Friday, April 07, 2006
Council asks Nagin to abandon landfill
Mayor gives no sign that he will comply
TIMES PICAYUNE
By Frank Donze
Staff writer
(excerpt)
Prodded by widespread community opposition to a proposed construction debris landfill in eastern New Orleans, a unanimous City Council called on Mayor Ray Nagin to drop the idea Thursday and examine other options to dispose of Katrina-related refuse.
"The mayor did not consult with us," said the Rev. Luke Nguyen, associate pastor at Mary Queen of Vietnam, the Catholic church that has long served as a community center and rallying point for the city's Vietnamese population, which has pledged to rebuild.
Nguyen said a landfill would have a "devastating effect on the health and quality of life" of his community.
"Do you want to be known as the dump of New Orleans?" he asked. "We don't."
"But there is no state of emergency that justifies stifling our democratic rights," he said. ". . . This is America, not Communist Vietnam."
LPNS COMMENTARY: This issue was first broached by the Peggy Wilson campaign several weeks ago when she asked for a full scale investigation.
