Murders in New Orleans? Curfew?
 

We are set to leave Jan. 12 for N.O. We are concerned about the possible curfew. Would appreciate any info. anyone from N.O. has regarding this prooblem. One news article said that the murders were outside of the French Quarter. But one was in the next neighborhood of Faubourg Marigny.

The neighborhood in Faubourg Marigny was described in the Times as "a picturesque neighborhood of old Creole cottages frequented by tourists and local residents escaping the crowds of the nearby French Quarter." The murdered woman was a college friend of my daughter, who e-mailed the news to me and added, "I just don't understand this world." My daughter has two little boys; the dead woman's 2-year-old son and her husband, a physician who worked in a charity clinic, will relocate to Canada where's he is from originally. This murder, which took place on Thursday morning, has already dropped from the top of the list of this year's murders in New Orleans. How could you think of vacationing in such a place?

I live in Faubourg Marigny and feel about as safe as I did last week...and I have a wife and two small children. Random senseless crimes happen everywhere. We unfortunately have lots of drug killings every year but they happen far from the Quarter and other "visited" areas. This one was close but, again, so far it's a very tragic isolated incident. Don't panic! I've read dozens of glowing reviews from folks who've been to NOLA recently and they loved it. You will too.

ps, Anonymous...I visited NYC frequently when crime was bad there. Never thought twice about it!

As for the curfew, nothing's been announced. It'll more than likely be for juveniles and/or limited to high-crime neighborhoods.

I live in New Orleansm as does one of my single, young adult daugthers. We feel safe and are happy with the national attention these horrible crimes are getting. They will crack down very fast on this due to the publicity - the mayor and governor are under heavy fire. I hope you will email both with your concerns. That's what will make the biggest difference for all of us.

Marycang, we haven't heard anything about the curfew being definite or if they'll actually do it. It would not affect the FQ or CBD anyway, or they'd have to shut the city down completely.

Dan, did you see that Besh bought LaProvence in Lacombe? We're so excited that LaProvence will be saved, especially by Besh.

Marcang, I hope you have a chance to eat at August while in NO!:)

Thanks to Dan and BayouGal for your info and your encouragement. To Anonymous, I understand your frustration when something so senseless happens, but I hope you would not say the same thing (quote:How could you think of vacationing in such a place?)to the victims husband such as "how could you choose to live in such a place?"

Choosing to live in a place in order to provide basic medical services to people who otherwise would have no access to care seems to be a good reason to live in difficult circumstances. We provided some financial and personal support for their efforts. As I mentioned above, he's leaving. A B&B in the neighborhood reported a similar invasion that morning, possibly the same individual, who fled when the police were called. He's still at large.

Crime happens everywhere. Like any large city, you need to use common sense. I was in NO this summer and felt completely safe at all times. The city needs our tourist dollars, go and enjoy your vacation. You'll have a great time!

There just was a recent very nicely done trip report on New Orleans, you should try to pull it up.

Please people - stop and think. Yes, there is crime in New Orleans. BUT there is also crime in New York, San Francisco, Dallas and lots of small towns all the way across the United States. Gawd forbid it happens to innocents, but that can happen any where, any time. In the meantime you can either go places you always wanted to see and show some smarts when visiting or you can sit at home and read all about places you never visited because you were worried.

Go to New Orleans and enjoy one of the greatest cities in our country.

I use the Fodor's forum frequently to gather information before my wife and I travel. We had planned to visit New Orleans for a long weekend beginning January 12th. I saw the post about the murder, went on line, read more about it and cancelled my flight and hotel reservations. Despite the comment that "crime happens everywhere", I do not feel that I need to put myself in the midst of it. I am also someone who travels to all types of places and am not easily concerned about my surroundings. However, I think there comes a point where one decides that there are many options for travel. Why select a city with pervasive crime? I live in a major metropolitan area so I am familiar with crime. However, I think tourists need to send a message that either crime must somehow be dealt with or tourist dollars will go elsewhere.

