(NEW ORLEANS) — More cops than confetti are expected to be prevalent on parade routes when Mardi Gras goes into full swing in New Orleans this weekend.
City officials said security has been ramped up to historic levels in the wake of a New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people and injured dozens of others.
The annual Big Easy carnival has been designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a Special Event Assessment Rating 1, signifying the festivities require extensive federal interagency support, according to New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.
“This is one of the first moments in our history where Mardi Gras is a SEAR 1-rated event,” Cantrell said.
Mardi Gras is the third big test for New Orleans since the horrific Jan. 1 truck-ramming and shooting rampage on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter was allegedly carried out by a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran investigators say was inspired by the ISIS terrorist group.
A day after the attack, the city hosted the Sugar Bowl college football playoff game and on Feb. 11 it hosted the Super Bowl, both held at the Caesars Superdome under tight security that included hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement officers.
“First of all, we know that we’re battle-tested and we’re just looking forward to a healthy and safe, and fun Mardi Gras season,” Cantrell said at a news conference on Thursday. “We’ve come off the heels of a successful Sugar Bowl, a successful Super Bowl and we’re now ready and prepared for the greatest freak show on Earth.”
Mardi Gras officially kicked off in the city on Jan. 6 and runs through Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras Day, on March 4. Between now and Fat Tuesday, about 40 parades are planned.
Banned from parade routes
Collin Arnold, New Orleans’ director of Homeland Security, said this year’s Mardi Gras will be noticeably different from previous years, as a number of items revelers usually bring to the multiple parades have been banned.
The New Orleans City Council recently approved a list of banned items, including confetti of any kind as well as confetti launchers; charcoal and gas barbecue grills; mylar balloons; portable generators; upholstered furniture; ladders over six feet high; and private drones.
The traditional throwing of beads will not be affected by the new security measures, officials said.
Revelers have also been warned not to leave coolers or ice chests unattended on the parade routes — a measure directly related to the terrorist attack. Investigators said the suspect allegedly packed improvised explosive devices in coolers he planted along Bourbon Street in advance of the rampage.
“Bring them if you have them. Keep them near you, but if you do see an unattended cooler and you’re getting that sense that there’s nobody there, please report that immediately to the NOPD’s non-emergency line,” Arnold said.
No coolers will be allowed in the French Quarter, officials said.
Mayor Cantrell said a makeshift memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack has been relocated for Mardi Gras from a Bourbon Street sidewalk to the Presbytere State Museum near the French Quarter’s Jackson Square.
“But I need you to know it is in coordination and with real reverence with the families and victims of Jan. 1,” Cantrell said.
‘100% all hands on deck’
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said another security measure being taken as a result of the attack is erecting hundreds of barricades on a nearly 3-mile stretch of St. Charles Avenue in the French Quarter, a major parade route.
The suspect in the New Year’s Day attack is alleged to have driven a rented pickup truck up on a sidewalk to get around a police car blocking Bourbon Street, according to investigators. The perpetrator proceeded to drive at high speed down the French Quarter thoroughfare, mowing down victims before he was killed in a gunfight with police officers, according to investigators.
Kirkpatrick said the barricades set up on the non-parade side of St. Charles Avenue will force vehicle traffic to take what she described as a “serpentine course” to get through the area.
“That will slow anybody down who thinks they’re going to use a vehicle as a weapon,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said that 600 of the police department’s 900 officers working 12-hour shifts have been assigned to patrol the Mardi Gras parades. She said the remaining 300 officers will be on duty during Mardi Gras to service the rest of the city.
“We’re 100% all hands on deck,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick said that besides uniformed officers, 100 plainclothes officers will be embedded in the crowds.
She said K-9 units and bomb-sniffing dogs will also be deployed along parade routes. State National Guard troops are also being sent to New Orleans to help boost security.
“You’re going to see SWAT teams, you’re going to see Bearcats,” she said referring to armored vehicles.
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said it is sending 200 deputies to help patrol Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the Louisiana State Police said it will deploy another 150 troopers to New Orleans to enhance security in the Central Business District, on local highways and in the French Quarter.
Col. Robert Hodges, the state police superintendent, said the French Quarter has been designated as an “Enhanced Security Zone” requiring the most security. He said ice chests or coolers will not be allowed in the French Quarter and that any container larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches will be subject to searches.
‘Strong hotel occupancy’
The popularity of Mardi Gras does not seem to have been diminished by the terrorist attack, according to New Orleans hospitality officials.
“We’re expecting very strong hotel occupancy,” said Kelly Shultz, senior vice president of New Orleans & Company, formerly known as the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Shultz said Saturday night hotel occupancy for the second weekend of Mardi Gras was 95% compared to 83% during the same night last year.
Shultz said a Tulane University survey found that Mardi Gras alone generates about $900 million in economic revenue annually.
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