New Orleans Mayor Brings Cajun Food, Advice To The Rockaways

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As the city turns to rebuilding after Sandy, the mayor of New Orleans paid a visit to the Rockaways to survey the damage and share advice and some New Orleans food and flare. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.

The Rockaways had a visitor with some experience in disaster recovery.

Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, came to the Rockaways with a gaggle of chefs from the Big Easy, sharing Creole cuisine with those hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.

"The lessons we learned from Katrina, the ones good and bad, we want to be able to share and help with, and on top of that, we just want to say we love you and help you for what you guys did, and the people of New Orleans just wanted to pay it forward," Landrieu said.

"We know from past experience this is what the people need," said Greg Reggio of Zea Rotisserie and Grill. "They need a chance to forget, maybe for an hour or for a day, even for a second, and just enjoy some good Louisiana food."

The Big Easy's mayor took a tour of the Rockaways with Deputy Mayor Robert Steel.

"He had a lot of helpful perspective to offer," Steel said.

Landrieu saw damage that brought back memories of hurricanes past.

"What I saw was devastating," he said. "And it really doesn't matter which one was bigger. They were both awful."

Mayor Landrieu's visit to the Rockaways comes after members of the Bloomberg administration traveled down to New Orleans earlier this month to see what New York can learn from their recovery.

"We have to do better at rebuilding," Landrieu said. "We have to do better at resilience. One of the lessons we learned from Sandy was electricity is really important, electricity is everything. We have to fortify that grid."

These lessons, said Landrieu, apply just as much to the bayou as they do to our own backyard.