A long-simmering dispute between the Port of New Orleans and New Orleans Building Corporation over the port's plan to transform two wharves at the foot of the French Market into a poultry exporting operation has heated up recently as both agencies move forward with separate plans to develop the Mississippi riverfront, accoridng to The Times-Picayune.

Port of New Orleans President and CEO, Gary P. LaGrange, has accused the building corporation's chief executive, Sean Cummings, of trying to derail the poultry project and of violating a contract between the city and the port that governs development of the riverfront.

The port has earmarked the wharves as a new headquarters for poultry exporter, New Orleans Cold Storage. The company is currently housed on the Industrial Canal but has had trouble moving cargo since Hurricane Katrina blocked access to the channel.