Whiplash Nagin on NOLA and Ground Zero

On a tour of the decimated Ninth Ward, Nagin tells Pitts the city has removed most of the debris from public property and it’s mainly private land that’s still affected – areas that can’t be cleaned without the owners' permission. But when Pitts points to flood-damaged cars in the street and a house washed partially into the street, the mayor shoots back. "That’s alright. You guys in New York can’t get a hole in the ground fixed and it’s five years later. So let’s be fair."

Mayor Ray 'Whiplash' Nagin thinks that folks shouldn't complain about the situation in NOLA because of the problems with rebuilding at New York's Ground Zero. Well, there are a couple of ways of looking at this. One is that we're five years into a building process at Ground Zero that includes bureaucratic infighting between Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Pataki, Gov. Corzine, Speaker Silver, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Port Authority, and Larry Silverstein, questions over how to best memorialize those who were murdered by the Islamic terrorists on 9/11 and tons of other issues big and small that are slowly getting resolved. Yet, construction has begun on the transit hub, memorial, and even the Freedom Tower.

NOLA has widespread devastation many times greater than that of Lower Manhattan and many of the same issues facing the rebuilding at Ground Zero, except that it was Whiplash Nagin who was a one-man bureaucratic infight. He reversed himself on key decisions in the early stages of rebuilding so many times that businesses and residents had (and continue to have) little idea about whether or where they can and should rebuild. That there is still debris on the streets where those items should have been removed suggests that Nagin ought to take a closer look at how effectively he's managed the cleanup. He's right to note that the city can't remove debris from private property without permission of the owners, but in instances where debris is on the streets, it should have been cleared. Lawsuits have limited the cleanup in some areas as owners seek to limit the city's ability to clear condemned properties.

In NYC, they managed to clear the debris from Ground Zero within 9 months, and restored the subway through that area, along with the temporary PATH station within 18 months. Other damaged buildings in the area were restored and renovated, although there are still problems with the Deutsche Bank building and Fiterman Hall, both of which need to be deconstructed due to the structural damage sustained in the 9/11 attacks.

Meanwhile, we're still hearing about cars and other debris lining the streets today in New Orleans. Maybe Nagin should focus on those issues - the ones wholly within his control as Mayor of the city of New Orleans instead of deflecting the criticism by saying that some other folks have done a worse job.

UPDATE:
Louisiana Governor Blanco has distanced herself from Nagin's comments, and the two continue their war of words over how much aid New Orleans is receiving, with Nagin complaining that the state is holding back on disbursing aid to the city. Actually, there's a really good question there - where is all the money that was provided to the Gulf Coast states going? Is it going to where it's needed, or has it gone down the rabbit hole never to be seen again - billions of taxpayer dollars wasted while the Gulf Coast residents continue to deal with inadequate infrastructure and failed state and local governments.

Others commenting on Nagin's comments aren't nearly as kind as I am. They include Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Take Back the Memorial, and Ed Driscoll.

UPDATE:
A spirited discussion of Nagin's comments and comparisons to Rudy's response in NYC is going on at Wizbang.