Two weeks ago, I wrote about the continuing troubles at The Esplanade Mall and how Kenner Mayor Mike Yenni’s inactivity and lack of
leadership were one of the reasons for the mall’s decline. I also wrote about
how the President of The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council spoke at a recent
Kenner City Council meeting and said that his group was making The Esplanade “a priority”.
While I applaud 17-year-old Arjun Verma for getting up and
addressing the Council, something I wish more Kenner citizens would do, I was
dismayed by some of his comments, especially his claim of “gangs” at the mall
and his threat of “Social Media Terrorism” in attacking the mall’s owner, the
Simon Property Group.
One thing that I will give to Mr. Verma though – he was
certainly more articulate than many members of the Council he addressed.
Since Mayor Yenni wasn’t there, I won’t include him in that
group (although I easily could).
At that meeting, despite Verma’s inflammatory and egregious
comments, the Kenner City Council was gushing with praise after Verma spoke.
On Nola.com, Ben Myers also noted the Council’s praise and
specifically noted Councilwoman-At-Large Mara DeFrancesch’s comments.
Several council members at that meeting praised the council's efforts and Verma's presentation. Councilwoman Maria DeFrancesch said the ideas Verma presented were "very plausible," and that "many of them, if not all of them" can be implemented. None of the elected or administration officials at the meeting raised any qualms with Verma's statements.
"Together we can really make things happen in Kenner," DeFrancesch said to Verma two weeks ago.
Note the line, None of the elected or administration officials at the meeting raised any qualms with Verma's statements.
At the most recent Council meeting however, the second
consecutive meeting that Yenni hasn’t attended (strange but I didn’t hear of a
new Mexican Buffet opening), it was an entirely different tune.
Several Council members, including DeFrancesch, along with Deputy CAO Nataile Newton, who supervises the Youth Advisory Council, criticized
Verma’s statements.
And it wasn’t just Verma who was criticized by Newton.
Natalie Newton, the city's deputy chief administrative officer, accused the media of failing to verify Verma's statements before reporting them.
"What you heard was the opinion of a 17-year-old," Newton told the council. "Shame on the media for taking the opinion of a 17-year-old and procuring it as journalism."
Yes, but a 17-year-old whose group Newton supervises and who
was speaking to the Council at the invitation of Mayor Yenni.
4). Correspondence,
Reports From Mayor, CAO or Department Heads
4-A. At the request
of the Mayor, a report from the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council.
So, the Mayor requested that Verma speak before the Council,
and now his Deputy CAO is saying that we shouldn’t listen to him because “What
you heard was the opinion of a 17-year-old”?
Who does she think is on "Mayor Yenni's Youth Advisory Council", adults?
Now, the plot thickens.
Since Verma was there “At the request of the Mayor”, and
reporting on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, while he may have written his
presentation and discussed it with his fellow Youth Advisory members, does
anyone actually believe that his remarks were not approved by someone on the
Mayor’s Staff, if not the Mayor himself?
If that is the case and his words were at least approved by
someone in Yenni’s Administration, why are they doing their best to distance
themselves from them?
And why didn’t the Council raise any questions immediately
after Verma’s presentation?
Were they sleeping?
Obviously, something woke up the Council and Newton
otherwise, why would they be so critical and why two weeks after when Verma
wasn’t around?
What’s also ironic is a video that was shot by Ben Myers as
he interviewed Verma outside the Council Chambers. In the video you will note a
figure hovering behind the glass doors watching the interview intently.
It’s no surprise that the figure seen through the glass is
none other than…wait for it…Natalie Newton.
So, nothing but gushing praise two weeks ago for the
presentation that surely was approved by the Mayor or his staff beforehand; the
group’s Supervisor lurking in the background trying to monitor an
interview; and, now the
Councilwoman-At-Large, the Mayor and his staff are blaming the media for
listening to the words of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council’s President and
throwing the poor kid under the bus.
Did I mention that DeFrancesch was formerly the Councilwoman
for the District that is home to The Esplanade and has presided over its demise?
And. since she has now changed her tune and is criticizing
Verma for his ideas, what, pray tell, is DeFrancesch’s gamechanging idea for
turning around The Esplanade.
"There is no reason why we can't have signs in both directions (onI-10)," DeFrancesch said to Fox8 in January of 2014.
Signs on I-10…yeah, that will fix everything.
Also last year, DeFrancesch was hyping a new Belk’s at the
mall. In case you’ve not been to The Esplanade lately, the Belk’s is right next
to the new Kohl’s DeFrancesch told us was coming – in 2010.
You may have forgotten Councilwoman, but I haven’t.
But, let’s get back to Mayor Yenni. I surely don’t want him
to feel left out.
As is usually the case, whenever there’s bad news or things
don’t quite turn out like he planned, Yenni’s first steps are to distance
himself from the issue; try to kill the messenger; and, even better, have
someone else do his dirty work (in this case, Newton) for him.
The problem is, if you’re paying attention, you’ve seen this
story with Yenni far too often and its past time that he started being held
accountable for his actions and inaction, especially when he’s not man enough
to hold himself accountable.
A 17-year-old’s presentation didn’t cause the problems at
The Esplanade and a 17-year-old’s ideas and actions won’t fix them either.
That’s for the adults to handle.
And, let’s face it, The Esplanade has a lot of problems from
its location to the fact that somebody really screwed up putting the theater in
the parking lot and not attaching it to the mall. Nothing like letting solid,
daily foot traffic be squandered.
And, did someone mention "gangs"?
KPD Chief Glaser had the line of the night when he said that The Esplanade didn't have enough "gangs". Gangs of shoppers, that is.
Who knew the Chief had a sense of humor?
Sadly though, when your role models are Yenni and
DeFrancesch (How is that Kohl’s coming along, Councilwoman?), it takes a
17-year-old to say that The Esplanade is, and should be, a priority.
It’s even sadder that, rather than making it a priority
himself, Yenni would rather send out DeFrancesch and Newton to criticize those
who want to improve Kenner and that a 17-year-old, even with some misplaced
ideas, can show more leadership than Mayor Yenni.
The reason for Yenni’s lack of urgency and inaction
regarding The Esplanade is simple – there’s no upside for him.
There are no lucrative contracts that he can give his
friends like there are in his 2030 Plan. There’s no campaign contributors that
he can shake down so he can increase his campaign account and buy more Mardi
Gras Beads (yeah, when you’re out at the Driftwood Parade remember that all of
those beads were paid for by campaign contributors who all wanted, and probably
got, something in return for the money that paid for those beads).
No, if the mall fails, Yenni can simply blame the economy,
the internet or Simon Property Group itself. After all, we know Simon has done
a bang up job rebuilding The Esplanade.
If there’s nothing in it for him, you know Yenni isn’t going
out of his way and besides, by the time The Esplanade really blows up, Yenni
will be long gone and probably sitting in the Yenni Building (which I’m certain
he believes is named for him – which is ironic since he needed a judge and a
piece of paper to call himself that).
Yenni will simply leave the next Mayor to pick up the pieces
of The Esplanade and figure out a way to pay for his 2030 Plan debt with the
largest sales tax generator in Kenner collecting dust and continuing to not pay
any property taxes.
Well, on the bright side, we do have a movie theater with
stadium seating.
