Councilmember-at-Large Clarkson Statement
Re: Purchase of Chevron Building for City Hall
New Orleans, LA - July 28, 2009 - "Today, I voted against purchasing the Chevron Building as a new location for City Hall.
"When the Mayor first approached the Council with the idea of relocating City Hall, I considered the issue with an open mind. I was not predisposed to oppose or support the purchase because of any personalities involved. Instead, I wanted to give the idea a fair hearing and all the due diligence that it and my constituents deserve.
"I did not then, nor do I now, think the City needs a new City Hall for ourselves while many of our constituents continue to live without streetlights, parks, and in some areas without libraries and hospitals. But, as a Realtor with 40 years of experience, I did see an excellent financial opportunity to buy a modern office building at a great price as an investment, instead of pumping the same dollar amount into a building that probably will be demolished in the coming decade.
"I believe the City's leaders ought to "think big" about the current City Hall site - a site that, with the renovations to the Superdome, Dominion Towers, the Hyatt, and the demolition of the old state buildings around Duncan Plaza, is land too valuable to be holding only a dilapidated City Hall. This site should instead be master planned for a public/private, mixed-development, government complex with an architecturally appropriate City Hall, incorporating the adjacent state property and Duncan Plaza, with private tenants to buy down the cost of government. Other progressive cities have done this, and it has worked. Twenty years ago, as a District Councilmember, I proposed this idea to the Administration. With that perspective, I have taken the opportunity to investigate the possibility of using the Chevron Building as an interim City Hall. I have consulted with my fellow Councilmembers, community leaders, constituents, former professional colleagues, the Mayor, and members of his administration.
"But even in spite of the great opportunity and potential I see for this land, I have continued to have serious reservations about the purchase. Without a comprehensive, public plan for a new City Hall development; a plan that the public has time to understand and buy into; a plan that we can show beyond a reasonable doubt will contribute to the City's wealth and not detract from its recovery, purchasing the Chevron Building is a mistake. With a team of the best minds in this City, we may yet have a chance in the future to come up with a planning process that provides for a new City Hall that doesn't detract from recovery. But with the contract for the Chevron Building on the table today, my vote is 'No.' "
Contact:
Jacquelyn Cole
Office of Councilmember-at-Large Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson
Ph: 504-658-1072
Cell: 504-577-3600
jlcole@cityofno.com
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Mounting Evidence That Broken Windows Works
George L. Kelling
How New York Became Safe: The Full Story
A citywide effort, involving many agencies and institutions, helped restore order.
17 July 2009
Just 20 years ago, New York City was racked with crime: murders, burglaries, drug deals, car thefts, thefts from cars. (Remember the signs in car windows advising no radio?) Unlike many cities' crime problems, New York’s were not limited to a few inner-city neighborhoods that could be avoided. Bryant Park, in the heart of midtown and adjacent to the New York Public Library, was an open-air drug market; Grand Central Terminal, a gigantic flophouse; the Port Authority Bus Terminal, “a grim gauntlet for bus passengers dodging beggars, drunks, thieves, and destitute drug addicts,” as the New York Times put it in 1992. In July 1985, the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City published a study showing widespread fear of theft and assault in downtown Brooklyn, Fordham Road in the Bronx, and Jamaica Center in Queens. Riders abandoned the subway in droves, fearing assault from lunatics and gangs.
New York’s drop in crime during the 1990s was correspondingly astonishing—indeed, one of the most remarkable stories in the history of urban crime,” according to University of California law professor Franklin Zimring. While other cities experienced major declines, none was as steep as New York’s. Most of the criminologists’ explanations for it—the economy, changing drug-use patterns, demographic changes—have not withstood scrutiny. Readers of City Journal will be familiar with the stronger argument that the New York Police Department’s adoption of quality-of-life policing and of such accountability measures as Compstat was behind the city’s crime drop.
Yet that explanation isn’t the whole story. Learning the rest is more than an academic exercise, for if we can understand fully what happened in New York, we not only can adapt it to other cities but can ensure that Gotham’s crime gains aren’t lost in today’s cash-strapped environment.
As New York suffered, an idea began to emerge that would one day restore the city. Nathan Glazer first gave it voice in a 1979 Public Interest article, “On Subway Graffiti in New York,” arguing that graffitists, other disorderly persons, and criminals “who rob, rape, assault, and murder passengers . . . are part of one world of uncontrollable predators.” For Glazer, a government's inability to control even a minor crime like graffiti signaled to citizens that it certainly couldn't handle more serious ones. Disorder, therefore, was creating a crisis that threatened all segments of urban life. In 1982, James Q. Wilson and I elaborated on this idea, linking disorder to serious crime in an Atlantic story called “Broken Windows” (see below).
Yet it wasn't just intellectuals who were starting to study disorder and minor crimes. Policymakers like Deputy Mayor Herb Sturz and private-sector leaders like Gerald Schoenfeld, longtime chairman of the Shubert Organization, believed that disorderly conditions—aggressive panhandling, prostitution, scams, drugs—threatened the economy of Times Square. Under Sturz’s leadership, and with money from the Fund for the City of New York, the NYPD developed Operation Crossroads in the late 1970s. The project focused on minor offenses in the Times Square area; urged police to develop high-visibility, low-arrest tactics; and attempted to measure police performance by counting instances of disorderly behavior.
Despite some initial success, Operation Crossroads was ultimately aborted, and the NYPD returned to business as usual. Later, the police employed similar tactics in Bryant Park after Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis threatened to close it; again they met with early success, but again they eventually abandoned the attempt.
As soon became clear, sporadic police programs weren’t enough. Only when a wide range of agencies and institutions began to work on restoring public order did real progress begin. In 1980, a second attempt to fix Bryant Park took off: the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, headed by Dan Biederman, used environmental design, maintenance, private security, and other approaches inspired by the success of Rockefeller Center. Similarly, in 1988, the Grand Central Partnership (also led by Biederman) began reducing disorder in the 75 blocks surrounding Grand Central by employing private security and hiring the homeless to clean the streets. Thirty-two more Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) were developing similar approaches in New York.
Public transportation was another area where public order became a priority. In 1984, David Gunn, president of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), began a five-year program to eradicate graffiti from subway trains. Then, in 1989, Robert Kiley, chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, asked the transit police (then located within the NYCTA) to focus on minor offenses; a year later, he hired as its chief William Bratton, who immediately zeroed in on disorder, especially fare beating. And in the early nineties, the NYCTA adopted similar policing methods for Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.
Neighborhood organizations, too, began demanding that order be restored—even the local community board in the Tompkins Square Park area, which had once been quite tolerant of disorderly behavior. And the judiciary branch got involved as well, with the 1993 opening of the Midtown Community Court, which swiftly handles those who commit minor offenses.
In sum, a diverse set of organizations in the city—pursuing their own interests and using various tactics and programs—all began trying to restore order to their domains. Further, in contrast with early sporadic efforts like Operation Crossroads, these attempts were implemented aggressively and persistently. Biederman, for example, worked on Bryant Park for 12 years. When Kiley was struggling to restore order in the subway, he had to withstand pressure from powerful opponents: the New York Civil Liberties Union, the mayor’s office (which had suggested bringing portable kitchens and showers into the subway for the homeless), the police commissioner, and the transit police. In fact, it was after the transit cops resisted Operation Enforcement, Kiley’s first effort to restore order, that he hired Bratton.
By the early 1990s, these highly visible successes, especially in the subway, had begun to express themselves politically. Better than any other politician, Rudy Giuliani understood the pent-up demand for public order and built his successful 1993run for mayor on quality-of-life themes. Once in office, he appointed Bratton, who had orchestrated the subway success and understood the importance of order maintenance, as New York’s police commissioner.
Under Bratton, the NYPD brought enormous capacities to bear on the city's crime problem—particularly Compstat, its tactical planning and accountability system, which identified where crimes were occurring and held local commanders responsible for their areas. Giuliani and Bratton also gave the force’s members a clear vision of the “business” of the NYPD and how their activities contributed to it. In short, a theory previously advocated largely by elites filtered down to—and inspired—line police officers, who had constituted a largely ignored and underused capacity.
Once the NYPD joined the effort, the order-maintenance movement expanded even more. Port Authority, initially skeptical about Kiley's approach in the subway and Grand Central and Penn Stations, took similar action to restore order; the Midtown Community Court spawned the Center for Court Innovation, a nonprofit organization that helped develop the Red Hook Community Court in 1998; and BIDs increased from 33 in 1989 to 61 in 2008.
Clearly, Giuliani and Bratton were heroes in reclaiming public spaces. But Glazer, Sturz, Gunn, Kiley, Biederman, and others were stalwarts as well. They set the stage for what was to follow. Current mayor Michael Bloomberg and police commissioner Ray Kelly also deserve kudos; rather than overturning the Bratton/Giuliani innovations and going their own way—as new administrators are wont to do—they adopted, refined, and strengthened them.
As New York confronts a fiscal crisis, its leaders need to remember that the city owes its crime decline to a broad range of public and private agencies. Maintaining the NYPD’s commitment to its proven crime-fighting methods is crucial, of course. But so is the broader citywide emphasis on public order.
George L. Kelling is a professor at the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University in Newark and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
The Mounting Evidence That Broken Windows Works
Twenty-seven years ago, James Q. Wilson and I published “Broken Windows”in The Atlantic, proposing that untended disorder and minor offenses gave rise to serious crime and urban decay. We also hypothesized that government and community action to restore order might reduce crime. Not surprisingly, responses to the article were mixed. The Justice Department’s research arm, the National Institute of Justice, prepared to fund a major experiment to study the links between disorder and serious crime, but senior officials nixed it as too controversial. Police were sympathetic to the Broken Windows theory but also wary, since they felt overwhelmed by 911 calls already and didn't relish the prospect of still more work. And the article got little attention in the academy.
But after New York City’s astonishing crime drop in the nineties—much of which Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton credited to the Broken Windows approach—a firestorm of academic criticism erupted, claiming that Broken Windows was racist, it harassed and criminalized the poor, it constituted cultural imperialism, it amounted to overzealous “zero tolerance,” and so on. Moreover, the crime drop had nothing to do with Broken Windows (or any other police action); it was the result of changes in the economy or other broad social trends. Some criminologists attacked Broken Windows to advance their careers, realizing that variations on the theme of “Broken Windows disproved” were an effective way to call attention to their own work. But for most, ideology was at stake. Not only did the effectiveness of Broken Windows undermine the decades-long assumption that only large-scale social and economic change could prevent crime; it also meant that breakthroughs in crime prevention could come from the Right—anathema to criminologists, most of whom occupied the far Left.
Still, critics of Broken Windows had one good point: New York provided, at most, anecdotal and correlational evidence of a relationship between disorder and crime. There were very few experimental studies—the most certain method of establishing causality—showing that the first caused the second.
But that changed last year, when University of Groningen researcher Kees Keizer and his colleagues published a paper in Science. In six experiments in the Netherlands, Keizer observed and compared the behavior of people under artificial conditions of order and disorder. Invariably, he found that disorderly conditions encouraged further and more serious levels of disorderly behavior. In one experiment, for example, Keizer placed an envelope conspicuously containing five euros in a mailbox. When the mailbox was clean, 13 percent of people who passed it stole the money; when it was covered with graffiti, 27 percent took it.
Also in 2008, Harvard University researcher Anthony A. Braga and his colleagues published the results of a complex set of field experiments in Criminology. Researchers and police identified small neighborhoods in Lowell, Massachusetts, and randomly assigned them to experimental and control conditions. In each of the experimental areas—where police were maintaining order, Broken Windows–style—crime dropped more sharply than in the control areas and, moreover, did not simply move to adjacent neighborhoods. The article also built on an earlier experiment, with the same results, that Braga had conducted in Jersey City a decade earlier.
While these studies do not settle, once and for all, the question of the relationship between disorder and serious crime, they do provide a substantial body of experimental evidence that fixing broken windows ought to be an integral part of any community’s response to crime. In fact, it’s hard to think of a policy option for fixing a major social problem that is as strongly supported—by both experience and solid research—as is Broken Windows.
George L. Kelling
Compstatting the Fire Department
This year, the New York City Fire Department will spend more than most state public-safety agencies: its 2009 executive budget provides for operating expenses of $1.5 billion and capital commitments of $224.7 million. To date, the public has continued to support generous funding—understandably: the FDNY has earned its reputation as one of the city’s outstanding public agencies. But the department could do even better. While it fights fires with great success, bureaucratic mismanagement has resulted in serious problems in two other areas: controlling costs and managing risks.
