New Orleans has no law that says people can't live on the streets, like those living under the Claiborne Avenue overpass. The Nagin Administration had planned to use the law to try and move all the homeless from under the I-10 by Friday.
City attorney Penya Moses-Fields says the law was repealed in 2001. That came after a federal ruling against the law. Because the on-line city code was not updated, however, officials thought the law was still in place.
She says it will now be up to her office, the city council and other agencies to put an ordinance in place that keeps people from living on the streets, but brings it in line the needs of the city's homeless population.
Listen to New Orleans City Attorney Penya Moses-Fields:
Moses-Fields says, "The intention now is to have a new law that's enforceable."
She says the intent is not to move the homeless off the streets with a law, but to get them the help that they need which Moses-Fields says is why the city is taking public comment about what the new ordinance should cover.
Moses-Fields also says several agencies will be involved with her office and the city council in drafting an ordinance that covers the issues facing the city's homeless population.
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