NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Helena Moreno gathered with civic leaders whose work shaped her administration’s first 100 days at a celebration held at Gallier Hall, releasing the All In for New Orleans: 100-Day Report and laying out her priorities for the term ahead.
“The mandate came from 5,800 residents,” Mayor Moreno told the audience. “The plan is in your hands. The work continues tomorrow.”
The celebration capped a transition built around the city’s most extensive community engagement effort in recent memory. Nearly 300 civic leaders served across seven policy committees, and an All In survey collected nearly 5,800 responses citywide. Over 400 residents participated in in-person events.
Accomplishments during the first 100 days of the Moreno administration
Moreno opened by highlighting what she called the basics, things broken for years and accepted as normal. She pointed to 2,300 streetlights repaired using crime risk data, 10,000 potholes filled and the city’s first in-house concrete repairs in over 20 years, and a suite of fiscal reforms that cut Q1 overtime spending by $8 million and recovered approximately $7 million in uncollected revenue through 145 sales tax audits, nearly matching the total conducted in all of 2025.
On economic opportunity, Mayor Moreno highlighted permit approval timelines cut from 40 days to 14, the groundbreaking of the Naval Support Activity site in the Bywater delivering nearly 300 affordable housing units alongside Newlab New Orleans, and the return of a full-service grocery store to New Orleans East. “When those doors opened in February, people were emotional,” she said. “New Orleans East residents have been deprioritized for far too long.” She also pointed to four affordable housing groundbreakings in 100 days, including the 103-unit BW Cooper senior community, and the opening of Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park.
On public safety, Mayor Moreno described Mardi Gras 2026 as one of the safest in recent memory, made possible by a convening, held on Day Two of the Moreno administration, of state and federal law enforcement partners for the first time in years. She also highlighted the reopening of WIC services in Algiers, expanded SNAP and Medicaid enrollment brought directly into communities across the city, and the launch of a Substance Use Mobile Resource Clinic that connected 219 people to services in its first week.
Transition co-chairs who spoke at the event applauded the progress made in the first 100 days of the administration.
“The Mayor listened to the community. Civic leaders worked hand-in-hand with the administration to develop a road map. The Mayor put together the right team, and together they’ve worked 24/7 to deliver.” said Emily Arata, who co-chaired the transition.
“I spent a decade in Congress watching cities rise and fall based on one factor more than almost any other: whether their leaders knew how to work beyond City Hall,” said Cedric Richmond, former U.S. Congressman and transition co-chair. “The relationships Mayor Moreno is building right now, with the congressional delegation, with parish presidents, at the state capitol, will pay dividends for this city for years.”
“Every issue is a public safety issue: blight, broken street lights, a young person without a job,” said Desirée Charbonnet, former Chief Judge of New Orleans Municipal Court and transition co-chair. “This Mayor understands that. The N.O.D.I.C.E. program, the Violence Prevention Ecosystem, the Algiers neighborhood intervention — this is what it looks like when a city treats public safety as a whole-of-government responsibility.”
“Permitting timelines cut from 40 days to 14; City-owned sites put back into productive use; a groundbreaking at the NSA site, bringing 300 affordable units and a clean energy hub to the Bywater,” said Ryan Berger, business leader and transition co-chair. “The energy in the city is different, and the business community, both locally and from afar, has taken notice: New Orleans is open for business.”
The path forward: Delivering on community priorities surfaced through the All In survey
Mayor Moreno devoted the second half of her remarks to commitments drawn directly from what residents said they need.
She committed to making in-house repair capacity permanent and pursuing the funding and legislative authority to reform the Sewerage and Water Board. “HB 573 is the start,” she said. “The goal is an accountable, modern utility that stops waking up mayors at 3 in the morning.”
On economic opportunity, she outlined plans to scale permitting reforms, deliver a coordinated workforce development strategy connecting employers and job seekers, and develop a long-term regional public transportation agenda, calling reliable transit a top priority for young people and lower-income residents.
On public safety, she committed to a prevention-focused strategy that addresses the conditions driving crime, expanding youth pathways to employment, and treating blight and disinvestment with the same urgency brought to enforcement.
On neighborhood investment, she announced a City Hall Annex coming to New Orleans East, plans for a new municipal complex, and a five-year housing strategy to increase supply and close affordability gaps, paired with an integrated homelessness response.
“We have the will,” Mayor Moreno closed. “We are finding the way. Are you all in?”
The mayoral transition fund was supported by the New Orleans Community Support Foundation, a subsidiary of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, serving as fiscal sponsor. No city funds were used. Community engagement was supported by community-based organizations, including Council on Aging of Greater New Orleans, Committee for a Better New Orleans, Eternal Seeds, New Orleans East Leadership (NOEL), Mary Queen of Vietnam Church, Step Up Louisiana, and Young Leadership Council. HR&A Advisors served as a strategic implementation partner to the transition and community engagement process. PFM provided budgetary and fiscal policy advisory services.
The All In for New Orleans: 100-Day Report is available at [nola.gov/100-day-report].
Full survey findings are available at [nola.gov/survey-findings], and an interactive dashboard is available at [nola.gov/survey-dashboard].