City Council on 2026-07-23 10:00 AM.
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Proclamation recognizing Lieutenant Sheila Celius
Good morning, everyone. It’s a day that we celebrate, and we certainly are sorry to see someone leaving the great New Orleans Police Department but moving on to different pursuits. On today, we celebrate and salute Lieutenant Sheila Celius, who I’m going to ask to come forward for a second and have a seat right here at the table. In fact, folks, I’m going to tell you that the camera is showing here, so why don’t you all come behind her and let’s have a little vision that the media can see with folks standing right behind her as I make this proclamation presentation. And I want you to know that that includes family, because you’re going to be in the photo, whoever is here. Thank you. On this day, we salute Lieutenant Sheila Celius on her retirement after 28 years of service to this community. Before I even read this proclamation, I’m going to hear from Chief Gernon and then going to hear from you afterwards. Thank you, Councilmember, and thank you to the council for taking the time to recognize such a stellar employee.
Speech by Chief Gernon
Thank you, Councilmember, and thank you to the council for taking the time to recognize such a stellar employee. 28 years of service to this community as a New Orleans police officer, and then several years before that as a sheriff's deputy, Sheila has dedicated her entire adult life to public service. She's one of those leaders that really understood that her role was not to seek the limelight or to be out in front, but to build the foundation so that her people can be successful. One of the adages that we have in leadership is that Sheila is one of those supervisors that would build the runways so that her people could soar in their jets and do their jobs well. And she did. Her last seven years in the police department, she led the Special Victims Division, which consists of some of the most heinous crimes that detectives see, sex crimes, child abuse, elderly abuse, domestic violence. And she got that unit into full compliance with the consent decree monitors way before the rest of the police department came along. And it was really her work, her tenacity, and her dedication to the survivors. You see that here. A lot of the members from the Family Justice Center are here, as well as her former colleagues. I mean, it is a testament to a supervisor when not only your subordinates, but stakeholders from across the spectrum of organizations that you work for come up to kind of show their support and show their love for her. So I want to personally thank you, Sheila. She and I served together during Katrina. She was a veteran detective when I was a rookie in the First District. I know everybody behind us has stories. Former Chief John Thomas, former Chief Jeanette Williams, former Chief Laurence Dupree. Everybody has those stories about how Sheila's leadership really kind of shaped this unit into what we expected it to be and a division that we can be proud of. So, again, thank you for recognizing her work and her lifelong work here. Thank you.
Lieutenant Sheila Celius remarks
Good morning, and thank you, Councilman Green. There's not much more I can say after the Chief gave such a good presentation on my career. I'm very thankful for this opportunity to be honored for simply doing my sworn duty to represent and serve my community. I have been very blessed throughout my career to be mentored by very strong leadership, and some of them are even here today to support me, former Deputy Superintendent John Thomas, former Deputy Superintendent Lawrence Dupree, and, of course, my current Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gurn. Without their mentorship, I don't think I would have become the leader that I became, and I just hope and appreciate everything that everybody's doing for me today simply because I just did my job. I'd like to hear from everyone else, but I'm going to ask two special people to come forward to the mic, Thomas and Dupree. Come to that mic and speak to the public about the contributions of Lieutenant Sheila Celius. I thought if I wore my Sanoff shirt, you'd give me a break. You're a smart man.
Remarks by Thomas
I met Sheila a while back when we was in the 3rd District, and she was a new sergeant, and I had the opportunity to kind of groom her. My leadership style is a lot different than a lot of people. I'm kind of laid back, but I'm always watching, and I'm always trying to teach and train. And so I poured into her that I knew she would be a good leader at some point, and as she matriculated through the ranks, she became even more than what I expected from a leader. She was very firm, but she was very fair, and I appreciated that. And she was by the book, and she walked a straight arrow, and that's all you can ask of a leader. You just show and lead by example, and that's what Sheila did. And you had a very, very productive career, and I'm glad to see it come to this point. Thank you. Thank you.
