Louisiana-New Orleans

Still no reply to parade application - wedding in 10 days!

I sent it in a month and a half ago and was told someone would be in touch mid-september.  I sent an email around September 20 and got no reply, so I sent another one September 29 to Officer Powers.  I was in London at the time, and apparently I woke him up by emailing him at an odd hour because he was on call.  He sent me a nasty reply.  I apologized profusely.  Still no response to my application and we're getting married on October 22.  I had no idea an EMAIL would wake this guy up!  I mean, do they email him if there's a robbery or something?

Anyone had an experience like this?  I'm not the type to hound people, and I am always respectful in my correspondence - but now I'm worried I've just ticked this guy off.

Aaaaargh!

Re: Still no reply to parade application - wedding in 10 days!

  • Queen JaneQueen Jane member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are October 23 and also have had no response. I left a message yesterday and will be calling again this morning. So, you are not alone.
  • hannahc7891hannahc7891 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks!  That is such a relief.  I thought I was blacklisted.
  • edited December 2011
    I read somewhere on here not that long ago that Officer Powers was no longer in charge of the permits and there was a new contact person within the PD.  I don't want to speak out of turn, but I got the impression he was no longer dealing with them because he was handling them improperly (??).  You might want to doublecheck that you are dealing with the correct person.  Very odd response to an email I might add.....
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  • Queen JaneQueen Jane member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Hannah, I just spoke with Lisa, the secretary at the special events office. Officer Powers is out until the end of the week. She found my parade app on top of his pile so the invoice is likely in the mail or he was going to send it when he returns. She suggested to just send payment with a note of who and when it is for.

    It can be cashiers check of money order, one for 50.25 made of out the city of nola and the other for 325 made out to SOD Traffic Permit.

    I plan to call for confirmation Friday or Monday when he returns.

    She said he is the only one who is doing the permits, so not sure what happened there, but I do remember that thread as well.
  • RYLZRYLZ member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Just to clear up, since I think you all are referring to a thread I responded to a few months back, I believe there was a temporary period where officer Powers was no longer handling the applications (I wont list the details, just in case I have any of them wrong) but basically, 2nd line permits were being rerouted to the "Special Events Department".  It seems he may be back in charge.

    He's been very helpful to me, answering all my questions, even during the time he wasn't handling permits.  I'd have to say though, even though we brides want things handled and arranged way in advance, they're attitude is it's a done deal and we'll get back to you some time before the wedding.  When I mentioned to him I felt nervous about waiting until just a few weeks before the wedding to get confirmation (he said I could expect confirmation 7-10 days before the wedding!), he assured me that he had never declined an application in his years of receiving them.

    Also, I'd say he's much easier to reach by phone than email.

    Good luck and Happy Wedding!
  • edited December 2011
    Good info to know bezlu.  Thanks!
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  • hannahc7891hannahc7891 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks everyone for all this helpful info!
  • edited December 2011

    A word of warning...First my invoice was sent to the wrong email address.  It came about 10 days before the wedding  I called three times to confirm my permit, paid my invoice sent to me by officer powers (not the same as the prior officer powers) and called again last Friday to confirm.  My wedding was saturday.  I had 120 people standing outside the ceremony location and guess what??  NO POLICE DETAIL SHOWED UP!!  My second line band said they could not lead us without a detail.  I almost had an attack.  Luckily, another detail happened to be passing by and my husband flagged them down and they were able to get two motorcycle cops to us ASAP.  All in all it only delayed us for 10 minutes but I was in a full panic.  I plan to repeat all this in my vendor reviews but I saw this post and had to let you know.  My advice is to go in person to the Special Events office at the police station on Broad St and hand the money to an actual person and get a reciept.  Also, ask for a number to call on the day of in case something like this happens to you!!!  Best of luck!

  • hannahc7891hannahc7891 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Oh my gosh, SuzyQ!  How awful!  I'm so glad you were able to get it worked out and proceed as planned.  I will definitely go down there in person.  Why can't people just do their jobs and behave professionally?  So frustrating.
  • edited December 2011
    Exactly Hannah!  They make you pay for the service, say you can't have the parade without them, make you feel like a nusiance for annoying them before hand, and then they still don't show!!  I plan on contacting someone from the city to file a complaint on behalf of all future brides.  This is a huge moneymaker for the city of New Orleans.  They need to find a better system to run it.  But my day was still perfect, I'm sure yours will be too!!!
  • Queen JaneQueen Jane member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Uuuuugh I was going to mail payment today. Should I wait until we are in town next week? Would next Friday be too late to pay in person for a wedding next Sunday??
  • jdcook1jdcook1 member
    First Comment
    edited January 2012
    I had the same problem for the same weekend. I got married on October 22, 2011. I didn't get my permit until 2 days before the wedding. We actually used OPP for the escort and not NOPD. Also, to be clear, Officer Don Powers used to handle permits and now Sgt. Walter Powers handles them. I had to start calling and texting his cell phone just to get him to respond to me. I even called Officer Don Powers to see of he could help, which he did! It's all just so aggravating. Good luck to all future brides planning their weddings!
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