The FDNY’s expenditures don’t receive as much oversight as do state budgets, which are managed by professionals and subject to scrutiny by various local, state, federal, and independent entities. The department’s waste of tens of millions of dollars in overtime pay, among various embarrassing and costly mistakes, makes clear that it deeply needs accountability and performance measurement. Especially in a time of lean budgets, the city deserves a better accounting for its investment. Better risk-management practices, meanwhile, might have prevented some recent FDNY tragedies. The 2001 Father’s Day fire took the lives of three outstanding men and was started by an explosion in a building long overdue for inspection. Inspection failures were at least partly to blame for the deaths of two firefighters in the Deutsche Bank fire of 2008 as well.
One way to address both problems would be to reinstitute an important tool: a fire-department version of the NYPD’s Compstat system. Compstat, developed in the early nineties, issues weekly reports on crime statistics and trends. Local commanders also receive reports on department statistics, such as overtime, accidents, sick leave, and injuries. They are held accountable for meeting crime-reduction objectives and for managing their resources effectively.
In early 2001, the FDNY launched its own version of Compstat, called FireMARC (Management Appraisal, Review, and Comparisons). The program was designed to improve communication and coordination among various bureaus in the organization. As in Compstat, information databases were coupled with a geographic mapping system that produced graphic displays, detailed reports, and trend analyses. These included a variety of reports on overtime, sick leave, injuries, accidents, and apparatus downtime. The system also assigned priorities for building inspections.
FireMARC was still being integrated in June 2001, when the Father’s Day fire took place. A few months later, of course, the department was devastated by the 9/11 attacks, and FireMARC understandably took a backseat in the aftermath. But even once some sense of normality had returned, the system never became fully realized, and it was abandoned in 2002. It’s time the FDNY gave it another look.
Tom Von Essen
How New York Became Safe: The Full Story
A citywide effort, involving many agencies and institutions, helped restore order.
17 July 2009
Just 20 years ago, New York City was racked with crime: murders, burglaries, drug deals, car thefts, thefts from cars. (Remember the signs in car windows advising no radio?) Unlike many cities' crime problems, New York’s were not limited to a few inner-city neighborhoods that could be avoided. Bryant Park, in the heart of midtown and adjacent to the New York Public Library, was an open-air drug market; Grand Central Terminal, a gigantic flophouse; the Port Authority Bus Terminal, “a grim gauntlet for bus passengers dodging beggars, drunks, thieves, and destitute drug addicts,” as the New York Times put it in 1992. In July 1985, the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City published a study showing widespread fear of theft and assault in downtown Brooklyn, Fordham Road in the Bronx, and Jamaica Center in Queens. Riders abandoned the subway in droves, fearing assault from lunatics and gangs.
New York’s drop in crime during the 1990s was correspondingly astonishing—indeed, one of the most remarkable stories in the history of urban crime,” according to University of California law professor Franklin Zimring. While other cities experienced major declines, none was as steep as New York’s. Most of the criminologists’ explanations for it—the economy, changing drug-use patterns, demographic changes—have not withstood scrutiny. Readers of City Journal will be familiar with the stronger argument that the New York Police Department’s adoption of quality-of-life policing and of such accountability measures as Compstat was behind the city’s crime drop.
Yet that explanation isn’t the whole story. Learning the rest is more than an academic exercise, for if we can understand fully what happened in New York, we not only can adapt it to other cities but can ensure that Gotham’s crime gains aren’t lost in today’s cash-strapped environment.
As New York suffered, an idea began to emerge that would one day restore the city. Nathan Glazer first gave it voice in a 1979 Public Interest article, “On Subway Graffiti in New York,” arguing that graffitists, other disorderly persons, and criminals “who rob, rape, assault, and murder passengers . . . are part of one world of uncontrollable predators.” For Glazer, a government's inability to control even a minor crime like graffiti signaled to citizens that it certainly couldn't handle more serious ones. Disorder, therefore, was creating a crisis that threatened all segments of urban life. In 1982, James Q. Wilson and I elaborated on this idea, linking disorder to serious crime in an Atlantic story called “Broken Windows” (see below).
Yet it wasn't just intellectuals who were starting to study disorder and minor crimes. Policymakers like Deputy Mayor Herb Sturz and private-sector leaders like Gerald Schoenfeld, longtime chairman of the Shubert Organization, believed that disorderly conditions—aggressive panhandling, prostitution, scams, drugs—threatened the economy of Times Square. Under Sturz’s leadership, and with money from the Fund for the City of New York, the NYPD developed Operation Crossroads in the late 1970s. The project focused on minor offenses in the Times Square area; urged police to develop high-visibility, low-arrest tactics; and attempted to measure police performance by counting instances of disorderly behavior.
Despite some initial success, Operation Crossroads was ultimately aborted, and the NYPD returned to business as usual. Later, the police employed similar tactics in Bryant Park after Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis threatened to close it; again they met with early success, but again they eventually abandoned the attempt.
As soon became clear, sporadic police programs weren’t enough. Only when a wide range of agencies and institutions began to work on restoring public order did real progress begin. In 1980, a second attempt to fix Bryant Park took off: the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, headed by Dan Biederman, used environmental design, maintenance, private security, and other approaches inspired by the success of Rockefeller Center. Similarly, in 1988, the Grand Central Partnership (also led by Biederman) began reducing disorder in the 75 blocks surrounding Grand Central by employing private security and hiring the homeless to clean the streets. Thirty-two more Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) were developing similar approaches in New York.
Public transportation was another area where public order became a priority. In 1984, David Gunn, president of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), began a five-year program to eradicate graffiti from subway trains. Then, in 1989, Robert Kiley, chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, asked the transit police (then located within the NYCTA) to focus on minor offenses; a year later, he hired as its chief William Bratton, who immediately zeroed in on disorder, especially fare beating. And in the early nineties, the NYCTA adopted similar policing methods for Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal.
Neighborhood organizations, too, began demanding that order be restored—even the local community board in the Tompkins Square Park area, which had once been quite tolerant of disorderly behavior. And the judiciary branch got involved as well, with the 1993 opening of the Midtown Community Court, which swiftly handles those who commit minor offenses.
In sum, a diverse set of organizations in the city—pursuing their own interests and using various tactics and programs—all began trying to restore order to their domains. Further, in contrast with early sporadic efforts like Operation Crossroads, these attempts were implemented aggressively and persistently. Biederman, for example, worked on Bryant Park for 12 years. When Kiley was struggling to restore order in the subway, he had to withstand pressure from powerful opponents: the New York Civil Liberties Union, the mayor’s office (which had suggested bringing portable kitchens and showers into the subway for the homeless), the police commissioner, and the transit police. In fact, it was after the transit cops resisted Operation Enforcement, Kiley’s first effort to restore order, that he hired Bratton.
By the early 1990s, these highly visible successes, especially in the subway, had begun to express themselves politically. Better than any other politician, Rudy Giuliani understood the pent-up demand for public order and built his successful 1993run for mayor on quality-of-life themes. Once in office, he appointed Bratton, who had orchestrated the subway success and understood the importance of order maintenance, as New York’s police commissioner.
Under Bratton, the NYPD brought enormous capacities to bear on the city's crime problem—particularly Compstat, its tactical planning and accountability system, which identified where crimes were occurring and held local commanders responsible for their areas. Giuliani and Bratton also gave the force’s members a clear vision of the “business” of the NYPD and how their activities contributed to it. In short, a theory previously advocated largely by elites filtered down to—and inspired—line police officers, who had constituted a largely ignored and underused capacity.
Once the NYPD joined the effort, the order-maintenance movement expanded even more. Port Authority, initially skeptical about Kiley's approach in the subway and Grand Central and Penn Stations, took similar action to restore order; the Midtown Community Court spawned the Center for Court Innovation, a nonprofit organization that helped develop the Red Hook Community Court in 1998; and BIDs increased from 33 in 1989 to 61 in 2008.
Clearly, Giuliani and Bratton were heroes in reclaiming public spaces. But Glazer, Sturz, Gunn, Kiley, Biederman, and others were stalwarts as well. They set the stage for what was to follow. Current mayor Michael Bloomberg and police commissioner Ray Kelly also deserve kudos; rather than overturning the Bratton/Giuliani innovations and going their own way—as new administrators are wont to do—they adopted, refined, and strengthened them.
As New York confronts a fiscal crisis, its leaders need to remember that the city owes its crime decline to a broad range of public and private agencies. Maintaining the NYPD’s commitment to its proven crime-fighting methods is crucial, of course. But so is the broader citywide emphasis on public order.
George L. Kelling is a professor at the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University in Newark and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
The Mounting Evidence That Broken Windows Works
Twenty-seven years ago, James Q. Wilson and I published “Broken Windows”in The Atlantic, proposing that untended disorder and minor offenses gave rise to serious crime and urban decay. We also hypothesized that government and community action to restore order might reduce crime. Not surprisingly, responses to the article were mixed. The Justice Department’s research arm, the National Institute of Justice, prepared to fund a major experiment to study the links between disorder and serious crime, but senior officials nixed it as too controversial. Police were sympathetic to the Broken Windows theory but also wary, since they felt overwhelmed by 911 calls already and didn't relish the prospect of still more work. And the article got little attention in the academy.
But after New York City’s astonishing crime drop in the nineties—much of which Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton credited to the Broken Windows approach—a firestorm of academic criticism erupted, claiming that Broken Windows was racist, it harassed and criminalized the poor, it constituted cultural imperialism, it amounted to overzealous “zero tolerance,” and so on. Moreover, the crime drop had nothing to do with Broken Windows (or any other police action); it was the result of changes in the economy or other broad social trends. Some criminologists attacked Broken Windows to advance their careers, realizing that variations on the theme of “Broken Windows disproved” were an effective way to call attention to their own work. But for most, ideology was at stake. Not only did the effectiveness of Broken Windows undermine the decades-long assumption that only large-scale social and economic change could prevent crime; it also meant that breakthroughs in crime prevention could come from the Right—anathema to criminologists, most of whom occupied the far Left.
Still, critics of Broken Windows had one good point: New York provided, at most, anecdotal and correlational evidence of a relationship between disorder and crime. There were very few experimental studies—the most certain method of establishing causality—showing that the first caused the second.
But that changed last year, when University of Groningen researcher Kees Keizer and his colleagues published a paper in Science. In six experiments in the Netherlands, Keizer observed and compared the behavior of people under artificial conditions of order and disorder. Invariably, he found that disorderly conditions encouraged further and more serious levels of disorderly behavior. In one experiment, for example, Keizer placed an envelope conspicuously containing five euros in a mailbox. When the mailbox was clean, 13 percent of people who passed it stole the money; when it was covered with graffiti, 27 percent took it.
Also in 2008, Harvard University researcher Anthony A. Braga and his colleagues published the results of a complex set of field experiments in Criminology. Researchers and police identified small neighborhoods in Lowell, Massachusetts, and randomly assigned them to experimental and control conditions. In each of the experimental areas—where police were maintaining order, Broken Windows–style—crime dropped more sharply than in the control areas and, moreover, did not simply move to adjacent neighborhoods. The article also built on an earlier experiment, with the same results, that Braga had conducted in Jersey City a decade earlier.
While these studies do not settle, once and for all, the question of the relationship between disorder and serious crime, they do provide a substantial body of experimental evidence that fixing broken windows ought to be an integral part of any community’s response to crime. In fact, it’s hard to think of a policy option for fixing a major social problem that is as strongly supported—by both experience and solid research—as is Broken Windows.
George L. Kelling
Compstatting the Fire Department
This year, the New York City Fire Department will spend more than most state public-safety agencies: its 2009 executive budget provides for operating expenses of $1.5 billion and capital commitments of $224.7 million. To date, the public has continued to support generous funding—understandably: the FDNY has earned its reputation as one of the city’s outstanding public agencies. But the department could do even better. While it fights fires with great success, bureaucratic mismanagement has resulted in serious problems in two other areas: controlling costs and managing risks.
The FDNY’s expenditures don’t receive as much oversight as do state budgets, which are managed by professionals and subject to scrutiny by various local, state, federal, and independent entities. The department’s waste of tens of millions of dollars in overtime pay, among various embarrassing and costly mistakes, makes clear that it deeply needs accountability and performance measurement. Especially in a time of lean budgets, the city deserves a better accounting for its investment. Better risk-management practices, meanwhile, might have prevented some recent FDNY tragedies. The 2001 Father’s Day fire took the lives of three outstanding men and was started by an explosion in a building long overdue for inspection. Inspection failures were at least partly to blame for the deaths of two firefighters in the Deutsche Bank fire of 2008 as well.
One way to address both problems would be to reinstitute an important tool: a fire-department version of the NYPD’s Compstat system. Compstat, developed in the early nineties, issues weekly reports on crime statistics and trends. Local commanders also receive reports on department statistics, such as overtime, accidents, sick leave, and injuries. They are held accountable for meeting crime-reduction objectives and for managing their resources effectively.
