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Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
New report pushes for permanent pedestrian-only Bourbon Street to boost Mardi Gras safety after terror attack
New Orleans' most famous street could soon see sweeping changes if city leaders follow through on bold new safety recommendations after a New Year's Day attack that killed 14 and injured dozens. On Monday, the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation (NOPJF) released a statement about a major safety review conducted by Teneo Risk, a global security firm led by former NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton. The report is blunt. Bourbon Street is dangerously vulnerable, and unless big changes are made, the city remains exposed to future attacks. At the top of the list? Turning Bourbon Street into a permanent pedestrian zone. According to the report, vehicles pose a serious threat to the crowds that gather daily in the French Quarter. Saints Legend Drew Brees Among Many Praising Increased Safety Measures At Super Bowl Lix The current layout of Bourbon Street makes it easy for a vehicle-ramming attack to happen again. The report recommends a hard perimeter setup that would only allow emergency vehicles, deliveries and hotel drop-offs at certain times. According to the report, "Bourbon Street is extremely vulnerable to a vehicle ramming attack any time of year," citing narrow sidewalks, frequent pedestrian spillover into the street and a lack of permanent protective barriers. The firm also said the Department of Homeland Security's "SEAR 1" rating, given to Mardi Gras 2025 for the first time, should be made permanent. That rating brought more federal resources to New Orleans this year, including extra security equipment and personnel. The report claims those resources were essential to protecting the public and should be in place every a city of around 400,000 residents, Mardi Gras weekend can easily welcome over 1 million visitors from around the General Pam Bondi To Travel To New Orleans To Survey Super Bowl Lix Security Read On The Fox News App In addition to the Bourbon Street changes, the report highlights weaknesses in emergency response access, officer staffing, coordination between agencies and the city's intelligence capabilities. Teneo found intelligence gathering by the New Orleans Police Department remains mostly reactive and lacks advanced tools and formal coordination protocols. The report was based on extensive research, including site visits, document reviews and interviews with city officials, law enforcement and community members. Teneo observed security operations firsthand during the 2025 Super Bowl and Mardi Gras 2025 and used those events to evaluate real-time article source: New report pushes for permanent pedestrian-only Bourbon Street to boost Mardi Gras safety after terror attack
Fox News
10-04-2025
- Fox News
New report pushes for permanent pedestrian-only Bourbon Street to boost Mardi Gras safety after terror attack
New Orleans' most famous street could soon see sweeping changes if city leaders follow through on bold new safety recommendations after a New Year's Day attack that killed 14 and injured dozens. On Monday, the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation (NOPJF) released a statement about a major safety review conducted by Teneo Risk, a global security firm led by former NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton. The report is blunt. Bourbon Street is dangerously vulnerable, and unless big changes are made, the city remains exposed to future attacks. At the top of the list? Turning Bourbon Street into a permanent pedestrian zone. According to the report, vehicles pose a serious threat to the crowds that gather daily in the French Quarter. SAINTS LEGEND DREW BREES AMONG MANY PRAISING INCREASED SAFETY MEASURES AT SUPER BOWL LIX The current layout of Bourbon Street makes it easy for a vehicle-ramming attack to happen again. The report recommends a hard perimeter setup that would only allow emergency vehicles, deliveries and hotel drop-offs at certain times. According to the report, "Bourbon Street is extremely vulnerable to a vehicle ramming attack any time of year," citing narrow sidewalks, frequent pedestrian spillover into the street and a lack of permanent protective barriers. The firm also said the Department of Homeland Security's "SEAR 1" rating, given to Mardi Gras 2025 for the first time, should be made permanent. That rating brought more federal resources to New Orleans this year, including extra security equipment and personnel. The report claims those resources were essential to protecting the public and should be in place every a city of around 400,000 residents, Mardi Gras weekend can easily welcome over 1 million visitors from around the GENERAL PAM BONDI TO TRAVEL TO NEW ORLEANS TO SURVEY SUPER BOWL LIX SECURITY In addition to the Bourbon Street changes, the report highlights weaknesses in emergency response access, officer staffing, coordination between agencies and the city's intelligence capabilities. Teneo found intelligence gathering by the New Orleans Police Department remains mostly reactive and lacks advanced tools and formal coordination protocols. The report was based on extensive research, including site visits, document reviews and interviews with city officials, law enforcement and community members. Teneo observed security operations firsthand during the 2025 Super Bowl and Mardi Gras 2025 and used those events to evaluate real-time vulnerabilities. While the proposal for a permanent pedestrian zone could raise concerns of residents and business owners, Teneo said the change is the best way to protect pedestrians and prevent another attack. The report explains that any other alternative would still leave parts of Bourbon Street HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe NOPJF said in its statement, "We Have Not Forgotten," and it seeks to honor the victims of the Bourbon Street attack in its findings.
