Demolition begins on abandoned Six Flags amusement park
'This is the jewel of New Orleans in terms of redevelopment, and we need to focus our attention on it,' Councilman Eugene Green said.
Local officials say the development will foster local businesses, create lasting jobs and bring the community together.
City announces Park and Ride transportation plan head of Big Game in New Orleans
'This development is about people,' Demetric Mercadel said, speaking on behalf of Rep. Troy Carter. 'It's about ensuring that New Orleans East has the opportunity to flourish and grow, and in a way that benefits everyone.'
Developers are turning the space into 'Bayou Phoenix', featuring a sports complex, family entertainment center, water park, movie production studio and much more.
'We think this is catalytic,' Bayou Phoenix Developer Troy Henry said. 'We think that at the end of the day, there will be a whole set of economic activities that will go on in this region as a result of this catalytic project.'
It's not just about building new amenities, but instead, a new future for the area.
'Let's make sure that we honor the people who live out here, and make sure we continue investing, because the community deserves it. The people deserve it,' Councilman Oliver Thomas said.
Construction is expected to start by the end of 2025.Next rain chance coming in Friday morning
Funding freeze threatens El Paso port expansion
Caroline Kennedy tells senators: RFK Jr. is a 'predator'
National Guard troops conduct training exercises along South Texas border
Disturbing messages seen in empty lot in downtown Los Angeles are not nefarious: LAPD
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eater
3 hours ago
- Eater
D.C. Restaurants Try to Keep Calm and Carry On as More Military Troops Roll In
It's only week two of President Donald Trump's so-called crime crackdown in D.C., and the city is already a chaotic spectacle — and the situation is clearly spooking some customers from coming out to dine and drink during what is normally an already sluggish month for businesses. Chef Lincoln Fuge, who runs Present Company Public House in Chinatown, calls the federal response 'overkill.' He continues, 'We don't need National Guard troops from any state to be posted here. We are not perfect, but we are not a lawless dystopia that needs a military presence.' During his Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian president on Monday, Trump claimed the federal takeover had already made the city feel safer. The administration cites 450 arrests made so far. 'People who haven't gone out to dinner in Washington D.C. in two years are going out to dinner,' said Trump, claiming that restaurants are 'busier than they've been in a long time.' The numbers say otherwise. D.C. restaurant reservations have seen the sharpest fall among 20 large cities in America so far in August, per OpenTable numbers crunched by WUSA9. The study reported that the number of year-over-year diners dipped by 31 percent on Wednesday — two days after Trump ordered the National Guard to patrol Washington — and was also down every day after that. On Monday, August 18, online reservations dipped by 22 percent. The timing could not be worse for D.C.'s biannual Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week, which started on August 18 and runs through August 24, with a record 380 participants offering three-course deals to boost slower summer sales. Many opt to extend their deals into the following week. Federal agents walking along a row of Maine Avenue restaurants at the Wharf on Monday, August 18. Leo Lee The industry nonprofit group Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) tells Eater it's 'aware' of the OpenTable statistics that show a drop in reservations following the federal takeover announcement. 'Our members are concerned about the perception this creates, but we are cautiously optimistic that reservations will increase during Restaurant Week,' says RAMW, in a provided statement. The president's takeover is designed to reportedly address what he calls out-of-control crime in D.C., despite data from the Metropolitan Police Department showing violent crime at a historic 30-year low in the city. Over the weekend, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), U.S. Park Police, and members of the National Guard were seen out in full force. Monday night around 10 p.m. at the Wharf, Eater spotted six DEA-marked agents loitering outside of a deserted Hank's Oyster Bar (which is closed on Mondays). Protestors rally at Dupont Circle before marching to the White House on Saturday, August 16. Getty Images 'You know it doesn't make sense,' D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters during a Monday press conference. 