In early 2001, the FDNY launched its own version of Compstat, called FireMARC (Management Appraisal, Review, and Comparisons). The program was designed to improve communication and coordination among various bureaus in the organization. As in Compstat, information databases were coupled with a geographic mapping system that produced graphic displays, detailed reports, and trend analyses. These included a variety of reports on overtime, sick leave, injuries, accidents, and apparatus downtime. The system also assigned priorities for building inspections.
FireMARC was still being integrated in June 2001, when the Father’s Day fire took place. A few months later, of course, the department was devastated by the 9/11 attacks, and FireMARC understandably took a backseat in the aftermath. But even once some sense of normality had returned, the system never became fully realized, and it was abandoned in 2002. It’s time the FDNY gave it another look.
Tom Von Essen
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Lutheran Volunteers in NorthWest Carrollton
Maybe you saw the story in the newspaper about 37000 Lutherans converging on New Orleans.
Today we had 40 volunteers working in NorthWest Carrollton. They painted the dance studio on Apple & Cambronne, right across from the Ashton Theatre. They cleaned ALL the drains on Apple Street and many on Joliet and Nelson and Leonidas as well. They helped us pass our our Night Out Against Crime Flyers. They picked up trash as they passed out flyers. Tomorrow a different group will be putting the second coat on the Dance Studio and will continue the drain cleanouts.
It is probably hard for them to imagine the HUGE! difference this kind of attention makes to our little corner of the world. It is not possible to say THANK YOU enough.
Here are today's hardworkers at a well deserved lunch
We are doing our best to RECLAIM APPLE. We will be planting trees in the neighborhood in November. Chef Seaton (who lives on Apple) is working with all the home owners and trying to get folks to agree to plant bright pink crepe mytles down the length of Apple Street.
Anyone interested in trees for property located in NorthWest Carrollton bounded by Earhart-Carrollton-Claiborne-Leonidas can leave a comment on this post and we'll get back to you with a form.
Today we had 40 volunteers working in NorthWest Carrollton. They painted the dance studio on Apple & Cambronne, right across from the Ashton Theatre. They cleaned ALL the drains on Apple Street and many on Joliet and Nelson and Leonidas as well. They helped us pass our our Night Out Against Crime Flyers. They picked up trash as they passed out flyers. Tomorrow a different group will be putting the second coat on the Dance Studio and will continue the drain cleanouts.
It is probably hard for them to imagine the HUGE! difference this kind of attention makes to our little corner of the world. It is not possible to say THANK YOU enough.
Here are today's hardworkers at a well deserved lunch
We are doing our best to RECLAIM APPLE. We will be planting trees in the neighborhood in November. Chef Seaton (who lives on Apple) is working with all the home owners and trying to get folks to agree to plant bright pink crepe mytles down the length of Apple Street.
Anyone interested in trees for property located in NorthWest Carrollton bounded by Earhart-Carrollton-Claiborne-Leonidas can leave a comment on this post and we'll get back to you with a form.
Disaster Preparedness Seminar
Saturday July 25, the Leonidas House invites you to attend the Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Seminar/Resident Survey Information Workshop hosted at the Xavier Ballroom.
The event is open to all residents in New Orleans with the intent of building community in the Carrollton area. If you have not attended a Red Cross seminar, this is a great opportunity to receive information on disaster and emergency preparedness in time for hurricane season.
When:
Saturday, July 25 starting at 12:00pm
Where:
The Xavier Ballroom
One Drexel Dr.,
New Orleans, LA, 70185
Agenda
12:15pm - 1:15pm: Red Cross Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Seminar
*Hosted by Tilman Hardy
1:30pm - 3:00pm: Resident Survey Information Workshop
*Brief presentation by LSU Sociology Professor Rick Weil regarding the importance of neighborhood data for community rebuilding, followed by opportunity to complete LSU Disaster Recovery Survey
To RSVP for this event please email Laura Pryor with the Neighborhoods Partnership Network at: laura@npnnola.com.
The event is open to all residents in New Orleans with the intent of building community in the Carrollton area. If you have not attended a Red Cross seminar, this is a great opportunity to receive information on disaster and emergency preparedness in time for hurricane season.
When:
Saturday, July 25 starting at 12:00pm
Where:
The Xavier Ballroom
One Drexel Dr.,
New Orleans, LA, 70185
Agenda
12:15pm - 1:15pm: Red Cross Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Seminar
*Hosted by Tilman Hardy
1:30pm - 3:00pm: Resident Survey Information Workshop
*Brief presentation by LSU Sociology Professor Rick Weil regarding the importance of neighborhood data for community rebuilding, followed by opportunity to complete LSU Disaster Recovery Survey
To RSVP for this event please email Laura Pryor with the Neighborhoods Partnership Network at: laura@npnnola.com.
Monday, July 13, 2009
2nd District Email Blast - 8300 Block of Belfast
On Saturday, 07/11/09 at about 11:40 p.m., Second District units
responded to a shooting in the 8300 block of Belfast Street. Upon
arrival Officers observed a black male clad in a white and blue stripe
polo styled shirt, blue jean shorts, and white tennis lying in front
of a rsidence in the 8300 block Belfast Street, suffering from one gun
shot wound to the head. EMS attempted to render aid but could not
revive the subject. On July 12th Ricardo Jackson (b/m 18 yrs. old)
turned himslef into the police for the incident. Additional
information on this arrest and/or subsequent prosecution can be
obtained via the Docket Master at www.opcso.org.
responded to a shooting in the 8300 block of Belfast Street. Upon
arrival Officers observed a black male clad in a white and blue stripe
polo styled shirt, blue jean shorts, and white tennis lying in front
of a rsidence in the 8300 block Belfast Street, suffering from one gun
shot wound to the head. EMS attempted to render aid but could not
revive the subject. On July 12th Ricardo Jackson (b/m 18 yrs. old)
turned himslef into the police for the incident. Additional
information on this arrest and/or subsequent prosecution can be
obtained via the Docket Master at www.opcso.org.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Where's the Cool Air Going?"
Thursday, July 16
9 AM
Catholic Charities Incarnate Word Center
8326 Apricot St.
"Where's the Cool Air Going?"
Presenter: Andre Olagues, LSU AgCenter Associate
This presentation will discuss how to seal your home to reduce hot air infiltration, including how to correct air leakages in your ductwork to prevent loss of air-conditioned air. We will also provide some ideas for "Do It Yourself" measures that will produce quick payback and are easy for homeowners to do.
For suggestions on how to keep your house cool and your utility bills
low this summer:
http://lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/home/design_construction/Design/Remodeling+Renovation/Improving+Energy+Efficiency/
9 AM
Catholic Charities Incarnate Word Center
8326 Apricot St.
"Where's the Cool Air Going?"
Presenter: Andre Olagues, LSU AgCenter Associate
This presentation will discuss how to seal your home to reduce hot air infiltration, including how to correct air leakages in your ductwork to prevent loss of air-conditioned air. We will also provide some ideas for "Do It Yourself" measures that will produce quick payback and are easy for homeowners to do.
For suggestions on how to keep your house cool and your utility bills
low this summer:
http://lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/home/design_construction/Design/Remodeling+Renovation/Improving+Energy+Efficiency/
Friday, July 10, 2009
Keep NOAH Open! Protest Governor Jindal's outrageous veto
Protest Governor Jindal's outrageous veto, prompting the closure of the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital!
“With a stroke of the pen, the governor eliminated vital mental health care in New Orleans and placed the safety of our law enforcement officers and private citizens at serious risk.” -- Louisiana State Representative Neil Abramson, The Times-Picayune, 7/2/2009
With the removal of the impatient beds at NOAH, our local entity to provide secure 24/7 care, we in essence lose the heart of all these (outpatient) programs. Without the heart, the ability for the other components to function properly is compromised.” -- Commander Cecile Tebo, New Orleans Police Department Mobile Crisis Unit, The Times-Picayune, 4/1/2009
“What distinguishes NOAH is that we took people regardless. We were the Charity (Hospital) equivalent.” -- Dr. Martin Drell, Clinical Director, LSU-HCSD for New Orleans Adolescent Hospital, The Times-Picayune, 7/3/2009
Urge your state legislators to override Governor Jindal's veto!
Don’t know how to reach your senator or representative?
Call 1(800) 256-3793,
Monday thru Friday 9:00am-11:00am & 2:00pm-4:00pm
or go to http://www.legis.state.la.us
RALLY TO KEEP NOAH OPEN
Wednesday July 8, 7:00pm
St. Matthews Baptist Church,
2800 First Street
INFO: Advocates for Louisiana Public Healthcare
504) 269-4951 or bradott@bellsouth.net
PUBLIC FORUM ON NOAH
Tuesday July 14, 6:00pm
New Orleans City Council Chambers,
1300 Perdido Street
INFO: Committee to Reopen Charity Hospital
(504) 908-5310 or dmorrison33@com
Louisiana ACORN – (800) 239-7379 x 2345 or la@acornmail.net
United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) – (504) 304-2160 or kndang@utno.org
“With a stroke of the pen, the governor eliminated vital mental health care in New Orleans and placed the safety of our law enforcement officers and private citizens at serious risk.” -- Louisiana State Representative Neil Abramson, The Times-Picayune, 7/2/2009
With the removal of the impatient beds at NOAH, our local entity to provide secure 24/7 care, we in essence lose the heart of all these (outpatient) programs. Without the heart, the ability for the other components to function properly is compromised.” -- Commander Cecile Tebo, New Orleans Police Department Mobile Crisis Unit, The Times-Picayune, 4/1/2009
“What distinguishes NOAH is that we took people regardless. We were the Charity (Hospital) equivalent.” -- Dr. Martin Drell, Clinical Director, LSU-HCSD for New Orleans Adolescent Hospital, The Times-Picayune, 7/3/2009
Urge your state legislators to override Governor Jindal's veto!
Don’t know how to reach your senator or representative?
Call 1(800) 256-3793,
Monday thru Friday 9:00am-11:00am & 2:00pm-4:00pm
or go to http://www.legis.state.la.us
RALLY TO KEEP NOAH OPEN
Wednesday July 8, 7:00pm
St. Matthews Baptist Church,
2800 First Street
INFO: Advocates for Louisiana Public Healthcare
504) 269-4951 or bradott@bellsouth.net
PUBLIC FORUM ON NOAH
Tuesday July 14, 6:00pm
New Orleans City Council Chambers,
1300 Perdido Street
INFO: Committee to Reopen Charity Hospital
(504) 908-5310 or dmorrison33@com
Louisiana ACORN – (800) 239-7379 x 2345 or la@acornmail.net
United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) – (504) 304-2160 or kndang@utno.org
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Freedom to do anything they want
The Chin Family owns property in NorthWest Carrollton: Property on Belfast. Property on Apple.
The City of New Orleans has allowed these properties to languish and decay, essentially allowing the property owners to do anything they want. The Chins have gotten away everthing from doing nothing to endless code and health violations and now illegal demolisions. In addition to the city allowing the Chins YEARS to demolish their property by neglect, now the city has either helped with the demolitions (Belfast) or allowed them to take place illegally (Apple). The rights and freedoms of others, to live in a neighborhood without code violations, to have rule of law in their city, to have their property values protected, well those don't seem to matter much.
The Apple Street property was demolished without a permit on July 2nd.
The Belfast Properties had their stability compromised essentially overnight, after almost 4 years of neglect and the city was forced to take them down. Then after the demolition the debris of these 2 properties sat for nearly a week.
This brings the total to 3 properties demolished without permits.
The Apple St property had been through the Admin Adjudication process in March. We've asked for updates and have received nothing. Additionally the property had been through the same process the year before and the order NEVER signed off by Code Enforcement thus allowing the property to slide into further decay. The City enables these people to continue to do as they please, putting the rest of the neighborhood at the mercy of their whims and the City's inability or unwillingness to fine the owner, who just so happened to be a major campaign contributor to the Nagin camp.
A formal Public Records request was made for all communications in regards to 8400 and 8404 Belfast St between the City of New Orleans and the Chin Family. There has been no response from the City. Another request will be filed for the communications on Apple St.
This family has willfully allowed these properties to fester, ignored or evaded fines, and eventually did what they sought to do all along.
On this Fourth of July let's all celebrate our freedoms!
The City of New Orleans has allowed these properties to languish and decay, essentially allowing the property owners to do anything they want. The Chins have gotten away everthing from doing nothing to endless code and health violations and now illegal demolisions. In addition to the city allowing the Chins YEARS to demolish their property by neglect, now the city has either helped with the demolitions (Belfast) or allowed them to take place illegally (Apple). The rights and freedoms of others, to live in a neighborhood without code violations, to have rule of law in their city, to have their property values protected, well those don't seem to matter much.
