Council Vice President JP Morrell Issues Statement on City Park Conservancy’s Plan to Displace Grow Dat Youth Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 5, 2024

NEW ORLEANS - Councilmember At-Large JP Morrell has issued the following statement about the potential displacement of Grow Dat Youth Program:

“I am completely against the plan from City Park Conservancy that would displace the popular Grow Dat Youth Program. Grow Dat is a community program that brings together youth from different backgrounds across the city for one mission - to nurture these future leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. It is beyond me why a non-profit such as the City Park Conservancy who claims to prioritize conservancy measures would plan to construct a road that would decimate this popular and sustainable youth program. Moreover, a conservancy should be aware it takes years to cultivate soil for farming, and that a relocation will destroy years of work and would reset all the effort made by this organization and the hundreds of kids who have worked there. This past year, I designated Grow Dat as a grant recipient from the inaugural City Council Recreation & Culture Fund because they are not only teaching young adults skills that they will carry for a lifetime, but also providing a safe space for every child that enters the farm. The perfect example of this would be Belle Adelman-Cannon, a 17-year-old non-binary Ben Franklin student and member of the program who tragically lost their life after being hit by a bus. I awarded those funds in honor of Belle, and I refuse to allow them to be gifted in vain. I am calling on the City Park Conservancy to reconfigure their plans so that this critical community resource can continue its mission for generations of children to come.”

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Media Contact:

Monet Brignac

Office of Councilmember At-Large JP Morrell

Monet.Brignac-Sullivan@nola.gov

504.975.2897

New Orleans City Council

The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the New Orleans city government. The Council considers and enacts all local laws that govern the City of New Orleans. The Council also approves the operating and capital budgets for the City, as recommended by the mayor, and continually monitors revenues and expenditures for local government operations. The City Council is also the regulatory body for public utilities. It also reviews and has the final say on many land use and zoning matters, as well as considers major economic development projects for the City. As a Board of Review for Orleans Parish, the Council examines appeals of property tax assessments for real estate taxes and certifies tax rolls to the Louisiana Tax Commission. Other responsibilities of the Council include overseeing the operation of the public access television in Orleans Parish. Streaming video and video archives of the City Council's Regular and Committee meetings can be found on the City Council website.

The City Council is comprised of five districts and Councilmembers-at-large: Council President and Councilmember-at-Large Helena Moreno; Council Vice President and Councilmember-At-Large JP Morrell; District "A" Councilmember Joseph I. Giarrusso, III; District "B" Councilmember Lesli D. Harris; District "C" Councilmember Freddie King III; District "D" Councilmember Eugene J. Green, Jr.; and District "E" Councilmember Oliver M. Thomas, Jr.