Demo Diva rips into City Hall in dispute over demolition request

'A bunch of fill-in-the-blank people are running this city,' she says on radio talk show

In a city where the owner of a garbage-collection company is a high-profile public figure and familiar presence on TV, it perhaps is not surprising that the boss of a demolition company has a radio talk show.

View full sizeEliot Kamenitz, The Times-Picayune archiveDemo Diva Simone Bruni was photographed at a work site in Chalmette in July 2007.

In any case, Simone Bruni, who runs the company Demo Diva and refers to herself by the same name, is not shy about using her WGSO platform to voice her opinions on issues such as what goes on at City Hall, or "City Hell," as she jokingly called it on a recent show.

She gets particularly irate when the city does not approve requests to demolish buildings she thinks need to come down, especially if her company has the contract to raze them.

Thus, she was incensed recently when the Neighborhood Conservation District Committee, which considers demolition requests in many old neighborhoods, failed to approve requests by businessman John Blancher to tear down two buildings at Fig and Dublin streets, in the same block where he operates Ye Olde College Inn restaurant and Rock 'n' Bowl. Blancher, who bought the properties in December for $355,000, wants to make the site a combination of green space and parking lot for his businesses. He said that demolishing the two duplexes would increase the safety of his customers and employees. The NorthWest Carrollton Civic Association opposed the request, saying it is better for the neighborhood to have buildings than vacant lots.

Talking about the meeting later on her show, Bruni, who would do the demolitions of what she called "two crack houses," could hardly contain her anger. She described the committee as "a bunch of people looking at each other and licking their fingers, sticking it the air, and saying, 'Which way is the wind blowing? And we're going to decide to approve your demolition pending what we ate for lunch.' "

She also said "a bunch of fill-in-the-blank people are running this city."

Blancher appealed the committee's denial of his requests to the City Council, which is likely to decide the issue next week. The site is in Councilwoman Susan Guidry's district.

Bruce Eggler can be reached at beggler@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3320.