The Apple Street property was demolished without a permit on July 2nd.
The Belfast Properties had their stability compromised essentially overnight, after almost 4 years of neglect and the city was forced to take them down. Then after the demolition the debris of these 2 properties sat for nearly a week.
This brings the total to 3 properties demolished without permits.
The Apple St property had been through the Admin Adjudication process in March. We've asked for updates and have received nothing. Additionally the property had been through the same process the year before and the order NEVER signed off by Code Enforcement thus allowing the property to slide into further decay. The City enables these people to continue to do as they please, putting the rest of the neighborhood at the mercy of their whims and the City's inability or unwillingness to fine the owner, who just so happened to be a major campaign contributor to the Nagin camp.
A formal Public Records request was made for all communications in regards to 8400 and 8404 Belfast St between the City of New Orleans and the Chin Family. There has been no response from the City. Another request will be filed for the communications on Apple St.
This family has willfully allowed these properties to fester, ignored or evaded fines, and eventually did what they sought to do all along.
On this Fourth of July let's all celebrate our freedoms!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Chinese Drywall?
The City of New Orleans Mayor's Office of Environmental Affairs is hosting an Environmental Justice Listening Session in cooperation with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 6
When: July 9, 2009
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Where: 1300 Perdido St. 1st Floor, City Council Chambers
This meeting is in preparation for the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council meeting that will take place in July in Washington, DC. The Listening Session will provide participants an opportunity to discuss a variety of topics pertaining to health and the environment. Issues to be discussed may include: Chinese Dry wall, unintended effects of green building, alternative energy, air quality, food security, illegal dumping issues and other topics of interest.
If you have key issues that you would like to discuss that evening, please contact Wynecta Fisher, City of New Orleans, wmfisher@cityofno.com (504) 658-4070
The meeting is open to the public.
When: July 9, 2009
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Where: 1300 Perdido St. 1st Floor, City Council Chambers
This meeting is in preparation for the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council meeting that will take place in July in Washington, DC. The Listening Session will provide participants an opportunity to discuss a variety of topics pertaining to health and the environment. Issues to be discussed may include: Chinese Dry wall, unintended effects of green building, alternative energy, air quality, food security, illegal dumping issues and other topics of interest.
If you have key issues that you would like to discuss that evening, please contact Wynecta Fisher, City of New Orleans, wmfisher@cityofno.com (504) 658-4070
The meeting is open to the public.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
NorthWest Carrollton Resident, sees dead people at Borders
Chris Rose
Haunting memories
At the former House of Bultman, now a Borders, not all of the stories are between the covers of a bookSunday, June 28, 2009 Chris Rose
I was having a conversation with an old friend this week about a book that is enjoying current popularity and she said to me: "I'll have to go to the funeral parlor and get a copy."
Now there's something you don't hear every day.
Then again, they don't put bookstores in funeral homes just anywhere. In fact, if you Google the phrase "bookstore in a funeral home," there's only one and that's the one in the former House of Bultman on St. Charles Avenue. Established 1883. Generations ago.
Now it's Borders.
New Orleans writer Christine Wiltz admits to feeling a little wobbly every time she walks into the store. "I always think of my mother," she says. "I feel kind of melancholy for a moment. Then, once I get in here, after a few minutes, the books kind of take over my consciousness and I'm OK. There's always some comfort once I see the books."
That's the thing about putting a bookstore in a funeral home. When they walk in, some folks see books. Other folks see dead people.
"When you walk in there, you get the feeling of people floating above you," local book lover Elizabeth Hutton says. "It's like a cloud of witnesses. It's spooky. But they're not malevolent spirits. It's a benevolent presence I feel each time I walk in."
It's not necessarily a universal experience these folks have, the dead people/book thing. It's only that way, I suppose, for folks who attended funerals at Bultman over the years, the decades -- which I never did.
But Wiltz and her husband, Joe Pecot, they went to many. And adjusting to the sight of bargains, best sellers and baristas where you said good-bye to your nearest and dearest can be a discomfiting enterprise.
"My mother was right there under the Seattle's Best coffee sign," Wiltz says, leading me into the café that lines the Louisiana Avenue side of the building. "My father and I had an argument over whether it should be an open or closed casket. He's Catholic. Catholics like open, for the most part. But she had specifically said: Do not open the casket. So he and I are standing right here having an argument over my mother's dead body."
Right here, under the Seattle's Best sign, where a woman who no doubt never knew Wiltz's mother eats a cherry Danish and reads Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love."
"My daddy was over in this room," Pecot says, moving us toward the cash register and muffin display counter. "There was a chapel, pews. They could do an altar right there by the sign that says, 'It's Summer, Get Happy.' And he was laid out right under 'Smooth Roasted Coffee.' "
For Wiltz and Pecot, and lots of folks like them, this is not a bookstore, it's a journey. Reverie and sorrow where Harry Potter lords over the aisles.
"This place was so grand," Wiltz says, looking around. "The foyer was huge."
"The atrium," Pecot says. "It was gorgeous!"
They tell the story of a funeral for a friend. The place was packed, out the atrium door, through the foyer and out the front door of the building.
"There was such a hush in this room," Wiltz continues. "It was so sad. It was so untimely; we were destroyed by it."
She pauses, then says: "He would have been right about here, between 'Gifts for Dad' and 'Our Staff Recommends.' "
Behind that, in the back of what was once the grand atrium, between "Aviation" and "Civil War," there was the door through which caskets were loaded into and out of vehicles. The casket showroom, however, was up a large staircase that is no longer here. So we ride up the escalator. And Wiltz seems a bit bewildered.
"I think this is the place," she says, doubtfully. "Right here between 'Travel' and 'Humor.' This was the casket room. It was huge, dark and lush, and the caskets were all open so you could see the plush interiors."
By Wiltz and Pecot's reckoning, the casket room stretched past "Fitness" all the way to "Cooking," passing over, fittingly, "Bereavement."
We're standing there, soaking in the meaning of it all. An employee stacking books in "African-American" hesitates, fumbles some "Politics and History." "Sorry," she says. "I'm trying not to listen."
Aside, she confides in us: " 'Children's Reading' is haunted."
At the top of the escalator, Wiltz takes in the broad view of the store below. "When I stand right here, I could absolutely forget this was Bultman's," she says. "This is new and modern, and that was old and grand. There is nothing left of that place. And this escalator being here is completely bonkers. An escalator in Bultman's?"
A place like this can't help but tug at your own worn and tenuous threads of mortality. So much history, family, tears.
"I feel sad not only about what happened inside here during my lifetime, but I feel sad that this is no longer a funeral home," Wiltz says. "So many of my friends and family always thought they would be buried from here. I always thought I would be. And it's kind of upsetting to me that that's not going to happen. I would have loved to have exited from that beautiful atrium."
She looks down from the second floor to where the atrium was, all flagstone and ferns and mourning and memory -- and now it's just shoppers.
She shrugs. She says: "Just lay me out in 'True Crime.' "
. . . . . . .
Columnist Chris Rose can be reached at chris.rose@timespicayune.com, or 504.826.3309, or 504.352.2535. Comment or read past columns at nola.com/living.
Haunting memories
At the former House of Bultman, now a Borders, not all of the stories are between the covers of a bookSunday, June 28, 2009 Chris Rose
I was having a conversation with an old friend this week about a book that is enjoying current popularity and she said to me: "I'll have to go to the funeral parlor and get a copy."
Now there's something you don't hear every day.
Then again, they don't put bookstores in funeral homes just anywhere. In fact, if you Google the phrase "bookstore in a funeral home," there's only one and that's the one in the former House of Bultman on St. Charles Avenue. Established 1883. Generations ago.
Now it's Borders.
New Orleans writer Christine Wiltz admits to feeling a little wobbly every time she walks into the store. "I always think of my mother," she says. "I feel kind of melancholy for a moment. Then, once I get in here, after a few minutes, the books kind of take over my consciousness and I'm OK. There's always some comfort once I see the books."
That's the thing about putting a bookstore in a funeral home. When they walk in, some folks see books. Other folks see dead people.
"When you walk in there, you get the feeling of people floating above you," local book lover Elizabeth Hutton says. "It's like a cloud of witnesses. It's spooky. But they're not malevolent spirits. It's a benevolent presence I feel each time I walk in."
It's not necessarily a universal experience these folks have, the dead people/book thing. It's only that way, I suppose, for folks who attended funerals at Bultman over the years, the decades -- which I never did.
But Wiltz and her husband, Joe Pecot, they went to many. And adjusting to the sight of bargains, best sellers and baristas where you said good-bye to your nearest and dearest can be a discomfiting enterprise.
"My mother was right there under the Seattle's Best coffee sign," Wiltz says, leading me into the café that lines the Louisiana Avenue side of the building. "My father and I had an argument over whether it should be an open or closed casket. He's Catholic. Catholics like open, for the most part. But she had specifically said: Do not open the casket. So he and I are standing right here having an argument over my mother's dead body."
Right here, under the Seattle's Best sign, where a woman who no doubt never knew Wiltz's mother eats a cherry Danish and reads Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love."
"My daddy was over in this room," Pecot says, moving us toward the cash register and muffin display counter. "There was a chapel, pews. They could do an altar right there by the sign that says, 'It's Summer, Get Happy.' And he was laid out right under 'Smooth Roasted Coffee.' "
For Wiltz and Pecot, and lots of folks like them, this is not a bookstore, it's a journey. Reverie and sorrow where Harry Potter lords over the aisles.
"This place was so grand," Wiltz says, looking around. "The foyer was huge."
"The atrium," Pecot says. "It was gorgeous!"
They tell the story of a funeral for a friend. The place was packed, out the atrium door, through the foyer and out the front door of the building.
"There was such a hush in this room," Wiltz continues. "It was so sad. It was so untimely; we were destroyed by it."
She pauses, then says: "He would have been right about here, between 'Gifts for Dad' and 'Our Staff Recommends.' "
Behind that, in the back of what was once the grand atrium, between "Aviation" and "Civil War," there was the door through which caskets were loaded into and out of vehicles. The casket showroom, however, was up a large staircase that is no longer here. So we ride up the escalator. And Wiltz seems a bit bewildered.
"I think this is the place," she says, doubtfully. "Right here between 'Travel' and 'Humor.' This was the casket room. It was huge, dark and lush, and the caskets were all open so you could see the plush interiors."
By Wiltz and Pecot's reckoning, the casket room stretched past "Fitness" all the way to "Cooking," passing over, fittingly, "Bereavement."
We're standing there, soaking in the meaning of it all. An employee stacking books in "African-American" hesitates, fumbles some "Politics and History." "Sorry," she says. "I'm trying not to listen."
Aside, she confides in us: " 'Children's Reading' is haunted."
At the top of the escalator, Wiltz takes in the broad view of the store below. "When I stand right here, I could absolutely forget this was Bultman's," she says. "This is new and modern, and that was old and grand. There is nothing left of that place. And this escalator being here is completely bonkers. An escalator in Bultman's?"
A place like this can't help but tug at your own worn and tenuous threads of mortality. So much history, family, tears.
"I feel sad not only about what happened inside here during my lifetime, but I feel sad that this is no longer a funeral home," Wiltz says. "So many of my friends and family always thought they would be buried from here. I always thought I would be. And it's kind of upsetting to me that that's not going to happen. I would have loved to have exited from that beautiful atrium."
She looks down from the second floor to where the atrium was, all flagstone and ferns and mourning and memory -- and now it's just shoppers.
She shrugs. She says: "Just lay me out in 'True Crime.' "
. . . . . . .
Columnist Chris Rose can be reached at chris.rose@timespicayune.com, or 504.826.3309, or 504.352.2535. Comment or read past columns at nola.com/living.
2nd District eMail Blast Carrollton @ Claiborne
Zone T Subzone 1
On Sunday, June 28, 2009 at approximately 7:35 pm the victim was standing in the neutral ground area awaiting the arrival of the public transportation bus. As the victim was standing there he was approached by a black male clad in a brown "Saints" jacket and brown shorts with a dark colored basebal cap on. The subject pushed the
victim to the ground and then removed the victim's wallet from the left rear pants pocket. The subject then fled on foot in a southbound direction on S. Carrollton Ave and then unknown.
The subject is described as a black male 30-40 yrs. old, 6'2" tall weighing 170# wearing a brown jaket with large Saints logo on the front, brown shorts, dark colored baseball cap
If you have information on this incident please call Second District
Detectives at 658-6020 or notify CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.
Remember to report any suspicious persons or activities you see in
your neighborhood by calling 821-2222. In an emergency, call 911
immediately.
