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Annual party outside Jazz Fest shut down despite permit had become a nuisance, neighbors say

NOPD released a statement saying that officers intervened at the party because they received so many noise complaints from neighbors.

NEW ORLEANS — A block party that became a Jazz Fest tradition was shut down for the first time last week, but neighbors say it was for a good reason.

The people who put on a street party outside Jazz Fest for the past nine years aren’t sure if they’ll keep the tradition going this weekend.

The block party could still happen, but without the live music.

“We've done this house party outside of the gates of the fest right here for about 10 years now and unfortunately this year is the first year that the police have shut us down,” organizer Jeff Jani said.

Jani said that they had proper permits, but police shut them down Thursday.

“It’s disheartening to say the absolute least,” Stephen Welinsky, who also puts on the party, said. “I’m worried if this is happening now, what could potentially happen next?”

RELATED: 'It's a deforestation of our culture,' neighbors fear cultural shift with live bands shut down outside Jazz Fest

Food and water is given out to anyone passing by. Strangers are even welcome to take a bathroom break. But some neighbors say the party, known by many as 'Sauvage Fest,' got out of hand.

“On principle, I have no objection to people having a party one night after Jazz Fest with a loud band,” Keith Twitchell, a neighbor, said. “What happened right around here was about four or five years ago one of our neighbors started having a band every night after Jazz Fest.”

Twitchell says it was hard for any other neighbors to entertain in their own homes and backyards, so he said he asked for a compromise – to limit the party to a couple nights.

“He just wouldn’t listen,” Twitchell said. “So after about four years of this, a lot of us just started complaining and this year they told him no music.”

Organizers of the party said while they still had live music every night after the festival last year, they actively cut down performance time and ended them by 8 p.m. They also added sound dampening equipment around the house. 

People walking by noticed the difference.

“It’s not as festive and fun because it’s so quiet,” Renee Auld said.

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NOPD released a statement saying that officers intervened at the party because they received so many noise complaints from neighbors.

“In response to multiple noise complaints near the intersection of Sauvage & Maurepas streets, our officers responded to a single location and spoke to the resident who, in the spirit of cooperation, agreed to stop playing music through an amplified device,” the statement said.

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