Two decades after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, a coalition of residents and organizers is demanding that the city take decisive action to protect its most vulnerable communities before the next major storm hits. On Thursday morning, supporters of the grassroots CUT THE CHECK! campaign gathered on the steps of New Orleans City Hall to call out what they described as chronic mismanagement of city funds and a lack of real planning for hurricane preparedness and evacuation.
The rally, organized by community activists and members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, centered on four key demands:
• The city must complete the $600 million in federally allocated Katrina-related infrastructure repairs by 2027.
• Increase funding to the New Orleans Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP) by 10 percent to ensure the city has the resources to respond to worsening climate events.
• Expand the City Assisted Public Evacuation Program by lowering its activation threshold from Category 3 hurricanes to Category 2 and increasing pickup locations in low-income neighborhoods by 50 percent.
• Create real accountability measures that give the community oversight of budgeting, spending, and project planning.
“The only thing in our way is this system”
Speakers at the rally emphasized that the resources to protect the city already exist. They argued that the problem lies in how those resources are allocated and prioritized.
“We deserve and can win all of these demands if we stand up and fight for them,” said Devorah Levy-Pearlman, an organizer with the CUT THE CHECK! campaign. “Our community already has all the resources and knowledge to protect each other from storms. This state and country have all the wealth, technology, and materials it could possibly need to protect people and their homes from storms, ensure everyone has an evacuation plan, and mass-distribute preparedness resources to all households as soon as a storm is forecast. The only thing in the people’s way is this system, which gives endless tax breaks to polluting oil and gas corporations who exacerbate climate change, all while defunding and deprioritizing flood-safety infrastructure and emergency preparedness.”
Public safety versus political priorities
Organizers also drew a sharp contrast between the city’s spending priorities, and the real safety needs of its residents. With state leaders considering National Guard deployments in the city, speakers questioned why militarization takes precedence over basic storm preparation.
“With New Orleans facing a potential National Guard deployment, people might wonder why we’re talking about storm preparedness,” said Jade Woods, another organizer with the campaign. “But with a worsening climate crisis, federal funding disappearing, and the future of city programs under fire, it’s important for us to think about what actually keeps people in this city safe. Investing in solutions like free public evacuation programs and flood watch systems is real public safety, not soldiers in our streets.”
A call for transparency and urgency
Speakers criticized the city’s opaque budgeting process, which they say leaves residents shut out of critical decisions that impact their safety. Many also pointed to infighting between the City Council and the Mayor’s Office as a barrier to progress.
With the 2025 hurricane season looming and federal disaster relief funds uncertain, CUT THE CHECK! organizers say their demands are about more than dollars. They argue that this is a fight for survival.
