I live in New Orleans and need to point out that this task force is not a solution looking for a problem. Crime is very real in the French Quarter and there is an overwhelming, obvious, and consistent presence of people who only want to take something from you.
The French Quarter may be fun and exciting when you're with a group of people but finding yourself on one of the many side-streets and without a crowd of people can be scary.
I remember in 2005 I got my first iPod. The first thing I did was replace the white headphones with black headphones so nobody would know I actually had something worth stealing. I vacationed in New York for the first time that year and was absolutely amazed by how safe and comforting the place was.
There's this long running extortion con people like to play on tourist. It goes like this...
"I bet you a dollar I know where you got your shoes"
"Yeah?"
"You got your shoes on your feet walking down St. Peter street."
"Now....Give me that dollar."
At 4:00 in the afternoon you just give the dollar or just walk away. Maybe at 9:00 PM street is empty and there's only you and your friend. He's insistent. He's not going to have change. You're reaching into your purse.
This same con has been going on since the 1980's and nobody seems to do anything about it. I don't want people coming to my city and having the experience I just described.
And please note I'm making no commentary on the task force. I'm just making notes on the current situation.
Off topic, but that happened to me once, as a tourist from Europe visiting San Francisco. Only difference was that the guy who played this routine on me, wanted $15 per shoe. I was a naive 23 y.o. kid, but really entertained because he played me well, so I said "No way man, I'll give you $5 for both!"
Meanwhile his buddy was pressuring him to get going, so the guy was really annoyed with me, but took the $5 and ran off to the guy shouting to him to get into the car. Only later, back in Europe, did I realise how close I could have been to a totally different outcome, so to me life stopped being a given when I realised that. gulp
The French Quarter may be fun and exciting when you're with a group of people but finding yourself on one of the many side-streets and without a crowd of people can be scary.
I remember in 2005 I got my first iPod. The first thing I did was replace the white headphones with black headphones so nobody would know I actually had something worth stealing. I vacationed in New York for the first time that year and was absolutely amazed by how safe and comforting the place was.
There's this long running extortion con people like to play on tourist. It goes like this...
"I bet you a dollar I know where you got your shoes"
"Yeah?"
"You got your shoes on your feet walking down St. Peter street."
"Now....Give me that dollar."
At 4:00 in the afternoon you just give the dollar or just walk away. Maybe at 9:00 PM street is empty and there's only you and your friend. He's insistent. He's not going to have change. You're reaching into your purse.
This same con has been going on since the 1980's and nobody seems to do anything about it. I don't want people coming to my city and having the experience I just described.
And please note I'm making no commentary on the task force. I'm just making notes on the current situation.