Ray Nagin Quotes (168 Quotes)

Hopefully in about 90 days we'll have a fully vetted plan for the citizens of New Orleans,

because it's a health risk.

I think the president for some reason probably did not understand the full magnitude of this catastrophe on the front end,

I think the federal government, the state government and local government are a lot smarter this time around,

We had people trapped on roofs, et cetera ... and they didn't know about it That's just impossible.

I think the president is really focused on the job at hand, and they are really starting to move, ... On almost anything that I want to do now, I get a nearly instantaneous response.

I think Congress and the federal government don't fully understand the risk to this jewel of New Orleans, ... They spend billions on the Everglades and on the Big Dig in Boston ... yet our COASTAL EROSION ISSUES ARE REAL, but we haven't had the corresponding investment.

This mayor is a very bright and innovative thinker. He is analytical, while at the same time being a risk-taker. I believe he was the perfect person to handle the monumental task dealt to this city as a result of Katrina.

Yesterday the broken city was filled with the noise of Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters and its still partly flooded highways were filled with rescue crews in flat-bottomed boats, searching those sections of the city still believed to have people living in them. The sounds of New Orleans were jazz, people laughing, people eating a good meal, ... And now the sounds of New Orleans are helicopters and army vehicles. This is almost surreal.

You need to listen very carefully, ... For the next two or three months, in this area, there will not be any commerce, at all. No electricity, no restaurants. This is the real deal. It's not living conditions.

We now have a comprehensive plan for rebuilding the city of New Orleans.

We're starting to make the kind of progress that I kind of expected earlier,

The city of New Orleans is in a state of devastation. We probably have 80 percent of our city underwater. With some sections of our city, the water is as deep as 20 feet.

It's something we're very excited about, ... It's something the mayor has been pushing for, because the Sewerage Water Board testing was showing good signs, but we needed the regulatory agency to sign off on it. We hope it makes it easier for citizens in New Orleans to live in their own homes, for those who still have homes.

New Orleans is coming back, ... Our culture is coming back. I want to listen to jazz. I'm tired of listening to helicopters.

When we allowed people to cross the Crescent City Connection because people were dying in the convention center, that was a decision based upon people, ... Now, if they made a decision based upon assets, to protect assets over people, and to have attack dogs and armed people with machine guns, then they're going to have to live with that.

Board up your homes, make sure you have enough medicine, make sure the car has enough gas,

Let me just say it one more time and make sure everybody understands it ... We will rebuild this entire city,

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild the greatest city in the world, ... It's been a wild ride, and we're getting ready to get on another wild ride.

We are looking at 12 to 16 weeks before people can come in, ... and the other issue that's concerning me is we have dead bodies in the water.

The city of New Orleans ... will start to breathe again, ... We will have life. We will have commerce. We will have people getting into their normal modes of operations and the normal rhythm of the city.

We have to convince them to leave. It's not safe here. There is toxic waste in the water and dead bodies and mosquitoes and gas. ... Fires have been started and we don't have running water.

There's fire coming out of the water, ... It's the weirdest thing you'll ever see.

I just can't wait for the rhythm of New Orleans and the sounds of New Orleans to come back.

Get people to higher ground and have the feds and the state airlift supplies to them -- that was the plan, man,

They don't have a clue what's going on down here, ... There's nothing happening. They're feeding the public a line of bull and they're spinning, and people are dying down here.

bringing it under control as we speak.

Chief Compass is loved by many and we will miss him,

We're going to have to deal with this perception as we're going forward.

We are facing a storm that most of us have long feared.

I think this is kind of a put-up-or-shut-up moment, ... How concerned are you, city of New Orleans, about fixing this problem . . . Are we going to be entertained by the violent nature of these murders, or are we really going to try to fix it What's the deal

Decisions were made to move resources and to not move resources that just don't make sense to me, and then, there was this incredible dance between the governor and the president about who had final authority, ... I just don't appreciate that kind of stuff when people are dying in my city.

Most of the experts are telling us that any house that was in flood waters for a couple of weeks where the water was above their (electrical) outlets, is probably a property that is going to be very difficult to renovate, ... All I know is that in some areas, houses will be demolished in significant numbers.

We anticipate that we could receive a storm surge of three to five feet. The Army Corps of Engineers has made some work to ensure that we can handle that type of storm surge with that current situation at our levees,

It has come to our attention that some of our mutual aid firefighters, in their enthusiasm to assist the New Orleans Fire Department, used a piece of equipment called the strong arm to demolish a storm-damaged building, ... They were unaware of the proper procedures and the 'chain of command' necessary to accomplish this task. Steps have been taken by the New Orleans Fire Department to ensure that this will not happen again.

Yet, the mayor said, My heart is heavy tonight, ... I don't have any good news to share.

The task at hand is to bring New Orleans back, ... However, we want everyone to assess the risks and make an informed decision about re-entry plans.

We want you to take this very seriously, ... This not a test. This is the real deal. And I don't want to panic you but I wanted to make sure you understand.

It's a good time to run for mayor because it'll be less poor, less black, less democratic.

It looks as though at this point there's a 50 to 60 percent chance that New Orleans will receive tropical force winds which is probably our biggest concern,

Get off your ass and get down here to fix the goddamn biggest disaster in the nation's history.

I am tired of hearing these helicopters. I wanna hear some jazz, ... awesome.

We must offer the people of New Orleans every chance for a sense of closure and the opportunity for a new beginning.

If we're unified, there's nothing we cannot do.

Thanks to a lot of partners, we are implementing a low cost solution that creates government efficiency and gives citizens free Internet access,

Promoting the return of commerce to New Orleans and the region is key if we are going to realize our common objective to bring New Orleans back,

We believe our re-entry plan properly balances safety concerns and the needs of our citizens to begin rebuilding their lives,

Anyone who is thinking about coming and staying, make sure that you are a very mobile person,

I understand they want to stay in their homes, but I tell you there is a very volatile situation in New Orleans at the moment,

Now is not the time to change leadership. I ask the citizens of New Orleans to let me continue this important job of rebuilding our city.