The reality of Katrina didn't really strike me until the first time I flew up in a helicopter and saw areas of the city that I had ridden my bicycle as a youth being fully flooded. Ray Nagin areabicyclecity Change image and share on social
I don't think that any person can fix FEMA. I think FEMA needs a total restructuring. I think it needs to be taken from scratch and redone. The regulations are outdated; the rules are outdated. Ray Nagin femafixoutdate Change image and share on social
The people of our city are holding on by a thread. Time has run out. Can we survive another night? And who can we depend on? Only God knows. Ray Nagin citydependgod Change image and share on social
I was among the people in the Superdome. I knew what was going on every minute. I did not have air conditioning nor shower facilities. I made decisions based upon facts and not what I thought was going to happen. So history will judge me based upon those actions. Ray Nagin actionairbase share on social
This city will be chocolate at the end of the day. This city will be a majority-African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. Ray Nagin africanamericanchocolate Change image and share on social
When people are dying, bureaucracy should be thrown out of the water. Ray Nagin bureaucracydiepeople Change image and share on social
I want to continue to stay plugged into New Orleans and help people who are still struggling with the recovery here, and then, if I can help around the country and around the world, absolutely, I'll be open to that. Ray Nagin absolutelycontinuecountry share on social
I always feel that in politics, you have a bridle on. Well, I took the bridle off. And I tell you, it felt pretty good. Ray Nagin bridlefeelfelt Change image and share on social
If it were my decision, I'd knock the Superdome down. If I couldn't knock it down, I'd just open the roof and gut the whole inside - totally modernize it. If you just dust it off and paint a little bit but don't reimage it, the legacy will be horrible. Ray Nagin bitedecisiondust share on social
At the Superdome, a young man came up to me holding a baby. He'd run out of diapers. He'd run out of medicine. His baby was sick. The guy's saying, 'Help me! Take my baby.' What could I do? That's the definition of helpless. Ray Nagin babydefinitiondiaper share on social