'The numbers on the ground in the District don't support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington, D.C.' Meaghaan Tolman, the director of operations at Detroit-style pizza bar Red Light, sums up the downtown mood as 'super somber,' especially on her restaurant's 14th Street corridor. The go-to industry hot spot typically slings square slices and shots until 1 a.m. on weekdays. But on Wednesday night, when federal agents set up lit-up checkpoints on the nightlife strip, Red Light's business completely died down after 8 p.m. — leaving her no choice but to cancel its weekly karaoke party. 'We had nothing [Wednesday] night,' she says. 'No one was there. It was a ghost town.' Khalid Pitts, who co-owns Cork Wine Bar down the street, agrees the extra policing is a turn-off. 'They're making their presence felt and not in a way that makes people feel safe,' says Pitts. Bars at the nexus of 14th and U streets — a prime nightlife corridor currently being patrolled by federal officers — are especially feeling the burn. Crush Dance Bar, the LGBTQ+-friendly hangout with a popular back patio, saw a 50-percent drop in Friday sales. 'Washingtonians leaving the city to avoid the chaos on top of a reduction of tourism is crippling small businesses,' co-owner Mark Rutstein told The Advocate. Revolt, a new U Street gay bar with an ironic name for the times, acknowledges its opening weekend (August 22-23) comes during a difficult moment for the industry. 'The heavy police presence has made many in our community feel unsafe,' reads a statement from ownership. 'Amidst the chaos in D.C., our community's safe spaces are hurting. LGBTQ+ venues across the city need our support now more than ever.' Some diners were spotted out and about last night. Weekly event ShowTune Mondays at JR's appeared packed in Dupont, and the Union Market district felt active. The Banksy-styled ode to D.C.'s 'Sandwich Guy' in the Union Market district. Emily Venezky/Eater DC Some restaurants are taking extra steps to protect employees and customers, according to one experience a customer relayed to Eater. At 9:45 p.m. on Sunday night, when Minetta Tavern got word that federal agents were in Union Market, a manager locked the doors and closed the blinds, letting after-dinner guests stay inside to wait for their Ubers. One block away at the corner of 4th and Neal streets, a new mural pays homage to D.C.'s latest celebrity: Sean Charles Dunn, a now-former DOJ employee who went viral after he famously threw a Subway sandwich at a federal officer last week. Banksy-styled graffiti art of a man hurling a sub is now tagged all over the city, and 'Sandwich Guy' sparked a line of T-shirts and Free DC campaign slogans. It remains unclear how the deployment of 1,000 more troops will impact the already tense tone of the town. 'Federal action should build on our progress, not discourage people from going to work or going out to eat,' RAMW tells Eater. 'When seats are empty, the impact is felt by everyone, from servers to cooks, and operators to suppliers.' One of the Restaurant Week participants is British pub Duke's Grocery, which offers $25 lunch and $40 dinner deals to include its famed Proper burger and toffee pudding. 'D.C. thrives when we show up. Now is the time to be present — in our neighborhoods, our local shops, our bars and restaurants, our gyms, dry cleaners, and coffee shops,' owner Daniel Kramer tells Eater. 'We've weathered COVID and government shutdowns, and we'll get through whatever comes next.' —Emily Venezky contributed to this report
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
What is Trump approval rating? See polls amid Alaska summit, DC takeover, TX redistricting
President Donald Trump's approval rating remains low as voters seem frustrated with Trump's August tariffs and his sweeping budget bill passed in early July. An average of recent polls from the New York Times shows that his approval rating as of Aug. 14 is 44%, with 53% disapproving of his performance. This average has remained largely steady over the past month, but some individual polls have found his support dropping to near-record lows. That includes a new Pew Research Center poll, which found his approval rating at 38%. In the past week, Trump has prepared to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine, he deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to fight unsubstantiated crime, and a California pushback over Texas redistricting urged by Trump's operatives has continued. Here's what some of the most recent polls show about Trump's presidential job approval rating as of Aug. 4. What is Trump's current presidential approval rating?Disapprove +22 (38% approve, 60% disapprove) Poll taken Aug. 4-10 3,505 registered votersDisapprove +12 (42% approve, 54% disapprove) Poll taken Aug. 9-11 1,635 adults Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies Disapprove +5 (46% approve, 51% disapprove) Poll taken July 29 – Aug. 3 1,000 adultsDisapprove +16 (40% approve, 56% disapprove) Poll taken July 25-27 1,023 adults1,400 registered voters Disapprove +1 (46% approve, 47% disapprove) Poll taken July 21-22 This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What is Trump approval rating amid Alaska summit, DC takeover?
