Long-blighted Mercy Hospital is finally coming down, clearing the way for a project designed to help reduce flooding in Mid-City.

Why it matters: The basement of the building, also known as the Lindy Boggs Medical Center, will be converted into an underground cistern to hold millions of gallons of stormwater.

The big picture: Mayor Helena Moreno blew the air horn yesterday to signal the start of demolition on the building that's been vacant since Hurricane Katrina.

• An excavator and a so-called nibbler then began knocking down brick walls covered in graffiti.
• The city has an agreement with Woodward Design for the demolition and redevelopment.

Timeline: The former nursing school and central power plant will be demolished first, followed by the seven-story hospital building.

• The work should be finished early next year.
• The goal is to have the underground water facility ready before the 2027 hurricane season, Woodward Design+Build CEO Paul Flower says.
• Phase two will focus on building a $110 million mixed-use development with residential and commercial components.

By the numbers: Phase 1 is $16 million, with $11.5 million from city bonds and $4.5 million from Woodward Interests.

How it works: Flower says the basement will hold about 4 million gallons of water, filling it to a depth of about 7 feet.

• The water will then slowly enter the city's drainage infrastructure at a rate the Sewerage and Water Board can handle, Councilmember Lesli Harris says.
• There are similar facilities at A.L. Davis Park, Sacred Heart, Flour Moon Bagel, the River District and elsewhere, Harris says.

What she's saying: "This is a proven technique around New Orleans," Harris says. "You just wouldn't know it because there's park space or buildings on top of it already."

What's next: The demolition will take months. Crews will monitor air quality, noise and vibrations during the process.

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Students are returning to class and the NOPD is cracking down on speeders in school zones.

Why it matters: Manual enforcement is the only way to slow down school zone speeders with tickets while the city's traffic cameras remain turned off.

State of play: NOPD's recent push to expand traffic enforcement extends to speeding in school zones, officers said between writing tickets near Alice Harte Charter School yesterday.

• To make that happen, cops outside NOPD's traffic division are writing tickets, too.
• "Just as recent as last week, we did a recertification for officers throughout the department," said Lt. Avery Theard, the assistant commander of NOPD's traffic division. "And we provided ... radars or LIDARs to each district to be a part of our traffic safety efforts."

The big picture: New Orleans' school zone traffic cameras have been off since April 2025 after a state law mandated any revenue generated by them be split between the city and schools.

• Then came disagreements on the details of that split and follow-up legal battles with the state.
• The city ended up suing the state, The Times-Picayune reports, arguing that the mandated revenue share is essentially an illegal donation. A hearing in that case is set for Sept. 21.

Between the lines: A 2025 law banned the use of speed cameras outside school zones.

• Red light cameras remain in operation, a city spokesperson says.

How NOPD picks enforcement spots

🏈 Cam Jordan's hamstring injury will cause him to "miss a little bit of time," coach Kellen Moore said yesterday. Jordan has only missed one game in his entire career because of an injury. (The Times-Picayune 🔒)

🐾 LASPCA should consider using donor dollars to supplement cuts to its city-funded animal control budget, Councilmember Lesli Harris suggests. Harris is set to meet next week with the group to discuss the budget. (WDSU)

⛪ First African Baptist Church, the state's first Black church, is getting new support as it works to preserve the historic congregation and building in Central City. (Fox 8)

☕️ Coffee, anyone? We love this new artwork featuring cups of coffee from different New Orleans shops. (Instagram)

On a recent night, Orleans Parish Sheriff Michelle Woodfork got a call that the New Orleans jail was short-staffed. She got up, put on a uniform and went to fill the gap herself.

Why it matters: Woodfork describes her first 100 days on the job as the beginning of a turnaround for a department struggling with staffing, safety, funding and dysfunctional facilities.

Zoom in: Woodfork replaced Susan Hutson, whose tenure as sheriff ended with an indictment for malfeasance.

• In the weeks since, Woodfork has instituted new policies, increased security sweeps and OPSO staffing.
• But problems remain, she admitted in a press conference yesterday.

What she's saying: "We have dealt with serious incidents, including an in-custody death, fires inside our facility, mistaken releases, inmate-on-inmate assaults, assaults on deputies, and the recovery of contraband, makeshift weapons and employee arrests," she said.

• The latest arrest was Monday when an employee was accused of bringing contraband into the jail.

Those "challenges," Woodfork said, are now used "to identify weaknesses that must be corrected."

What we're watching: OPSO is due to open a new mental health-focused wing of the Orleans Justice Center in the next few months — but it too requires staffing.

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