City of New Orleans Dept of Property Management threatens the existence of a FREE Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo by increasing rental fees associated with the event. Their claim to manage the banks of Bayou St. John between Esplanade Ave. and Lafitte St. and the fee associated with leasing the land is way out of proportion when compared to the rent of other public parks around the city.

MotherShip Foundation and its stakeholders have invested tens of thousands to improve the land adjacent to Bayou St. John since 2006. In 2012 and 2013, MotherShip Foundation invested over $30,000 in planting eight - 200, 300, and 670 gallon southern live oak trees along the Bayou. The annual Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo has also become a vehicle for several non-profit partners to raise much needed dollars for their causes to include Morris Jeff Community School, Second Harvest Food Bank, and ReBridge (a project to rebuild the Magnolia Bridge). This drastic increase in rent jeopardizes opportunities for all of the aforementioned organizations as well as the artist and vendor partners.

Please sign our petition if you support the use of Bayou St. John to host the annual Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo. We also ask the Department of Property Management to rescind the excessive proposed rental fee for 2014 and beyond. Instead, MotherShip Foundation proposes that a percentage of net profits be directed to future improvements of Bayou St. John, to include MotherShip's Restore the Bayou Canopy campaign.

If you wish to place a sign in your yard in support of our cause, please e-mail president@mothershipfoundation.org.

Thanks,
Jared M Zeller