CNN
09-04-2025
- CNN
Most of Bourbon Street should be closed to cars following New Orleans truck attack, report recommends
Most of New Orleans' Bourbon Street should be closed off to vehicles, creating a permanent pedestrian plaza, a report recommends, three months after a truck plowed into a New Year's Day crowd, killing 14 people and injuring at least 35. The tragedy took place in the city's bustling French Quarter, which had no strong barriers to protect the area from speeding vehicles like that 6,000-pound truck, CNN previously reported. The report released by the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation (NOPJF) said an 'elevated threat environment demands a new security approach for the French Quarter for everyday business operations.' The mass killing raised questions about how the city secured Bourbon Street and how a heavy-duty truck was able to drive onto one of the most pedestrian-heavy roads in the US. The report was prepared by global consulting firm Teneo, whose risk advisory arm is led by former New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton, and the review was carried out by a risk assessment team composed of a group of counterterrorism and police experts who conducted dozens of interviews. CNN has reached out to the city of New Orleans for comment. The assessment found Bourbon Street is 'extremely vulnerable to a vehicle ramming attack any time of year' and that such attacks remain a persistent security threat. The city's staffing shortages, inadequate vehicle barriers, along with weak interagency coordination and collaboration have challenged its ability to address 'growing threats,' said the report. The New Orleans Police Department should establish a plan marking the locations of vehicle barriers throughout the city and covering key intersections, while also considering placing 'all available metal barriers' throughout the city, the report says. It also recommends the police department 'review its officer placement along the parade route and throughout the French Quarter to ensure that officers are regularly positioned throughout the routes rather than grouping together and leaving several blocks without police personnel.' Additional officers should be placed at 'key locations,' it says, to create a 'highly visible show of security and overall sense of safety.' Trash bins should be removed from parade routes, it continues, due to the risk of a 'nefarious actor placing a weapon or IED' along the route. In a statement, the NOPJF said: 'The loss of innocent lives, the terror unleashed upon our beloved city, and the enduring pain felt by countless families demand nothing less than an honest evaluation of our security systems, our community's trust, and our law enforcement practices.' The statement acknowledges 'progress is needed' and says some of Teneo's suggested security measures 'should only be implemented after careful consideration for the needs of the citizens of our unique city.' The attack came after a private security consulting firm warned in a 2019 report that the risk of terrorism in the French Quarter – specifically mass shootings and vehicular attacks – remained 'highly possible while moderately probable.' That 2019 report strongly recommended safety structures known as bollards –– vertical posts that can be anchored in place or move up and down –– be fixed and improved 'immediately.' In addition to the missing sturdy bollards, which were under repair, the city's portable steel barriers were in the down position during New Year's celebrations, CNN previously reported. The attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, visited the city twice in the months prior and used Meta smart glasses to film the street and plan out the attack, according to the FBI. Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran who had pledged allegiance to ISIS, drove a pickup truck into the crowd just after 3 a.m. and then opened fire, the FBI said. The vehicle ultimately crashed into a cherry picker forklift, and Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police. Mayor LaToya Cantrell held a news conference Monday to announce public safety measures ahead of the city's French Quarter Fest, which will begin on Thursday and last through Sunday. Road closures will be in place throughout the French Quarter, banning vehicles on Bourbon Street, along with several others. 'We are built to host and ready to show the world that we are a welcoming, safe city and open for business,' Cantrell said in a statement.
