The following is an open letter to Mayor LaToya Cantrell regarding…. from Chuck Rogers, owner of Buffa’s Bar & Restaurant:
Mayor Cantrell:
First, on behalf of New Orleans musicians and music venues I want to thank you for providing a path for indoor live music to entertain physically distanced patrons.
Unfortunately, we have been unsuccessful in our attempts to secure the necessary special permit(s). We already have a Mayorality permit, and we understand special permit(s) are free of charge to us, but confusion persists on how to actually obtain them.
Specifically…
– we have called five different phone numbers at City Hall and no answer;
– we have sent multiple emails to several different people, with no replies;
– we have no idea if we need to get one permit per act, per day, per weekend, per week, per month, or just one special permit;
– we can find no details online that answer these questions or provide a place to apply.
The details on the requirements and the process for obtaining them expediently is sorely lacking. Is there something you can do to help expedite this process so we can help get our musicians back to work?
Best Regards,
Chuck Rogers
KS Ventures, Inc.
d/b/a Buffa’s Bar & Restaurant
In a separate statement to OffBeat, Rogers states: “While we are grateful for the opportunity to resume live indoor music, we are frustrated, along with musicians and many other venue owners that the mayor would make it clear live indoor music is allowed with special permits and then provide no clear path for obtaining them. We’ve been in phase 3.2 since 10/17, and the city is poised to go into phase 3.3 soon — but we still have no idea how to restart live music with the city’s blessing, despite guidelines that say we can.”