Major Bruce Little
Second District
On Sunday, June 28, 2009 at approximately 7:35 pm the victim was standing in the neutral ground area awaiting the arrival of the public transportation bus. As the victim was standing there he was approached by a black male clad in a brown "Saints" jacket and brown shorts with a dark colored basebal cap on. The subject pushed the
victim to the ground and then removed the victim's wallet from the left rear pants pocket. The subject then fled on foot in a southbound direction on S. Carrollton Ave and then unknown.
The subject is described as a black male 30-40 yrs. old, 6'2" tall weighing 170# wearing a brown jaket with large Saints logo on the front, brown shorts, dark colored baseball cap
If you have information on this incident please call Second District
Detectives at 658-6020 or notify CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.
Remember to report any suspicious persons or activities you see in
your neighborhood by calling 821-2222. In an emergency, call 911
immediately.
Major Bruce Little
Second District
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
NorthWest Carrollton resident activist speaks out on Health Care
Times Picayune Front Page Article June 23, 2009
Obama health plan earns La. disdain.
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama insists that offering Americans the choice of a government-run alternative to private insurance is indispensable to health care reform.
That public option, Obama wrote Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., earlier this month, would give Americans "a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep the insurance companies honest."
Liberal activist groups last week began bombarding Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., with negative ads -- online to start, with radio and TV ads to follow -- for opposing the public option.
In fact, no one in the Louisiana congressional delegation supports the public option as envisioned by Obama, and only freshman Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, remains undeclared on the question.
"At this point, I'm not sure where I stand on it, " Cao said.
The other Republicans in the delegation, including three medical doctors -- Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and John Fleming, R-Minden -- all say they think a public option would ultimately destroy the private insurance market.
They agree with Mike Reitz, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, who made the rounds on Capitol Hill last week, visiting every member of the delegation except Cao and Boustany.
Reitz said that inserting a public plan in the market would rig the process. The tax-supported system, he said, would be able to artificially lower premiums and shift costs to private insurers, cutting away at any competitive advantage they might have.
"The government makes the rules, so they are always going to win the game, " he said.
Reitz predicted that employers would drop private coverage en masse, forcing employees in huge numbers into the public system.
"What employer is going to want to cover their employees if the government will do it?" Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, asked.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said consumers who move to the public plan won't realize until it's too late how limited their health care choices will be.
Landrieu and Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, the delegation's only two Democrats, said they think a government-sponsored health care option should be introduced only under certain circumstances.
Melancon said a public alternative should be "an option of last resort" if market forces fail to lower health care costs.
Landrieu spokesman Aaron Saunders said the senator supports a "predominantly private system that features a federal backup plan that serves as a safety net." While she is "open to compromise, " Saunders said, Landrieu "does not believe that health care reform starts with a public option."
Landrieu's Republican Senate colleague, David Vitter, recently congratulated her for agreeing with him.
But activists supporting Obama's effort are incensed, especially because Landrieu signed a letter on the eve of her re-election last fall pledging her support for overhaul that included the choice of a "public health insurance plan." Saunders said his boss hadn't read the letter carefully.
An advocacy group called Change Congress has launched $10,000 in online ads, focused in New Orleans, asking: "Will Mary Landrieu sell out Louisiana for $1.6 million?" The dollar figure refers to the sum Landrieu has received in political contributions from health and insurance interests over the course of her senatorial career.
By week's end, MoveOn.Org announced it would air similar 60-second radio ads this week in New Orleans, while Democracy for America, a sister organization of Change Congress founded by Howard Dean, was creating a Landrieu-focused TV spot.
Besides the political donations to Landrieu, the Change Congress campaign features a testimonial from Carrollton resident Karen Gadbois, founder of the Web site "Squandered Heritage" and a breast cancer survivor who has no health insurance coverage for herself or her teenage daughter.
Later in the week, Change Congress promoted the story of Zach Hudson, a senior at the University of New Orleans who volunteered in Landrieu's re-election campaign but is now "disillusioned."
Hudson was most recently in the public eye as the young man who launched the campaign to persuade adult film star Stormy Daniels to run for the Senate against Vitter. Hudson said he is no longer involved in that effort
To Fleming, what supporters of a public option really want is a single-payer system. "It's just the first step to what their ultimate objective is: the elimination of competition, " he said.
But Alex Lawson, a health care researcher with the Institute for America's Future, said "health insurance is a classic example of a market failure" that can only be jolted into real competition by a robust public alternative.
Lawson is an author of a recent report that found that in Louisiana, Blue Cross and Blue Shield controls 61 percent of the market.
"There is absolutely no competitive pressure to either compete by delivering better services to the customer or by driving down premiums, " he said. "They can set rates at whatever they want to -- and do."
But Reitz dismissed that notion, saying Blue Cross and Blue Shield competes hard for every dollar in Louisiana.
The fate of Obama's public option is very much up in the air. At the end of last week, House Democrats issued a plan that included a public option, but the draft of a Senate Finance Committee plan, more mindful of centrists such as Landrieu, did not.
. . . . . . .
Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7827.
Obama health plan earns La. disdain.
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama insists that offering Americans the choice of a government-run alternative to private insurance is indispensable to health care reform.
That public option, Obama wrote Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., earlier this month, would give Americans "a better range of choices, make the health care market more competitive, and keep the insurance companies honest."
Liberal activist groups last week began bombarding Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., with negative ads -- online to start, with radio and TV ads to follow -- for opposing the public option.
In fact, no one in the Louisiana congressional delegation supports the public option as envisioned by Obama, and only freshman Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, remains undeclared on the question.
"At this point, I'm not sure where I stand on it, " Cao said.
The other Republicans in the delegation, including three medical doctors -- Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and John Fleming, R-Minden -- all say they think a public option would ultimately destroy the private insurance market.
They agree with Mike Reitz, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, who made the rounds on Capitol Hill last week, visiting every member of the delegation except Cao and Boustany.
Reitz said that inserting a public plan in the market would rig the process. The tax-supported system, he said, would be able to artificially lower premiums and shift costs to private insurers, cutting away at any competitive advantage they might have.
"The government makes the rules, so they are always going to win the game, " he said.
Reitz predicted that employers would drop private coverage en masse, forcing employees in huge numbers into the public system.
"What employer is going to want to cover their employees if the government will do it?" Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, asked.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, said consumers who move to the public plan won't realize until it's too late how limited their health care choices will be.
Landrieu and Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, the delegation's only two Democrats, said they think a government-sponsored health care option should be introduced only under certain circumstances.
Melancon said a public alternative should be "an option of last resort" if market forces fail to lower health care costs.
Landrieu spokesman Aaron Saunders said the senator supports a "predominantly private system that features a federal backup plan that serves as a safety net." While she is "open to compromise, " Saunders said, Landrieu "does not believe that health care reform starts with a public option."
Landrieu's Republican Senate colleague, David Vitter, recently congratulated her for agreeing with him.
But activists supporting Obama's effort are incensed, especially because Landrieu signed a letter on the eve of her re-election last fall pledging her support for overhaul that included the choice of a "public health insurance plan." Saunders said his boss hadn't read the letter carefully.
An advocacy group called Change Congress has launched $10,000 in online ads, focused in New Orleans, asking: "Will Mary Landrieu sell out Louisiana for $1.6 million?" The dollar figure refers to the sum Landrieu has received in political contributions from health and insurance interests over the course of her senatorial career.
By week's end, MoveOn.Org announced it would air similar 60-second radio ads this week in New Orleans, while Democracy for America, a sister organization of Change Congress founded by Howard Dean, was creating a Landrieu-focused TV spot.
Besides the political donations to Landrieu, the Change Congress campaign features a testimonial from Carrollton resident Karen Gadbois, founder of the Web site "Squandered Heritage" and a breast cancer survivor who has no health insurance coverage for herself or her teenage daughter.
Later in the week, Change Congress promoted the story of Zach Hudson, a senior at the University of New Orleans who volunteered in Landrieu's re-election campaign but is now "disillusioned."
Hudson was most recently in the public eye as the young man who launched the campaign to persuade adult film star Stormy Daniels to run for the Senate against Vitter. Hudson said he is no longer involved in that effort
To Fleming, what supporters of a public option really want is a single-payer system. "It's just the first step to what their ultimate objective is: the elimination of competition, " he said.
But Alex Lawson, a health care researcher with the Institute for America's Future, said "health insurance is a classic example of a market failure" that can only be jolted into real competition by a robust public alternative.
Lawson is an author of a recent report that found that in Louisiana, Blue Cross and Blue Shield controls 61 percent of the market.
"There is absolutely no competitive pressure to either compete by delivering better services to the customer or by driving down premiums, " he said. "They can set rates at whatever they want to -- and do."
But Reitz dismissed that notion, saying Blue Cross and Blue Shield competes hard for every dollar in Louisiana.
The fate of Obama's public option is very much up in the air. At the end of last week, House Democrats issued a plan that included a public option, but the draft of a Senate Finance Committee plan, more mindful of centrists such as Landrieu, did not.
. . . . . . .
Jonathan Tilove can be reached at jtilove@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7827.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The lessons were delicious
Take a look at today's article in the Times Picayune. It features a photo and comments from NorthWest Carrollton resident Ronnie Seaton.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Records from City Hall
Have you been challenged in your attempt to get records from the city? Or, to the contrary, did you find that your request was readily answered?
Whatever your experience, if you have a story about your effort to acquire records from the City of New Orleans, I'd like to hear it. I'd also like to hear what you needed the records for.
Since Hurricane Katrina, concerned New Orleanians, charitable organizations, academic researchers, real estate developers, and neighborhood associations have discovered a dire need for access to permit applications, code enforcement activity, demolition lists, blighted properties, infrastructure repairs, crime records, and much more.
To help relieve that need, I'm working on a package of policy reforms called NolaStat, which I hope will be adopted by every candidate in the 2010 municipal elections. The central feature of the NolaStat reform is a recommendation that City Hall create a Web site to host administrative data which can be freely downloaded. The most compelling precedent for this is President Obama's revolutionary new Data.gov Web site, which was itself inspired by the innovative D.C. Data Catalog .
We can make this reform happen. There's a unique convergence of events in our favor. Your story -- which can remain anonymous if you prefer -- may be vital to documenting the public's need for records.
Please contact me if you have a story you'd like to contribute. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can document your story in a ten-minute online survey.
And by all means, if you know someone else who has a story to document, please forward send then a link to this post.
Thank you,
Brian Denzer
http://NolaStat.org
504.344.3366
Whatever your experience, if you have a story about your effort to acquire records from the City of New Orleans, I'd like to hear it. I'd also like to hear what you needed the records for.
Since Hurricane Katrina, concerned New Orleanians, charitable organizations, academic researchers, real estate developers, and neighborhood associations have discovered a dire need for access to permit applications, code enforcement activity, demolition lists, blighted properties, infrastructure repairs, crime records, and much more.
To help relieve that need, I'm working on a package of policy reforms called NolaStat, which I hope will be adopted by every candidate in the 2010 municipal elections. The central feature of the NolaStat reform is a recommendation that City Hall create a Web site to host administrative data which can be freely downloaded. The most compelling precedent for this is President Obama's revolutionary new Data.gov Web site, which was itself inspired by the innovative D.C. Data Catalog .
We can make this reform happen. There's a unique convergence of events in our favor. Your story -- which can remain anonymous if you prefer -- may be vital to documenting the public's need for records.
Please contact me if you have a story you'd like to contribute. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can document your story in a ten-minute online survey.
And by all means, if you know someone else who has a story to document, please forward send then a link to this post.
Thank you,
Brian Denzer
http://NolaStat.org
504.344.3366
Sunday, June 14, 2009
District A Town Hall Meeting (18 June 2009)
EVENT INFORMATION:
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Faith Baptist Church Fellowship Hall
2318 Fern Street
New Orleans District A
TOWN HALL MEETING
6:00-6:30pm Social & Refreshments
6:30-8:30pm Town Hall Meeting
Featured Speaker:
City of New Orleans District A Councilperson Shelley Midura
Discussing Opportunities and Challenges on
• City Finances
• Public Safety
• Flood Protection
• Code Enforcement
• Neighborhood Improvements
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Faith Baptist Church Fellowship Hall
2318 Fern Street
New Orleans District A
TOWN HALL MEETING
6:00-6:30pm Social & Refreshments
6:30-8:30pm Town Hall Meeting
Featured Speaker:
City of New Orleans District A Councilperson Shelley Midura
Discussing Opportunities and Challenges on
• City Finances
• Public Safety
• Flood Protection
• Code Enforcement
• Neighborhood Improvements
Friday, June 12, 2009
New neighbor
Today, June 12, 2009 at 2:15 P.M.
Ms Chloe Reinhard Fitch made her first appearance.
She clocked in a few weeks early at 4 lbs. 13 ozs. with a length of 18 in.
and full head of black curly hair.
