In Sudden Demolition, New Orleans Loses First Historic Building Since Katrina

1903 Naval Brigade Hall (Cassandra Sharpe)

From Preservation Magazine Online:

New Orleans lost one of its jazz sites last week when out-of-town firemen suddenly demolished a 102-year-old former music school damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Although New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin condemned the surprise demolition of the Naval Brigade Hall, he has written a proclamation that suspends the authority of the city's Historic District Landmarks Commission. In response to Nagin's still-unsigned declaration and the loss of the city's first historic building since Katrina, a grassroots group called Save Our Neighborhoods has formed. At a meeting last night, the group pledged to oppose Nagin's plan.

"Once the Naval Brigade Hall was demolished, that set fear in our hearts," says Bari Landry, group member and resident of the flooded Lakeview area, a National Register-listed historic district. "If they could tear that historic building down in a heartbeat, what's to stop them from tearing my home down?"

Without permits or permission from the city or owner, the visiting firefighters used a new machine called a "strong arm" to bring down the Warehouse District building, which the city of New Orleans had declared uninhabitable earlier that day. ..."I was on the verge of tears. In a matter of hours, they reduced that facade to a pile of rubble," says Jerre Madere, a neighbor who watched the demolition and begged firefighters to stop. "It was like little boys with a new toy."

Said Nagin in a press release: "They were unaware of the proper procedures and the ‘chain of command. Steps have been taken by the New Orleans Fire Department to ensure that this will not happen again."
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Why can't the "firefighters"/FEMA be forced to pay for the reconstruction of the building?

This clearly is a violation of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Likely the "visiting firefighters" are being paid by FEMA, and therefore this action could be considered a "federal undertaking."