New Orleans mayor says parts of city to reopen next week, French Quarter soon after

New Orleans mayor announced Thursday that large parts of the city will reopen early next week, and the French Quarter the week after that.

The reopened areas of the city represent 182,000 residents

"The city of New Orleans will start to breathe again. We will have life. We will have commerce. We will have people getting into their normal mode of operations, and the rhythm that makes this city so unique," Ray Nagin said.

He added: "It's a good day in New Orleans. The sun is shining .... We're going to bring this city back," reports the AP.