Remarks by Dupree
Good morning. Keep it short and sweet. I would have dressed up if I knew I would have had to speak. But congratulations, Lieutenant Sheila Celius, a well-deserved vacation, and you're going to enjoy yourself on the other side of retirement. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Proclamation read and photo session
Whereas the City of New Orleans is renowned for its food festivals, famous citizens, such as Lieutenant Sheila Celius, and foreign visitors, and whereas the City Council takes great pride in paying tribute to events and activities, now therefore be it proclaimed by the City of New Orleans that the New Orleans City Council today recognizes proudly Lieutenant Sheila Celius. Congratulations on a well-earned retirement from the New Orleans Police Department after 28 years of extraordinary service. You leave behind a legacy that few will ever match. From leading the Special Victims Unit to helping shape initiatives like Bryan's Call, you earned the respect of everyone around you through your integrity, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to doing what was right. When others needed answers, you were the one that they called. When friendship was needed, you stepped forward. You didn't seek recognition. You earned it through action, professionalism, and service. And all of that is on this proclamation, and it's signed by all seven members of the City Council. On behalf of the entire citizenry of the entire city, I say thank you very much. much for 28 years well served and thank you for all of your commitment and motivation and know that you've made a tremendous difference in the city and that we appreciate it. Thank you.
HDLC denial motion for 1510 Religious Street
Deterioration. However, the HDLC guidelines do not allow for maintaining the appearance of delaminated stucco. Further, the brick at this building is soft lake brick and is showing signs of delamination, powdering, and missing mortar joints. While staff appreciates the aesthetic concern of the applicant, the main interest of the HDLC in this matter is the level of deterioration of the masonry. Unfortunately, this look of deterioration has long been romantically associated with a quaint New Orleans mystique that is understandably appealing to many. However, in reality, it is the result of moisture intrusion that indicates masonry deterioration. If left unaddressed, this can lead to the failure of the material, which is why it is referred to as demolition by neglect, as can be indicated in several recent partial building collapses around New Orleans. Best practice would be to repoint all of the failing and missing mortar joints and have a new coat of HDLC approved stucco applied to all elevations. However, we cannot require that the exposed masonry on the right and rear elevations that do not have a history of being encapsulated with stucco and have new coat of stucco, although staff would recommend it. Staff recommends denial of the retention to maintain the current level of deterioration of the masonry and recommends at least the mortar is repointed and the delaminated stucco is repaired. Thank you. This motion affirms the HDLC's decision of denial and denies the applicant's request to retain deteriorated masonry and stucco. As the HDLC noted, the deterioration is the result of moisture intrusion and indicates masonry deterioration. I encourage the applicant to heed the HDLC's recommendation to repoint the mortar and repair the delaminated stucco on the building. Accordingly, I'm moving to affirm the HDLC's decision. I've moved. Can I get a second? Seconded. Seconded by Council Vice President Willard. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Six yays.
Zoning Docket 6126 - 131 Broadway Street (Neighborhood Commercial Establishment)
At the top of page 13, item 8, legislative grouping zoning docket 6126, Ignatius J Morales Jr, requesting a conditional use to permit a neighborhood commercial establishment in an HURD2 Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District on Square 17, Lots 21A in the 6th Municipal District, bounded by Camp Audubon Magazine and Broadway Street. The municipal address 131 Broadway Street. The recommendation of the CPC being for approval, subject to three provisos. We have motion M26286 by Councilmember McCarran, approving the applicant's request for zoning docket 6126, subject to three provisos recommended by the city planning staff report. CPC? This is an existing mixed-use structure that is located at the corner of Broadway Street and Camp Street. The immediate past use was a photography studio that operated there for 16 years until relocating in summer of 2025. The applicant proposes to find a new tenant and resume commercial operations as one of the seven permitted use under the neighborhood commercial establishment category. Located in a residential zoning district, a neighborhood commercial establishment is deemed conditional use in the HURD2 district. As designed, the building will remain exactly the same, maintain its historic footprint, and the proposed commercial use is allowable under the master plan, which allows for businesses to be re-established in non-residential structures. Overall, CPC considers the reuse of this non-residential structure to be a reinvestment, not only in the property itself, but in the quality of life of residents of surrounding properties. Two speakers spoke in support of the request, finding the commercial use at this location had existed for approximately 100 years. Since the neighborhood commercial establishment use only allows a very limited amount of low-impact commercial uses and does not allow standard restaurants or bars, the commission felt comfortable supporting the request and recommended approval subject to three provisos. Thank you. And I have one comment card from Joe Morales. Good morning. Thank you. Members, this property, as CPC said, lost its non-conforming status after a previous tenant moved out last year, so the owner is pursuing a conditional use to bring this property back into circulation. It has operated commercially since at least 1916 when it opened as a grocery store. This has a long history of low-impact neighborhood uses, most recently operated as a photography studio. The neighborhood commercial establishment will not increase traffic or noise given the long history of similar uses, and the upstairs unit will remain residential, meaning there's no substantial change and we did not receive any opposition to this. So therefore, I move the motion. to approve motion M 26 to 86 seconded by councilmember Harris all those in favor any opposed 5 yeas no nays thank you.