Congradulations to the Reinhard & Fitch Families on Claiborne.
Ms Chloe Reinhard Fitch made her first appearance.
She clocked in a few weeks early at 4 lbs. 13 ozs. with a length of 18 in.
and full head of black curly hair.
Congradulations to the Reinhard & Fitch Families on Claiborne.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Andrew Young Speaking in Carrollton This Weekend
Andrew Young will be speaking at
Central/St. Matthew UCC (1333 South Carollton Avenue)
Sunday, June 14 at 10am.
Ambassador Young is a native Orleanian and United Church of Christ minister whose formative childhood and teen years in church life were spent at Central United Church of Christ as part of a family of lifelong members. (Central and St. Matthew are worshipping together since Katrina flooded Central's building in Mid City.)
Dr. Young is a graduate of Gilbert Academy, a prep school which provided top rate education to African-Americans in the segregated first half of the 20th Century. The occasion of his speech is a reunion of Gilbert Academy alumni. Those interested in the background of this man who became a top associate of Dr. Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights movement and later a member of Congress, Mayor of Atlanta, and Ambassador to the United Nations---or those who just want to hear a fine speaker---may want to be there when he comes to Carrollton next Sunday.
Central/St. Matthew UCC (1333 South Carollton Avenue)
Sunday, June 14 at 10am.
Ambassador Young is a native Orleanian and United Church of Christ minister whose formative childhood and teen years in church life were spent at Central United Church of Christ as part of a family of lifelong members. (Central and St. Matthew are worshipping together since Katrina flooded Central's building in Mid City.)
Dr. Young is a graduate of Gilbert Academy, a prep school which provided top rate education to African-Americans in the segregated first half of the 20th Century. The occasion of his speech is a reunion of Gilbert Academy alumni. Those interested in the background of this man who became a top associate of Dr. Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights movement and later a member of Congress, Mayor of Atlanta, and Ambassador to the United Nations---or those who just want to hear a fine speaker---may want to be there when he comes to Carrollton next Sunday.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
June General Meeting - TODAY!
YOU ARE INVITED TO A
NORTHWEST CARROLLTON
NEIGHBORHOOD
GENERAL MEETING
• When: Wednesday, July 8th 7:30pm – 8:30pm
• Where: Incarnate Word - 8326 Apricot Street
Come meet your neighbors,
& discover what is going on in our area!
GUEST SPEAKERS
• Patrice Collins - Neighborhood Assistance Corp of America on YOUR Financial Fitness
• Chritian Roselund - Solar Tax Credits
Topics
• Volunteer Projects for July
• Planning for August's Night Out Against Crime
• Monthly magazine exchange
• Discussion of any other neighborhood issues important to you!
Night Out Against Crime is August 4th!
NORTHWEST CARROLLTON
NEIGHBORHOOD
GENERAL MEETING
• When: Wednesday, July 8th 7:30pm – 8:30pm
• Where: Incarnate Word - 8326 Apricot Street
Come meet your neighbors,
& discover what is going on in our area!
GUEST SPEAKERS
• Patrice Collins - Neighborhood Assistance Corp of America on YOUR Financial Fitness
• Chritian Roselund - Solar Tax Credits
Topics
• Volunteer Projects for July
• Planning for August's Night Out Against Crime
• Monthly magazine exchange
• Discussion of any other neighborhood issues important to you!
Night Out Against Crime is August 4th!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
2nd District Thefts
Between May 25, 2009 and present, the Second District has experienced
several thefts spread throughout the Second District. In the majority
of the incidents the thefts have been ornamental pots and flowers
taken from the lawns and porches of the victims.
The suspect responsible for the crimes is described as a white male,
25-30 years of age, approximately 6' in height with a medium build.
On one incident the subject was seen in a gold colored pickup truck.
If you have information on this suspect please call Second District
Detective Gore at 658-6422 or notify CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.
Remember to report any suspicious persons or activities you see in
your neighborhood by calling 821-2222. In an emergency, call 911
immediately.
Major Bruce Little
Second District.
several thefts spread throughout the Second District. In the majority
of the incidents the thefts have been ornamental pots and flowers
taken from the lawns and porches of the victims.
The suspect responsible for the crimes is described as a white male,
25-30 years of age, approximately 6' in height with a medium build.
On one incident the subject was seen in a gold colored pickup truck.
If you have information on this suspect please call Second District
Detective Gore at 658-6422 or notify CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.
Remember to report any suspicious persons or activities you see in
your neighborhood by calling 821-2222. In an emergency, call 911
immediately.
Major Bruce Little
Second District.
Where is the sidewalk?????
From: NorthWest Carrollton
To: Safety & Permits Faciane; Edward J. Horan; Jared E. Munster; Winston H. Reid; Lennell Smith; Wesley P. Taylor; Andrew Holbein; Enrico J. Sterling; Shelley S. Midura; Amy E. Chandler; Robert Mendoza
Cc: NWCarrollton Board
Sent: Mon Jun 08 11:49:05 2009
Subject: Re: We'd like to see the sidewalk on Fig
All,
I have not seen a response to my previous eMails.
We are having a General Neighborhood Meeting on Wednesday (June 10) and I am hoping for an update.
The property address is 2940 Joliet and it is owned by Greater Bibleway Baptist Church. The sand height on the lot alone is a code violation. But the sand has been allowed to spread and it now covers the sidewalk and the drains on both Joliet and Fig. We would like to property owner to be sited for ALL code violations associated with this location. We would very much like to have the sand that is covering the sidewalk removed. The sand that covered the drain on Fig has been scraped away by recent S&W Board work on Fig. BUT the drain will be completely closed over again, if something is not done to remove the source (on the lot) and if Public Works does not address cleaning off the sidewalk and the sand from the curb.
As a reminder we are planning a large tree planting on Fig in November and are hoping this issue can be addressed before then.
Sincerely,
Jenel Hazlett for NorthWest Carrollton
To: Safety & Permits Faciane
Cc: NWCarrollton Board
Sent: Mon Jun 08 11:49:05 2009
Subject: Re: We'd like to see the sidewalk on Fig
All,
I have not seen a response to my previous eMails.
We are having a General Neighborhood Meeting on Wednesday (June 10) and I am hoping for an update.
The property address is 2940 Joliet and it is owned by Greater Bibleway Baptist Church. The sand height on the lot alone is a code violation. But the sand has been allowed to spread and it now covers the sidewalk and the drains on both Joliet and Fig. We would like to property owner to be sited for ALL code violations associated with this location. We would very much like to have the sand that is covering the sidewalk removed. The sand that covered the drain on Fig has been scraped away by recent S&W Board work on Fig. BUT the drain will be completely closed over again, if something is not done to remove the source (on the lot) and if Public Works does not address cleaning off the sidewalk and the sand from the curb.
As a reminder we are planning a large tree planting on Fig in November and are hoping this issue can be addressed before then.
Sincerely,
Jenel Hazlett for NorthWest Carrollton
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Taming the Dragon: Air Conditioning and Heating Equipment”
Tuesday June 9
5:30 - 7:00 PM
Community Center of St. Bernard
1107 LeBeau St.
Arabi, LA
Presenter: Andre Olagues, LSU AgCenter Associate
What to do when the AC goes out? Take time to consider the options of different heating and cooling systems for your home before your unit needs replacing. Consider the energy efficiency ratings of home cooling systems, and learn how the requirements for efficiency ratings are established. By selecting the most efficient and comfortable home environment systems you can reduce soaring energy costs.
For some quick tips on “Reducing Summer Utility Bills” visit the LSU AgCenter website.
5:30 - 7:00 PM
Community Center of St. Bernard
1107 LeBeau St.
Arabi, LA
Presenter: Andre Olagues, LSU AgCenter Associate
What to do when the AC goes out? Take time to consider the options of different heating and cooling systems for your home before your unit needs replacing. Consider the energy efficiency ratings of home cooling systems, and learn how the requirements for efficiency ratings are established. By selecting the most efficient and comfortable home environment systems you can reduce soaring energy costs.
For some quick tips on “Reducing Summer Utility Bills” visit the LSU AgCenter website.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Repairing your Sash Windows
Saturdays in June
10 AM – noon
The Green Project
2831 Marais St.
"Sash Window Repair Class"
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Join Bill Robinson for information and hands-on training on how to repair your historic windows. This class will run every Saturday in June. Space is limited, so sign up now with Angie Green at The Green Project: agreen@thegreenproject.org
10 AM – noon
The Green Project
2831 Marais St.
"Sash Window Repair Class"
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Join Bill Robinson for information and hands-on training on how to repair your historic windows. This class will run every Saturday in June. Space is limited, so sign up now with Angie Green at The Green Project: agreen@thegreenproject.org
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Mr. Beasley ... One of a kind
Our friend and neighbor Mr. Beasley was a one of kind personality. I don't think that he ever met anyone who didn't fall completely for his warmth and charm. Mr. Beasley was one of the first members of NorthWest Carrollton's new organization. He came to our meetings even when we were meeting vagabonds. Anyone who knew him always hoped to be able to see him on his porch whenever we drove or walked by because a smile from Mr. Beasley was like getting a deposit in your personal happiness bank. We will miss him.
Services will be held Friday morning at 10 am at the Broadway Mission Baptist Church at 121 Alvin Calendar, in the Black Pearl Neighborhood. Alvin Calendar runs parallel to Milaudon and Lowerline and connects between Prytania and Pitt Streets. Phone number is 861-8835.
Hike the Lafitte Cooridor
Fifth Annual Hike of the Lafitte Corridor
WHO: Friends of Lafitte Corridor is a local grassroots group advocating for the creation of a greenway along three miles of (mostly) decommissioned rail line in the heart of New Orleans
WHAT: A three-mile hike down the Lafitte Corridor
WHEN: Saturday June 6th, 10:00 AM (National Trails Day)
WHERE: The hike begins at the front gate of Armstrong Park and continues along the Lafitte Corridor (between Lafitte and Saint Louis Streets). We expect to be crossing Carrollton Avenue around noon, stopping for lunch at Massey's Professional Outfitters and will finish at Canal Blvd around 1:30 PM.
WHY: Our annual hike is designed to raise awareness of the greenway project and demonstrate the widespread support it enjoys in the New Orleans community. This year we will be joined by Rebecca Leonard and Kurt Culbertson from Design Workshop, the firm recently awarded the greenway contract by the City of New Orleans.
A flyer with map is available here.
PRESS RELEASE/MEDIA ADVISORY
May 26, 2009
Contact:
Bart Everson, President, Friends of Lafitte Corridor
b@rox.com
Office: 504-520-5164
Cell: 812-391-0818
Also see this GOOD NEWS!
State of Louisiana Approves $2.6 Million for Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans
BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana has approved $2.6 million
for the Lafitte Corridor Revitalization Plan and Greenway Trail Design
and Construction project in the Treme and Mid-City neighborhoods,
allowing the New Orleans Office of Recovery and Development
Administration to access federal Community Development Block Grant
funds needed to implement the project.
The 3.1 mile greenway corridor stretching along a former shipping and
railroad canal will be anchored by a bicycle and pedestrian trail that
connects Armstrong Park with City Park via Bayou St. John and the
Wisner and Marconi bike routes. The greenway will provide open space
and recreational, educational and cultural features to enhance the
lifestyle and economic vigor of surrounding neighborhoods.
The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a
$700 million pool of federal CDBG money set aside by the Louisiana
Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local
governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.
Both the Treme and Mid-City neighborhoods were badly flooded by
Hurricane Katrina, leaving the area residents with blighted and unused
open spaces. The Lafitte Greenway project will provide an attractive
recreational and mixed-use corridor that will serve as an economic
development stimulus for the area, as well as meet alternative
transportation needs and offer some services and jobs.
The project costs nearly $3 million in total, and will include design
elements such as intersection improvements, landscaping, lighting,
signage and drainage, as well as an analysis of land use, neighborhood
access to the corridor, business clustering, economic incentives,
neighborhood stabilization and blight reduction.
In addition to $2.6 million in CDBG disaster recovery funds, another
$398,248 in state funds will be dedicated to the project from the
Louisiana Transportation Enhancements program and the Governor's
Recreational Trail program.
LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "This greenway project
will transform the inner city corridor from an industrial to a
mixed-use space that will improve the economy of the area and enhance
residents' quality of life. The investment of disaster recovery funds
into public green spaces with biking and hiking trails will help
stimulate additional recovery and rebuilding efforts in the heart of
the city."
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said, "The city of New Orleans seeks to
implement national best practices in our rebuilding efforts. Notably,
urban planners of today advocate mixed-use developments that
incorporate retail, residential and recreational spaces tailored to
meet the daily needs of residents. The Lafitte Greenway project
captures the essence of this approach."
