The City Council is moving to evict Mayor Latoya Cantrell from the Pontalba.
Although the council voted months ago to return the unit to the French Market Corporation to be rented out, Council Vice President JP Morrell says Cantrell has the only set of keys and has yet to move out her belongings.
The longstanding back and forth over the unit should have been over in August of 2023.
On Aug. 10, the council amended a previous vote to clarify that Cantrell cannot use the apartment for personal use and ultimately decided to garner revenue from it.
The mayor vetoed that vote but then the council overrode the veto. At the time, Cantrell's then-communications director, Gregory Joseph, said the removal of the unit was a personal attack on the mayor. Morrell said that wasn't the case.
Members of Cantrell's team have told WWL multiple times that she does not live at the Pontalba, but a letter from Morrell, dated Feb. 28, says her belongings are still in the unit.
He gave her a deadline of March 4 at noon to let him know when she would hand over the keys and move out, no later than March 11.
Representatives for Morrell told WWL they did not hear from the Mayor. So now, they say, they're going to direct the city attorney to file to evict Mayor Cantrell.
Morrell was not available for an interview on Monday.
WWL reached out to the mayor's office for comment and asked if the mayor intends to meet the deadline and when her items will be removed. They sent WWL a comment that did not address our questions.
A statement issued on March 1 from the City of New Orleans regarding the Pontalba Building Renovation read:
"The City of New Orleans is set to invest in a multimillion-dollar building-wide renovation package for the Historic Pontalba Building, and the City is currently in the early stages of drafting a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) with the French Market Corporation that could range to over a $10 million City renovation investment.
"Once the City's CEA is completed with all the necessary elements, the public will be notified, and the process will then move to the renovation phase for the Pontalba Building. The renovation is slated to take over 18 months to complete."
WWL Louisiana asked follow-up questions and have not yet heard back.