Text by DJ Ruby (DooBeeDoo’s New Orleans contributor)
Photo by Alex Woodward
In New Orleans the debate surrounding changes to the city’s noise ordinance continues to divide the city. The polemics surrounding the most recent set of changes to the city’s laws regarding sound began in December of 2013 when the New Orleans city council proposed restricting the decibel levels permissible in public space to their 1997 levels. The debate has made clear that the roots of this struggle run deep and has raised interesting questions about culture and preservation in the City That Care Forgot.
For bystanders the morning of January 17th might have appeared to be something of a celebration, but for those who participated, the demonstration at City Hall was an expression of complicated and layered feelings around the newest proposed sound ordinance. The collective voice of local musicians and their supporters echoed in the face of what has felt like a continuous effort to quiet them down, nevertheless progress on negotiations was stalled. On that morning City Hall was meant to accommodate a public hearing regarding the proposed changes to the noise ordinance that had undergone increasing scrutiny since its proposal in December. Musicians, residents and lawmakers were poised to present their cases in the chambers after months of discussion. But on the evening of the 16th the hearing was abruptly cancelled. The further postponement of a debate that has been affecting the cultural community for some time now felt like another rebuff and many felt that postponement was a tactic to lessen the traction gained by the musical community in the months leading up to the hearing.