The state's LTCR program supports implementation of local governments'
long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in
the state. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development approved LRA's request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG
dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of
long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are
distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community
Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and
infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In total, the LRA has allocated $410,720,016 of CDBG funding to the
city of New Orleans for L TCR projects.
Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in
2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and
planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American
history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the
LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal
agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the
pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that
Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before.
WHO: Friends of Lafitte Corridor is a local grassroots group advocating for the creation of a greenway along three miles of (mostly) decommissioned rail line in the heart of New Orleans
WHAT: A three-mile hike down the Lafitte Corridor
WHEN: Saturday June 6th, 10:00 AM (National Trails Day)
WHERE: The hike begins at the front gate of Armstrong Park and continues along the Lafitte Corridor (between Lafitte and Saint Louis Streets). We expect to be crossing Carrollton Avenue around noon, stopping for lunch at Massey's Professional Outfitters and will finish at Canal Blvd around 1:30 PM.
WHY: Our annual hike is designed to raise awareness of the greenway project and demonstrate the widespread support it enjoys in the New Orleans community. This year we will be joined by Rebecca Leonard and Kurt Culbertson from Design Workshop, the firm recently awarded the greenway contract by the City of New Orleans.
A flyer with map is available here.
PRESS RELEASE/MEDIA ADVISORY
May 26, 2009
Contact:
Bart Everson, President, Friends of Lafitte Corridor
b@rox.com
Office: 504-520-5164
Cell: 812-391-0818
Also see this GOOD NEWS!
State of Louisiana Approves $2.6 Million for Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans
BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana has approved $2.6 million
for the Lafitte Corridor Revitalization Plan and Greenway Trail Design
and Construction project in the Treme and Mid-City neighborhoods,
allowing the New Orleans Office of Recovery and Development
Administration to access federal Community Development Block Grant
funds needed to implement the project.
The 3.1 mile greenway corridor stretching along a former shipping and
railroad canal will be anchored by a bicycle and pedestrian trail that
connects Armstrong Park with City Park via Bayou St. John and the
Wisner and Marconi bike routes. The greenway will provide open space
and recreational, educational and cultural features to enhance the
lifestyle and economic vigor of surrounding neighborhoods.
The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a
$700 million pool of federal CDBG money set aside by the Louisiana
Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local
governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.
Both the Treme and Mid-City neighborhoods were badly flooded by
Hurricane Katrina, leaving the area residents with blighted and unused
open spaces. The Lafitte Greenway project will provide an attractive
recreational and mixed-use corridor that will serve as an economic
development stimulus for the area, as well as meet alternative
transportation needs and offer some services and jobs.
The project costs nearly $3 million in total, and will include design
elements such as intersection improvements, landscaping, lighting,
signage and drainage, as well as an analysis of land use, neighborhood
access to the corridor, business clustering, economic incentives,
neighborhood stabilization and blight reduction.
In addition to $2.6 million in CDBG disaster recovery funds, another
$398,248 in state funds will be dedicated to the project from the
Louisiana Transportation Enhancements program and the Governor's
Recreational Trail program.
LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "This greenway project
will transform the inner city corridor from an industrial to a
mixed-use space that will improve the economy of the area and enhance
residents' quality of life. The investment of disaster recovery funds
into public green spaces with biking and hiking trails will help
stimulate additional recovery and rebuilding efforts in the heart of
the city."
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said, "The city of New Orleans seeks to
implement national best practices in our rebuilding efforts. Notably,
urban planners of today advocate mixed-use developments that
incorporate retail, residential and recreational spaces tailored to
meet the daily needs of residents. The Lafitte Greenway project
captures the essence of this approach."
The state's LTCR program supports implementation of local governments'
long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in
the state. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development approved LRA's request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG
dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of
long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are
distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community
Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and
infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In total, the LRA has allocated $410,720,016 of CDBG funding to the
city of New Orleans for L TCR projects.
Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in
2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and
planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American
history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the
LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal
agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the
pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that
Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before.
Monday, June 1, 2009
South Claiborne Avenue (Napoleon to MLK) Streetscape
South Claiborne Avenue (Napoleon to MLK) Streetscape*
Open House
WHAT: Open house to view the schematic design of upcoming streetscape enhancements.
WHERE: Second Zion Baptist Church #1, 2929 Second Street (just off S. Claiborne Ave)
WHEN: June 8, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
*A streetscape is a public improvement project that will enhance the public area and trigger subsequent recovery and investment in surrounding neighborhoods. This development is designed to help create additional and continued private investment in the City’s key recovery areas. Streetscape projects enhance the area surrounding the actual roadway, but do not include roadway repair or reconstruction. Project options include improvements to sidewalks, walkways, bike paths, vehicular and pedestrian signalization and signage, landscaping and public art.
Similiar streetscape work is to be done on the Napoleon-Parish Line segment of South Claiborne in the near future.
Open House
WHAT: Open house to view the schematic design of upcoming streetscape enhancements.
WHERE: Second Zion Baptist Church #1, 2929 Second Street (just off S. Claiborne Ave)
WHEN: June 8, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
*A streetscape is a public improvement project that will enhance the public area and trigger subsequent recovery and investment in surrounding neighborhoods. This development is designed to help create additional and continued private investment in the City’s key recovery areas. Streetscape projects enhance the area surrounding the actual roadway, but do not include roadway repair or reconstruction. Project options include improvements to sidewalks, walkways, bike paths, vehicular and pedestrian signalization and signage, landscaping and public art.
Similiar streetscape work is to be done on the Napoleon-Parish Line segment of South Claiborne in the near future.
Insulation Choices for New Orleans Homes
Tuesday, June 2
9:15 – 9:45 AM
St. Gabriel's Community Center
4700 Pineda St.
Presenter: Andre Olagues, LSU AgCenter Associate
Brief half-hour presentation on selecting insulation for your home. Keep your utility bills lower by understanding the choices in insulation types. Learn about the pros and cons of the different insulation types and select the best insulation for your budget. The presentation covers the types of insulation on sale in the New Orleans market, a comparison buyer chart and other related areas such as understanding R-values and effective R-Values, and consumer protection laws related to insulation.
9:15 – 9:45 AM
St. Gabriel's Community Center
4700 Pineda St.
Presenter: Andre Olagues, LSU AgCenter Associate
Brief half-hour presentation on selecting insulation for your home. Keep your utility bills lower by understanding the choices in insulation types. Learn about the pros and cons of the different insulation types and select the best insulation for your budget. The presentation covers the types of insulation on sale in the New Orleans market, a comparison buyer chart and other related areas such as understanding R-values and effective R-Values, and consumer protection laws related to insulation.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Low Water Pressure
Low water pressure in Carrollton this weekend
Water pressure is expected to drop to low levels between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in a section of Carrollton as the Sewerage & Water Board repairs a pair of 43-inch water mains.
The affected area is bounded by Leonidas Street, Earhart Boulevard, South Carrollton Avenue and South Claiborne Avenue.
Residents and business owners who continue to experience water-pressure problems after 8 p.m., Sunday, should call 504.52.WATER.
Water pressure is expected to drop to low levels between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in a section of Carrollton as the Sewerage & Water Board repairs a pair of 43-inch water mains.
The affected area is bounded by Leonidas Street, Earhart Boulevard, South Carrollton Avenue and South Claiborne Avenue.
Residents and business owners who continue to experience water-pressure problems after 8 p.m., Sunday, should call 504.52.WATER.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Why the name NorthWest Carrollton?
Many people have wondered about the name NorthWest Carrollton?
Before Katrina there was no NorthWest Carrollton.
Isn't this area Hollygrove? Well no actually it isn't. As the map shows this area is a part of the West Carrollton/Leonidas census tract. We are the little "northern" penisula of West Carrollton that hangs over Claiborne Avenue.
Additionally, this area is part of the Carrollton Historic Register Neighborhood. Please note that the PRC's current map shows the same boundaries and this crosses Claiborne and extends to Fig. PostKatrina this area was one of the areas the Bring New Orleans Back Commission said needed to "prove our viability".
If we were going to prove our viability, folks needed to know exactly where we are located. PreKatrina this area did not have any kind of name recognition. So a critical part of establishing the neighborhood organization and being able to lobby for our area was establishing a name that has finally become readily used and recognizable.
As Stephanie Bruno indicated in her her recent article in the InsideOut we've built community. We have name recognition and now we're about to be discovered.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Silence is Violence Peace Walk Tonight
With all due respect for city leadership and the statistics they like to cite, asserting that New Orleans is getting safer…It doesn’t feel any safer to us. The elderly, the very young, those already grappling with the criminal justice system and those with no such experience, sons and daughters and parents and friends—nobody is sheltered from the violence. The month of May has seen an unbearable sequence of especially cruel tragedies, as Olander and Alphathada Cassimere were slaughtered in their Gentilly home, 13-year-old Shaka-Daquan Miller lost his life to a petty, childish dispute over drugs, and Qian Sabaiter was shot when used as a shield at an Uptown bar.
Tomorrow night, SilenceIsViolence will join the Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aide and Pleasure Club to walk through a particularly afflicted zone of Uptown, including the site where Qian lost her life. We will hold a brief memorial for Qian at Hickory and Leonidas streets while walking through Pigeon Town. Second District Commander, Major Little, is sending representation from his district to join the citizens who walk for peace.
We invite all who feel that community action is a crucial part of our public safety, and all who mourn the violent loss of our citizens, to join the Pigeon Town Steppers on Thursday evening. The full route should take less than an hour and is listed below. Confronting violence with peace, and claiming our right to our own streets, is one way we seek to heal our neighborhoods.
Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aide and Pleasure Club
PEACE WALK
6PM, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009
START: Leondias and Willow St. Walk down Willow to Monroe St. Right turn on Monroe to Green St. Turn left on Green; out Green St. to Gen.Odgen St. Turn right on Gen. Odgen to Hickory St. Turn right on Hickory St. to Leondias St. Turn left on Leondias St. to Corn St. Turn right on Cohn St. to Joliet St. Turn left on Joliet St. to Panola St. Turn Right on Panola St. Out Panola to Cambronne St. Right turn on Cambronne St. Out Cambronne St. to Willow St. Turn Right on Willow St to Leondias St. to end where we began.
www.silenceisviolence.org
Tomorrow night, SilenceIsViolence will join the Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aide and Pleasure Club to walk through a particularly afflicted zone of Uptown, including the site where Qian lost her life. We will hold a brief memorial for Qian at Hickory and Leonidas streets while walking through Pigeon Town. Second District Commander, Major Little, is sending representation from his district to join the citizens who walk for peace.
We invite all who feel that community action is a crucial part of our public safety, and all who mourn the violent loss of our citizens, to join the Pigeon Town Steppers on Thursday evening. The full route should take less than an hour and is listed below. Confronting violence with peace, and claiming our right to our own streets, is one way we seek to heal our neighborhoods.
Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aide and Pleasure Club
PEACE WALK
6PM, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009
START: Leondias and Willow St. Walk down Willow to Monroe St. Right turn on Monroe to Green St. Turn left on Green; out Green St. to Gen.Odgen St. Turn right on Gen. Odgen to Hickory St. Turn right on Hickory St. to Leondias St. Turn left on Leondias St. to Corn St. Turn right on Cohn St. to Joliet St. Turn left on Joliet St. to Panola St. Turn Right on Panola St. Out Panola to Cambronne St. Right turn on Cambronne St. Out Cambronne St. to Willow St. Turn Right on Willow St to Leondias St. to end where we began.
www.silenceisviolence.org
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Special Public Forum LSU/VA Hospitals
(Left) LSU/VA Proposal - Lower Mid-City demolished, Charity abandoned
(Right) FHL/RMJM Proposal - Compromise on Lower Mid-City, Charity saved
To Whom It May Concern:
Just weeks ago, your organization joined a powerful coalition of 60 other community groups to make three general demands of our municipal and state leadership. Because of our collective voices, the City Planning Commission has delivered on the request for a public hearing to present the two competing proposals for the restoration of health care institutions to New Orleans. We’re writing to ask for your help. We need you to urge your membership to attend this critical hearing.
It is now up to us to make certain – not just that this hearing is comprehensive and legitimate – but also that the City Planning Commission and its staff meet their obligation and responsibility to the public as the city’s department of planning experts. A public forum alone does not guarantee the reasonable, independent analysis of the competing hospital plans we need to ensure that officials are making the best possible choice for the best possible outcome for residents and taxpayers.
This is what we should expect our City Planning Commission to accomplish:
1. Include both the FHL/RMJM and LSU/VA site proposals in the Master Plan planning process in order to determine the impact the projects will have on Mid-City, the Central Business District, and the City of New Orleans.
