NEW ORLEANS – A few days after New Orleans police had a confrontation with parade-goers in the Marigny, 5th District officers closed down a building four blocks from where the incident took place.
Officers closed the ARK building and home of the Iron Rail Book Collective, the building that has been a hub for downtown artists and neighbors for years.
Sunday night NOPD officers were caught on video allegedly using a Taser on a man who was at the nearby Krewe of Eris parade, and when one officer saw someone videotaping the incident, he knocked the cell phone out of a bystanders’ hand.
NOPD spokeswoman Officer Shereese Harper said they closed the building after receiving a complaint from a citizen through a City Council member who said the building, located at 511 Marigny St., was operating without proper permits. Harper said the building was shut down until the Revenue Department could determine the status of the building.
Romy Samuel, the collector of revenue, later told police the business does not have active permits.
It's not clear if the closing of the building is related to the police incident with parade-goers, and the future of the building is in doubt as well.
