According to reports from WWL-TV, GPS devices on the building inspectors vehicles showed they had not been at the locations at the times they were to be conducting building inspections in the summer of 2019, including several times in September when they claimed to have inspected the Hard Hard Rock hotel site. A third building inspector who had inspected the Hard Rock hotel, Thomas Dwyer, has recently retired but also received a similar suspension letter from the city. 

The New Orleans City Council recently announced that it is opening its own investigation into the building collapse. The partially collapsed Hard Rock hotel remains standing along the edge of the city’s French Quarter, with little visible demolition progress since the two tower cranes were imploded October 20. 

The demolition contractor on the project was removed by the city in January over repeated delays, and a new demolition team has been brought in. Plans have been submitted in recent weeks by demolition contractor D.H. Griffin for the controlled implosion and cleanup of the hotel, and are currently undergoing review by city and state officials. A final date for the implosion of the building has not been set, but New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell had previously said it could be set for as early as March.