NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans is reminding all current permit holders to renew their permits for the selling of art on Jackson Square in the French Quarter before the approaching statutory deadline in less than three weeks. Following the permit renewal process, the City announced it will manage a new, more efficient lottery system to select new Artist A permit holders for 2015.
City code requires artists who sell art on or around Jackson Square to obtain an Occupational License and Mayoralty Permit from the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue. Eligible permits are either Artist A permits to sell art on and in the vicinity of Jackson Square or Artist B permits to sell art only in the vicinity of Jackson Square. The deadline for all current permit holders to renew is Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015. Because that day falls on a weekend, the City will accept renewal applications up to the next business day, until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2, 2015.
All permit holders who wish to renew must apply in person, present a valid photo ID and be prepared to pay $175.25 in the form of a certified check or money order payable to the City of New Orleans. For applicants over the age of 65, the fee is $25.25. The Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue is located in City Hall at 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W15, New Orleans.
All permit holders who fail to renew their existing permit on or before Feb. 2, will be required to re-apply as a new applicant. Artist A permit holders who fail to renew their permit by Feb. 2, will not be eligible for an Artist A permit until 2016.
A maximum of 200 Artist A permits may be issued according to city code; there is no limit for Artist B permits. Once all renewals have been completed, the City will notify the public of the remaining number of available Artist A permits. The City is introducing a new lottery system in 2015 to provide qualified applicants a fair and efficient opportunity to obtain a new Artist A permit.
Only qualified applicants are eligible to obtain Artist A permits. Qualified applicants, as defined by city code, are those persons who either have a current Artist B permit or have an application for a new Artist A permit on file with the Bureau of Revenue for at least 30 days. Therefore, only those applicants who applied for a new Artist A permit on or before Jan. 2, 2015, or current Artist B permit holders (as of Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015) will be eligible to enter the 2015 Artist A permit lottery.
Individuals wishing to become eligible for the 2016 Artist A permit lottery should submit their application to the Bureau of Revenue on or before Dec. 31, 2015.
Qualified applicants seeking an Artist A permit (including current Artist B permit holders who wish to upgrade to an Artist A permit) must apply in person between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 3 or Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, at the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue located in City Hall at 1300 Perdido St., Room 1W15, New Orleans. All applicants must present a valid photo ID. Those Artist B permit holders who are applying for an upgrade to an Artist A permit must also present their current Artist B permit.
The Bureau of Revenue will conduct the public lottery for new Artist A permits at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, in the Purchasing Conference Room on the 4th Floor of City Hall. Applicants must be present during the lottery, possess a valid photo ID and be prepared to pay $175.25 in the form of a certified check or money order payable to the City of New Orleans to obtain their permit. For applicants over the age of 65, the fee is $25.25.
Artist B permits are processed throughout the year. Any person wanting to apply for a new Artist B permit must submit an Artist B permit application to the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Revenue in person. Applications must be on file for at least 30 days before they can be processed and are up for renewal each January.
