UPDATE: Organizers have moved “Sinkhole de Mayo” to nearby Woldenberg Riverfront Park in front of the Aquarium of the Americas.
ORIGINAL STORY:
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A “Sinkhole de Mayo” party planned for Thursday afternoon at the site of the Canal Street sinkhole is up in the air until organizers get the OK from the city.
Organizers created the Facebook event as a joke. According to the Facebook invite, the public is invited to “celebrate another ‘Catastrophic Failure’ the best way we know how: dancing, drinking and general revelry.”
It was supposed to be held at 4 p.m. Thursday near the site of the sinkhole, but organizers have since been contacted by the city. City officials told them they are concerned that 1,000-plus people will be standing on ground near the sinkhole that’s not very stable.
The “catastrophic failure” quip is a reference to Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s comments about the sinkhole. Landrieu held a press conference Friday afternoon (April 29) at the site of the sinkhole, which opened up earlier that day on Canal Street near Harrah’s.
The sinkhole is on top of an inactive underground tunnel. Landrieu called it a “catastrophic failure” and said it will cost $3 million to $5 million to fix. It could take up to six months for the road to reopen.
The Canal Street sinkhole was the second one to form in the city within a 24-hour period. The first one happened on Constantinople Street between Tchoupitoulas and the Mississippi River.
A third one has since formed on Taft Place in Mid-City.
