French Quarter designated as ‘enhanced security zone' for Super Bowl
A map shows the "enhanced security zone" Gov. Jeff Landry has authorized for the busiest portion of the French Quarter ahead of Super Bowl LIX. (GOHSEP map)
Heightened security restrictions will be in effect for the busiest section of the French Quarter starting next Wednesday through at least the day after Super Bowl LIX is played, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Wednesday.
The additional safety measures follow a Jan. 1 terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured 57 others. They apply to the first seven blocks of Bourbon Street and the parallel streets one block on each side. All blocks between Royal and Dauphine streets will become an 'enhanced security zone,' where certain items will be prohibited and personal accessories could be searched or seized.
Ice chests and backpack coolers will not be allowed inside the zone. People are also discouraged from bringing standard backpacks, large purses, suitcases, fanny packs, large shopping bags and camera bags into the area. Any bags larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches – roughly the size of a clutch purse – will be subject to search, Landry said.
Anyone who refuses a police search will be denied entry to the security zone. Police also have the authority to search bags within the area, and they will remove anyone who doesn't comply.
'We want cooperation with the public and balancing freedoms to enjoy the Quarter, with the need for these heightened security measures based upon the threat level that we saw on January 1,' the governor said during a news conference at the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
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Ice chests have been singled out for exclusion after Shamsud-Din Jabbar placed homemade explosive devices in two coolers and left them at separate locations in the midst of Bourbon Street revelers in the early hours of New Year's Day. The FBI said a third bomb and a detonating device were found inside Jabbar's rented pickup that he drove down three crowded blocks of Bourbon before crashing into a mobile lift platform.
Police killed Jabbar, a 42-year-old IT worker and U.S. Army veteran from Houston, in a shootout. He flew an Islamic State flag from the truck and had posted videos online ahead of the attack professing his extremist beliefs.
Landry created the security zone and provided police with enhanced powers inside of it through an executive order. It renewed the state of emergency he declared Jan. 1 for New Orleans, and its language indicates it could potentially be extended into Carnival season.
Read the governor's order below
'We are going to focus on the Super Bowl right now,' the governor said. 'We then will pivot once we get through the Super Bowl to Mardi Gras,' implying there will be heightened safety measures in place again for the French Quarter and potentially along parade routes.
The governor's order does not apply to the Superdome, where the NFL and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are handling security precautions for the Super Bowl. Landry said state and city law enforcement officers will be working within their perimeters, however.
'As you move closer to the Superdome, the security restrictions are enhanced,' Landry said.
Several streets in the vicinity of the stadium and Smoothie King Center are already closed to traffic. More will be blocked when pre-Super Bowl events take place at other downtown locations, including the Morial New Orleans Convention Center and the Saenger Theater.
The NFL championship game takes place Sunday, Feb. 9.
In addition to local, state and federal law enforcement, there will be 350 members of the Louisiana National Guard dispatched to New Orleans to assist with traffic control and security checkpoints, according to the governor.
In addition to heightened security, the temporary homeless Landry established near the Gentilly neighborhood will be used through Mardi Gras, he said. There are currently 176 people staying at a contractor-staffed Port of New Orleans storage facility on France Road, the governor said.
Landry clashed with some city officials when directed Louisiana State Police to remove unhoused people from encampments in close proximity to the Superdome. He used his emergency powers to award a contract to operate the temporary shelter, where he said residents are receiving services that 'are exponentially better than the ones they were receiving on the street.'
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