1, 2015
Almost the first thing I learned about New Orleans was how little I understood about Katrina. Read more ... from The New Yorker
I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE ...
May 20, 2015
Protected bike lanes are now officially star-spangled.
Eight years after New York City created a Netherlands-inspired bikeway on 9th Avenue by putting it on the curb side of a car parking lane, the physically separated designs once perceived as outlandish haven't just become increasingly common from coast to coast Read more from People for Bikes.org
IBERVILLES IN THE BLOGOSPHERE
April 29, 2015
New Orleans has never been a city of high-rises but of unique, colorful single-family homes.
Yet nearly ten years into our recovery from Hurricane Katrina, Read more from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Leadership Forum
CONNECTING THE DOTS to ECOLE BILINGUE
April 24, 2015
In a move sure to win the hearts of tactical urbanists and placemakers alike, an otherwise solely functional intersection is being transformed into a community destination for Chicagoans — rather painlessly and inexpensively. Read More. from NextCity.org
A ROSE IS A ROSE…OR NOT
March 26, 2015
New Orleans City Council Members
Trade Personal Accusations Over Street Name Changes.
from the New Orleans Advocate