CNN
5 days ago
- CNN
Trump's policies have already hurt New York City. Now he's threatening a federal takeover of the city
Donald Trump ImmigrationFacebookTweetLink Follow President Donald Trump is threatening to seize control of New York City. But the city may face even bigger problems from Trump's policy agenda than the military potentially marching through Central Park or Times Square. 'I'm going to look at New York in a little while,' Trump said Monday while he took federal control of Washington, DC's police force and mobilized National Guard troops. This follows Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in June. But it's the Trump administration's economic and immigration policies that are already damaging America's largest city and may hurt its future. These policies – along with GOP cuts to the social safety net — could also stymie Zohran Mamdani's affordability agenda. Mamdani, the democratic socialist favored to become New York City's next mayor, won the Democratic primary in an upset victory on promises to make the nation's most expensive city more affordable. 'Broadly, the city's economy and public safety are in a strong place. The risks to them at this moment are largely coming from Trump and the erratic nature of tariffs,' said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a previous mayoral candidate who has endorsed Mamdani. Trump's tariff policies 'pose very real risks to the global economy and cities that are closely tied into it — New York City, first and foremost.' New York City is on track this year to record the lowest number of shootings and murders in its recorded history. And its economy has bounced back from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The city lost 23% of its jobs during March and April 2020 but now has roughly 200,000 more jobs than it did pre-pandemic, according to the Labor Department. But Trump's trade war is weakening those hard-fought gains. New York City's thousands of businesses added just a net 956 private-sector jobs in the first half of the year. While that counted as growth, it was the slowest outside a recession in decades. 'Trump's policies create conditions that will likely be inconducive to job growth in the near future,' the left-leaning New School's Center for New York City Affairs said in a July report. Trump's policies are also keeping foreign tourists away from one of the most desirable cities in the world to visit. International tourism is expected to fall by 17% this year, or 2 million fewer travelers, led by Canadian visitors staying home after Trump threatened to annex the country. Meanwhile, Trump's deportation push is reverberating through New York City's economy, labor market and immigrant communities. New York State has roughly 670,000 undocumented immigrants, and 80% are in the workforce, mainly in food service, construction and home health care. The labor force participation rate in New York City among Hispanic men, one target of Trump's deportation efforts, has dropped 3.6 percentage points since the third quarter of 2024, according to the New School. It was the largest decline of any group. Trump's anti-immigration agenda also damages the 'competitive advantage' and 'mystique' New York City has long enjoyed as a destination for creative talent from around the globe, said Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist and political strategist. Many in New York City's business community have been supportive of Trump's policies on taxes, deregulation and attempting to bring jobs back to America. Bill Ackman, John Paulson, John Catsimatidis and other city business leaders have also praised Trump. In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the Trump administration has implemented a 'multi-faceted, pro-growth agenda of deregulation, the tax cuts of The One Big Beautiful Bill, fair trade deals, and tariffs.' Leading businesses have responded by pledging trillions in new manufacturing investments into the United States, he said. 'If New York Democrats stopped abetting violent crime and got out of the way of productive enterprise instead of putting forward radical communists like Zohran Mamdani, New York could be booming under President Trump, too,' Desai said. Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted last month jeopardizes the financial stability of the city in the coming years, state officials and budget experts say. 'Prospectively, federal budget cuts are the most serious threat to the city,' said Kathryn Wylde, the longtime leader of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group. 'The New York economy is doing very well. Our tax base is stronger than ever. The question is how long will that last if we have mass deportations, high tariffs and a loss of federal funds?' The bill will result in 1.5 million New Yorkers losing health insurance coverage; 300,000 households losing some or all of their SNAP benefits; $13 billion in cuts to New York's health care system with 200,000 job losses; higher long-term energy costs by eliminating clean energy projects, according to state estimates. New York State also faces a $34 billion budget deficit in the wake of federal spending cuts and a softening economy, the biggest gap since the 2008 financial crisis, the state's comptroller announced in a report last week. 'Like other states, New York now faces a new crisis it has to overcome,' state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement. State governments will be 'facing drastic reductions in federal aid that could force difficult decisions about state revenue and spending priorities.' Trump's public threats against New York City have ramped up in recent months. After Mamdani won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary in June, Trump warned he may use federal power to seize control if Mamdani becomes mayor. (Mamdani's campaign did not respond to request for comment.) The Trump administration also sued to block New York City's congestion pricing program, which would choke off a key revenue source to upgrade public transit, and warned it would withhold federal funding for transit projects if New York did not comply. Many of New York City's power brokers are concerned about Trump's public attacks against the city but also about the prospects of Mamdani's victory. He has vowed to freeze rents on rent-stabilized units, make public buses free, implement universal child care and build affordable housing units. He said he would push state leaders to raise taxes on higher-income earners and corporations to pay for his plans. Many business leaders have lined up against him. 'I wish I were hearing more from some of the business leaders expressing concerns about Zohran about these very real and present dangers that are not theoretical and are happening right now under Trump,' Lander said. He also acknowledged that the more precarious fiscal landscape Trump's policies have created may make it tougher for Mamdani to push the state to adopt his programs. 'Money that is needed to address cuts to Medicaid or SNAP or housing assistance is money that you can't use to expand childcare or free buses or affordable housing,' Lander said.
