Mayor Cantrell’s Deputy Chief Administration Officer for Infrastructure Ramsey Green has announced that he will be stepping down in May. Throughout Cantrell’s terms as mayor, Green has been responsible for overseeing various roadwork projects, leading the city’s response to flooding in August 2017, and even played a role in the city’s handling of the collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel.

This is the latest in a series of resignations of administration officials, including Communications Director Beau Tidwell, city attorney Sunni LeBeouf, and Public Safety and Homeland Security Director Terry Ebbert. It’s not unusual to see official turnover rise at the start of a new term. In Green’s case, he said that he had initially planned to leave much sooner, but the necessary emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic led him to stick around.

With the coronavirus switching from pandemic to endemic status and the city returning to a sense of normalcy, Green now feels it’s time to step down and let someone else take the reins.

“Hurricane Ida, obviously, it was a big moment for our city, and I view it as a testament for the durability of our city,” Green told the New Orleans Advocate|Times Picayune. “But after Hurricane Ida, my wife and I said this is our last hurricane season in this role.”

It’s been a tough four years for Green, particularly when it comes to roadwork and drainage projects. As Cantrell took office in 2018, roadwork projects planned under former Mayor Mitch Landrieu under a $2 billion FEMA-funded program hadn’t been started. Green worked diligently to get the work started. However, much of that work stalled during the pandemic, and residents have expressed growing frustration with the city’s slow progress. In an attempt to force more accountability, early this month the City Council voted unanimously to freeze the budgets of the Department of Public Works and the Department of Safety and Permits.

Add to that a seemingly never-ending series of disasters – the Hard Rock Hotel Collapse, City Hall cyberattack, coronavirus pandemic, and Hurricane Ida, and it’s been a tough run for Green. However, Green notes that he has been consistently impressed by the city’s municipal workers.

“The last four years have been a challenge, but I’ve been so honored to be a part of it and see what this city is capable of when things are difficult,” he said.

It’s those people and their dedication that has led Green and his family to want to stay in New Orleans even after he steps away from his public office, Green said.

“We are going to stay here because I have seen what is under the hood. And what’s under the hood is the most dedicated people I’ve ever been around in my life.”