New Orleans, LA

January 2010

Krewe de Recovery

Heavy winds from Hurricane Katrina damaged a Mardi Gras icon, Gallier Hall. Funding obligated by FEMA, more than $137,000, helped repair the historic building.

You know, Gallier Hall was one of the original city halls. This is where government pretty much took care of its business. It???s a historic building, it???s now a place where we have Mardi Gras celebrations, movies have been filmed here and lots of public events.

It is a Mardi Gras icon. As a matter of fact, when people look around the world and look at New Orleans during Mardi Gras, the mayor toasting the King of Carnival, it???s from right in front of this building. Mardi Gras stands are built right in front of Gallier Hall.

I mean, we???re celebrating the 154th year of Mardi Gras this year and Gallier Hall has been here probably for each one of those years.

We basically had a King Cake celebration. King Cake is a traditional treat in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. We also had all the Mardi Gras Krewes here, Rex was here, Zulu was here and we kind of introduced the Mardi Gras Season to the public.

This is my last year, I???m into my 8th year. My last day in office is May 3rd of 2010. So this is my final Mardi Gras. So, it???s going to be a fun time.

Well the recovery has definitely picked up steam. We???re starting to see a lot more movement from the FEMA organization. PWs are moving, the values are moving up, we???re getting more buildings declared. So the recovery is really starting to take hold. People can see, touch and feel it now.

Mardi Gras has always been a sign of recovery. I had a very tough decision to make right after Hurricane Katrina hit, whether we would have a Mardi Gras that year right after.  And I decided to go with it, and it was kind of a homecoming of sorts. And every year it has been building, and we hope this year we???ll get back to 1 million people on the streets of the City of New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day.

For more information visit www.FEMA.gov.