Confetti Kids Confetti's Park project
Hello, Russell Blanchard, 811 Opelousas Avenue in Algiers. Just wanted to thank everyone for their support. This has been something our community has been working on for well over 10 years to create a new park and new green safe place to play for the kids in Algiers. So there's been a lot of hurdles along the way and we've had a few discussions in this chamber, but just wanted to thank everyone personally and some of our board members are here in support of this and just wanted to say thank you to Mayor Helena Moreno. Thank you to Council Member King and the whole District C staff, past and present, with a special shout out to Mr. Chuck Toney. Thank you to Brenda Brough and Miss Tiffany Lawson with Nora, who's here today, who has been big supporters of this project. I just want to also thank the Department of Property Management staff, who's helped us tremendously. Mr. Trey Nobles, Ashley, and Miko, who did our site plan. Also, thank you to CPC Brownfields and Miss Carrie Godshow. Thank you to Larry Massey and Rachel Berg with the CPC, who helped us in these chambers. Thank you to McKinley Essert and Missy Quigley with the Legal Department. Thank you to Craig Foundas with the Office of Community Development and thank you to Miss Natasha Robinson with NORD, because this will be a NORD park once we have our ribbon cutting and install our play structure. I just want to also thank all our community members over the last 10 years who have helped us get this all the way to here with fundraisers and support. Thank you to former Council Member Palmer, who helped us in years past. And an extra special shout out to Miss Rochelle Ulich, who's here today, who's been our champion for many years pushing this through all these offices and halls. So, thank y’all for being such a big supporter. And we have a little gift for shirts that our board brought that she will hand out to y’all and y’all could distribute to your staff. We have many sizes, so y’all will work with those as y’all see fit. Don’t want to get into a shouting out t-shirt sizes right now. But thank y’all so much. Thank you. We'll have someone come and get the t-shirts and pass them out. While that's being done, we have Miss Rochelle. He just pronounced the last name. Rochelle Ulich, Director of Strategic Property Initiatives for OCD. Just want to thank the Council, Mayor Moreno, Council Member King, and thank the Confetti Kids Board for their patience and their tenacity moving this park through to development. It's going to be really important for the children of Algiers, and it's been an honor to be a part of it. Thanks.
Buffalo Soldiers Recognition and Buffalo Soldiers Day
Presentation John Anderson 9th Cavalry and 25th Infantry Regiments Buffalo Soldiers of Louisiana recognizing the 168th anniversary of the Buffalo Soldiers. Today we celebrate in advance of July 28th, the 168th anniversary of the formation of the Buffalo Soldiers. The Buffalo Soldiers were formed in 1866 with six regiments. They later became known as the Buffalo Soldiers. In July of 1992 President George H.W. Bush issued Proclamation 6461 which designated July the 28th next week as a annual day of recognition for the Buffalo Soldiers. Today we have gentlemen and family members who are strongly supportive of continuing to recognize the work of the Buffalo Soldiers which is a historic group that paved the way for others to participate in the military but also in society. Their bravery was commended. They participated in numerous battles over in fact 200 operations and also a number of members have been accepted and have received medals of honor. It's important for us to recognize history and to know that here in New Orleans the 9th Cavalry Regiment the first of the regiments to organize was formed in New Orleans and the 25th Infantry Regiment was also organized in New Orleans and served at Jackson Barracks for a year. The Buffalo Soldiers are trailblazers. We should be proud or we are proud of the work that has been done over the centuries involving this organization and as we celebrate the 160th year since the formation I just want to thank you all and brought you before the City Council so that my fellow members and the public could see you as we say thank you for continuing to share with us the history and the stories that make the Buffalo Soldiers what they are.
Dr. Keith Ferdinand National Physician of the Year
Presentation, recognizing Dr. Keith Ferdinand as the American Heart Association's 2026 Physician of the Year. This honor recognizes decades of contributions to heart health, education, and mentorship, including work with Tulane University Medical School and community health initiatives. Dr. Ferdinand is joined by his wife, Dr. Daphne Ferdinand, and their family. Councilmembers offer congratulations and praise for his service and impact on health equity in New Orleans. The Ferdinand family shares remarks about his career and commitment to the city, including his work in the Ninth Ward and community health initiatives after Hurricane Katrina.
Adjournment
Can we make a motion to adjourn?