"Yes, there is crime in New Orleans. BUT there is also crime in New York, San Francisco, Dallas and lots of small towns all the way across the United States. "

Yes, crime happens everywhere. But more in some places than in others. Before Katrina, New Orleans had the nation's highest per capita murder rate, about 8 times the rate in NYC. It's difficult to determine the rate, nowadays, because nobody knows the current population. So there's just a body count and a police department in shambles.

http://www.city-journal.org/html/15_4_new_orleans.html

So it sounds like Anonymous wouldn't have recommended visiting New Orleans pre-Katrina either based on the murder rate. Really a shame. It's a wonderful city and dh & I love to visit. We were there in July and felt very safe.

Obviously you are putting yourself at risk anytime you venture outside your home - whether it be to travel or just drive to the store. We all weigh the hazards versus the rewards of our ventures and a visit to New Orleans is a great experience. I've never felt the least bit unsafe there (pre or post Katrina) as I have stayed ON the beaten path.

I live in Cincinnati - not a top tourist destination by far but a nice weekend trip for those in the midwest. Last year we had our highest murder rate and we've had several already this year. Would I tell people not to come here? No way! You just need to be smart about where you go.

We can't live in bubbles. To question someone for thinking of visiting New Orleans when the city is in desperate need of tourists dollars makes one part of the problem rather than the solution, IMHO.

"I've never felt the least bit unsafe there (pre or post Katrina) as I have stayed ON the beaten path."

Has anyone ever felt threatened by the panhandlers (or whatever they'd be called) on Bourbon Street? I haven't been there in probably 8 years, but prior to that I went 4-5 times in 2 years and they seemed to get more aggressive each time. The last time I was there one of them threatened to beat me up because I didn't give him 5 dollars for "shining" my shoes (sneakers) - you know, the routine where they whip out a rag and run it across your shoes and then expect money even though you didn't ask for the "service". Do they still pull that cr*p or have the cops moved them along?

Weasel - I was there a month before Katrina and dh & I were offered the shoe shine deal. Never thought it was threatening, just a little more creative than the standard "can you spare a dime?" When we went back this summer post-Katrina, we weren't asked for money (or offered a shoe shine) even once. Everyting was just much quieter in general.

Not an expert, but just returned from my fifth visit to NO this weekend. Found the crowds to be thinner despite the Sugar Bowl, but still plenty of people around the Quarter. On this trip I purposely kept our crowd in the Quarter as I felt it would be most populated. As a resident of a metropolitan area and frequent traveler, I always prefer a populated, albeit frenetic area, to a quieter seeming area. The crowd is your friend in most safety sitations. We had a wonderful trip. I will say that one of my daughter's college age friends got seperated from their group, despite being warned against this. He ended up getting beaten up by a fellow inmate after spending the night in jail. It was a sobering moment for all the kids as it should have been! For an adult with her head on straight and a reasonable personal curfew, I felt comfortable at all times.

All I can add is that you're really depriving yourself of a great trip if you let something like this change your plans. Sad. The French Quarter is alive and cleaner than ever, thanks to a new "clean" initiative. They have twice daily trash pickup and roving trash guys to pick up debris left behind by unthinking tourists!

Just chiming in to say that this stuff isn't detering me from visiting NOLA any more than the murders that happened a couple weeks ago in my city would deter me from living here. A high school classmate was murdered in San Francisco a few years back - doesn't prevent me from visiting that city either.

Crap happens - everywhere. I just live my life and hope to avoid the really bad stuff.

Hi all, I read Marycang's comments as she is concerned about getting to NO and having a curfew in affect. I had read NO was talking about putting a 8:00pm curfew in force a few days ago.
That would certainly put a damper on the trip unless perhaps the curfew, if it does go into affect, would not involve the French Quarter.

Marycang, is that what your concern was regarding visiting NO?

Keep an eye on www.nola.com - they have very current info on everything going on. I didn't read the article, but I just checked the site & the headline article has to do w/a proposed curfew. I would be surprised if it included FQ since that would only hurt local businesses and that area really is very safe (at least it was when I was there in July).

I live here, and I must say I can't blame a person who cancels. Sure, we need tourists and their dollars, but the city is a little out of control.
The randomness of the murders in the Marigny is a little frightening. That said, the area that they lived in was not great. I had a friend who had an apartment at that same corner and was robbed a number of times. That part of the Marigny is not the part tourists would go to, nor would they have a reason to. That said, they were two dynamic members of our city and we could have really used their positive contributions. It makes a person sometimes wonder if we shouldn't just leave this city to the criminals.
If you want to really put pressure on the state to end this violence, maybe letting them know the reasons you are not coming would be the best thing you could do for us in the long term.

See my previous posts on this thread. We Went, We Ate, We enjoyed, We loved the people. Just got home tonight. We loved the French Quarter, like the small European villages. Will write a trip report later. Thanks to all of you who encouraged us to go.
Mary

Glad you had a good time. I will anxiously await your trip report :) Our trip is 4 months out, so I am definitely in a New Orleans frame of mind.

Get the trip report on the boards, Mary! Curious minds are waiting.

I returned recently from New Orleans and would encourage anyone who wants to make the most of a short trip to visit the Crescent City. You really will see it all. Here's my trip report (with heavy emphasis on the culinary delights).

Saturday morning: Hit the streets by 8:00 AM. I was staying at the W near Harrah's and quickly found Central Grocery after a brisk walk. Before it opened at 10:00 am, I had consumed a fruit-punchy drink with some real professional drinkers at White's bar (the one that never closed during Katrina).

I meandered through the fog and headed back to the birthplace of the muffaletta. I was impressed by the Italian-style bread and size of the portions. Unfortunately, I purchased the olive mixture only to have in confiscated at the airport. Rats! The sandwich was huge and I had the same diner-history feeling that I had in LA at Phillpi's (home of the French Dip). The staff were quite friendly and helpful to the person in front of me, who asked for $40 of muffalettas. Joe Customer handed the staff the pad of paper that a friend had scribbled this order on and neither the counter staff nor the shopper were quite sure what to make of it ("Did you want $40 worth of sandwiches or $40 worth of the muff spread?” they asked. I don't know. I don't know what it is to begin with.")

After a profound four-hour tour of the city, cemeteries, empty homes, broken levies, I met up with my friends for some lunch at Bon Ton Cafe. The shrimp creole was just okay, but the Oysters Alvin were delicious and worth every penny.

I headed back to the FQ for some dessert (beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde). Now, I was starting to feel the stomach burn.

Dinner couldn't have worked out better. I was in the Big Easy with a party of 15 from around the country. These friends of mine wandered around the Quarter until we came up the Copper Monkey off of Bourbon Street and their $15 crawfish boils. We ate and drank in a real Bourbon Street Courtyard. A true gem, and it was great to hear the owners thanks us for being there. I've never been thanked for my gluttonous behavior before.

A few hurricanes and mojitos later at Pat O'Briens had me stumbling into Coops Place for a late night snack. I can't remember much about the meal.

The next day was a bit less stressful on the gastronomic level. I enjoyed a shrimp po-boy at Chartres Street Cafe. There are probably better sandwiches around but after going to a few places that were out of bread (the Saints had played the night before), I settled into this place for a bit.

Dinner was the crown jewel. The party reserved the banquet room at Dickie Brennans' Steak House. Wow! The oyster beignets kicked things off and then we were onto the gumbo. This is exactly what I was craving. The steaks were great and the dessert of praline mousse changed the way I look at pralines and mousse. The only downer was that there was a limited number of Washington state wines on their list, which is probably more Washington's distributing woes than Brennans.

I ended my blitz the next day at Mothers. For once, no line awaited. The Ferdi's Special was probably the best cure for a hangover in the history of boozing. The service was classic diner-ese. "What do you want, Babe?” the overstuffed employee asked. "You talking to me," I thought. I devoured the debris and all the other goodness and headed off to the airport.

A great exclamation point on a trip that reminded me just how unique and precious this fine city remains.

Shows you how good the culinary experience can be in N.O.

Dan your two dinner choices would not even make my top 30 list, yet they are still great experiences.