2. Use the testimony presented and the materials submitted at this public hearing to produce a recommendation to City Council concerning which of the hospital proposals is in the best interest of Mid-City, the CBD, and the City of New Orleans.
3. Request the City Council to hold a public hearing on the recommendations presented to them by the Commission in order that the Council will be in a position to adopt a resolution expressing its opinion on which hospital proposal is in the best interest of Mid-City, the CBD, and the City of New Orleans.
We need your help to organize and mobilize!
Make sure that you and everyone in your organization is informed and prepared to attend this pivotal civic event.
Signed,
Bill Borah, Smart Growth For Louisiana
Walter Gallas, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Monday, May 25, 2009
State Representative Walker Hines District 95 Survey Results
Dear Constituents,
In the interest of transparency, I want to provide you with the first release of the comprehensive survey results from District 95. Over 12,000 surveys were mailed out in April. Although I continue to receive a few surveys in the mail each day, I feel comfortable releasing the data we have compiled thus far. With a sample size of almost 500 households, the percentages should remain relatively consistent.
As most of you know, I am currently representing our District in Baton Rouge during the 2009 Legislative Fiscal Session. I greatly appreciate the calls, e-mails, and other forms of communication during session. As you might imagine, I receive over 200e-mails and 50 calls a day. Although I cannot personally respond to all forms of communication, I try my best to read and listen to each and every message.
Thank you for staying engaged in the legislative process. Upon adjournment at the end of June, I will provide you with a complete legislative overview via e-mail and postage mail. I will also provide you with more information regarding the survey, how and why I voted on the various issues addressed in the survey, and other important votes that I make during session. We have already taken up many hot-button issues that are sure to facilitate discussion.
Please understand that District 95 is extraordinarily diverse in racial, religious, age, political ideology, geographic, and socio-economic makeup. Most residents of District 95 are not aware of the size or geographic boundaries of the District. District 95 begins at the Audubon Zoo and extends to Mid-city, ending at Canal Street and Carrollton Ave. I do my very best to listen to all constituents regardless of your background or beliefs. If time permits, I may even call you to explain my vote on a specific controversial issue that you have called or e-mailed me about. Positive dialogue is a crucial way for us to better understand one another.
Due to the extraordinary diversity of our District, you may not always agree with me on every issue. However, it is my hope that you respect my tireless work to best represent our district in the State Legislature. My votes always reflect what I determine to be in the best interest of the District, City, and State.
Please remember if you would like to follow any of the daily activities in the State Legislature, you can visit: www.legis.state.la.us
My legislative office e-mail is Hinesw@legis.state.la.us and legislative phone number, 504-756-4675.
Thank you again for your support during this difficult legislative session. I look forward to attending numerous neighborhood meetings upon adjournment. I will also host a town hall forum.
If my aides or I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
District 95 Survey Results:
The 2009 Legislative Survey was sent to all households in District 95 that voted in the 2008 Presidential election. Individuals with the same last name only received one survey per address. Individuals with different last names at the same address received multiple surveys. The 2008 Presidential election was the largest voter turnout in election history. There were 12,930 surveys mailed out. The non-scientific sample below consists of approximately 486 surveys.
Survey questions:
1) Do you support allowing students with a concealed weapons permit to carry a handgun on college and university campuses?
Yes: 9% No: 81% Don’t Know: 10%
2) Are you in favor of increased health insurance coverage of the poor and uninsured?
Yes: 71% No: 20% Don’t Know: 9%
3) Do you support building a new, Academic Medical Center and Teaching Hospital in New Orleans?
Yes: 69% No: 19% Don’t Know: 12%
4) Do you support using Rainy Day Funds and Economic Development Slush Funds to supplement a projected budget shortfall?
Yes: 40% No: 37% Don’t Know: 23%
5) Do you favor term limits for School Board Members?
Yes: 81% No: 11% Don’t Know: 8%
6) Do you support reducing or eliminating the current state income tax?
Yes: 50% No: 38% Don’t Know: 12%
7) Do you support increasing the homestead exemption from the current $75,000 to $160,000?
Yes: 41% No: 46% Don’t Know: 13%
8) Should the Legislature override Governor Jindal and accept the $98 million in the Federal Stimulus Package tied to unemployment compensation?
Yes: 68% No: 24% Don’t Know: 8%
9) Should the Legislature override Governor Jindal and accept the Federal Stimulus Package monies dedicated to providing health care to those leaving welfare for work?
Yes: 72% No: 17% Don’t Know: 11%
10) Do you support raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1?
Yes: 78% No: 17% Don’t Know: 5%
11) Do you support increased drug testing of welfare recipients?
Yes: 57% No: 35% Don’t Know: 8%
12) Do you support state-funded vouchers or scholarships to attend private school?
Yes: 40% No: 53% Don’t Know: 7%
13) Do you support a ban on driving while talking on a non-hands free cellphone?
Yes: 70% No: 24% Don’t Know: 6%
14) Do you support increased criminal penalties for DWI/DUI charges?
Yes: 65% No: 20% Don’t Know: 15%
The Honorable Walker Hines
State Representative - District 95 - New Orleans
Legislative E-mail: Hinesw@legis.state.la.us
Legislative Office Address: 5500 Prytania Street #626, New Orleans, LA 70115
Legislative Office Phone Number: 504-756-4675
Website: www.walkerhines.com
In the interest of transparency, I want to provide you with the first release of the comprehensive survey results from District 95. Over 12,000 surveys were mailed out in April. Although I continue to receive a few surveys in the mail each day, I feel comfortable releasing the data we have compiled thus far. With a sample size of almost 500 households, the percentages should remain relatively consistent.
As most of you know, I am currently representing our District in Baton Rouge during the 2009 Legislative Fiscal Session. I greatly appreciate the calls, e-mails, and other forms of communication during session. As you might imagine, I receive over 200e-mails and 50 calls a day. Although I cannot personally respond to all forms of communication, I try my best to read and listen to each and every message.
Thank you for staying engaged in the legislative process. Upon adjournment at the end of June, I will provide you with a complete legislative overview via e-mail and postage mail. I will also provide you with more information regarding the survey, how and why I voted on the various issues addressed in the survey, and other important votes that I make during session. We have already taken up many hot-button issues that are sure to facilitate discussion.
Please understand that District 95 is extraordinarily diverse in racial, religious, age, political ideology, geographic, and socio-economic makeup. Most residents of District 95 are not aware of the size or geographic boundaries of the District. District 95 begins at the Audubon Zoo and extends to Mid-city, ending at Canal Street and Carrollton Ave. I do my very best to listen to all constituents regardless of your background or beliefs. If time permits, I may even call you to explain my vote on a specific controversial issue that you have called or e-mailed me about. Positive dialogue is a crucial way for us to better understand one another.
Due to the extraordinary diversity of our District, you may not always agree with me on every issue. However, it is my hope that you respect my tireless work to best represent our district in the State Legislature. My votes always reflect what I determine to be in the best interest of the District, City, and State.
Please remember if you would like to follow any of the daily activities in the State Legislature, you can visit: www.legis.state.la.us
My legislative office e-mail is Hinesw@legis.state.la.us and legislative phone number, 504-756-4675.
Thank you again for your support during this difficult legislative session. I look forward to attending numerous neighborhood meetings upon adjournment. I will also host a town hall forum.
If my aides or I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
District 95 Survey Results:
The 2009 Legislative Survey was sent to all households in District 95 that voted in the 2008 Presidential election. Individuals with the same last name only received one survey per address. Individuals with different last names at the same address received multiple surveys. The 2008 Presidential election was the largest voter turnout in election history. There were 12,930 surveys mailed out. The non-scientific sample below consists of approximately 486 surveys.
Survey questions:
1) Do you support allowing students with a concealed weapons permit to carry a handgun on college and university campuses?
Yes: 9% No: 81% Don’t Know: 10%
2) Are you in favor of increased health insurance coverage of the poor and uninsured?
Yes: 71% No: 20% Don’t Know: 9%
3) Do you support building a new, Academic Medical Center and Teaching Hospital in New Orleans?
Yes: 69% No: 19% Don’t Know: 12%
4) Do you support using Rainy Day Funds and Economic Development Slush Funds to supplement a projected budget shortfall?
Yes: 40% No: 37% Don’t Know: 23%
5) Do you favor term limits for School Board Members?
Yes: 81% No: 11% Don’t Know: 8%
6) Do you support reducing or eliminating the current state income tax?
Yes: 50% No: 38% Don’t Know: 12%
7) Do you support increasing the homestead exemption from the current $75,000 to $160,000?
Yes: 41% No: 46% Don’t Know: 13%
8) Should the Legislature override Governor Jindal and accept the $98 million in the Federal Stimulus Package tied to unemployment compensation?
Yes: 68% No: 24% Don’t Know: 8%
9) Should the Legislature override Governor Jindal and accept the Federal Stimulus Package monies dedicated to providing health care to those leaving welfare for work?
Yes: 72% No: 17% Don’t Know: 11%
10) Do you support raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1?
Yes: 78% No: 17% Don’t Know: 5%
11) Do you support increased drug testing of welfare recipients?
Yes: 57% No: 35% Don’t Know: 8%
12) Do you support state-funded vouchers or scholarships to attend private school?
Yes: 40% No: 53% Don’t Know: 7%
13) Do you support a ban on driving while talking on a non-hands free cellphone?
Yes: 70% No: 24% Don’t Know: 6%
14) Do you support increased criminal penalties for DWI/DUI charges?
Yes: 65% No: 20% Don’t Know: 15%
The Honorable Walker Hines
State Representative - District 95 - New Orleans
Legislative E-mail: Hinesw@legis.state.la.us
Legislative Office Address: 5500 Prytania Street #626, New Orleans, LA 70115
Legislative Office Phone Number: 504-756-4675
Website: www.walkerhines.com
two interesting developments regarding crime
Below please find news of two interesting developments re crime. Please feel free to email me any feedback re the below.
1. HB383 - PENDING LEGISLATION RE PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Trish Clay, a friend of CRNA-CC from the Palmer-Calhoun nhood, also in the second district, reports that this legislation is making progress. An article in the Times-Picayune (page A-17 on Sun 5/24/09) report that the Parental Accountability Legislation proposed by Rep. Walker Hines (and fostered by Major Bruce Little, the NOPD 2nd District Commander), passed House Committee and is scheduled for debate on Fri 5/29.
Click here to read bill HB383, or go to:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/byinst.asp?sessionid=09RS&billid=HB383
2. NEW ONLINE SERVICE TO HEAR EMERGENCY POLICE RADIO LIVE!
www.projectnola.com is offering live access to live radio broadcast police radio, ultimately of the JSPO, NOPD, State Troop B and other New Orleans metro area police departments, sheriff's offices, and emergency services. The site is developing this channel in effort to help keep locals aware of crimes in progress, active dangerous threats, and suspicious activity. Particularly enlightening is the guide to Police Signal Codes. Check it out! I've only heard JPSO live so far.
To listen go to:
http://projectnola.com/police-alerts/live-police-fire-a-ems-scanner
Sincerely,
AA - Carrollton Crime Collaborative
1. HB383 - PENDING LEGISLATION RE PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Trish Clay, a friend of CRNA-CC from the Palmer-Calhoun nhood, also in the second district, reports that this legislation is making progress. An article in the Times-Picayune (page A-17 on Sun 5/24/09) report that the Parental Accountability Legislation proposed by Rep. Walker Hines (and fostered by Major Bruce Little, the NOPD 2nd District Commander), passed House Committee and is scheduled for debate on Fri 5/29.
Click here to read bill HB383, or go to:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/byinst.asp?sessionid=09RS&billid=HB383
2. NEW ONLINE SERVICE TO HEAR EMERGENCY POLICE RADIO LIVE!
www.projectnola.com is offering live access to live radio broadcast police radio, ultimately of the JSPO, NOPD, State Troop B and other New Orleans metro area police departments, sheriff's offices, and emergency services. The site is developing this channel in effort to help keep locals aware of crimes in progress, active dangerous threats, and suspicious activity. Particularly enlightening is the guide to Police Signal Codes. Check it out! I've only heard JPSO live so far.
To listen go to:
http://projectnola.com/police-alerts/live-police-fire-a-ems-scanner
Sincerely,
AA - Carrollton Crime Collaborative
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tell your friends
The Great Neighborhood Sellabration
PRC’s Great Neighborhood Sellabration features workshops, exhibits and homes for sale in sixteen New Orleans neighborhoods
Saturday, May 30
8 a.m. -1 p.m. Free.
The PRC is partnering with neighborhood associations in this homebuyers fair. The event will showcase great house buying opportunities in New Orleans historic neighborhoods plus workshops and exhibits on how to buy, renovate and finance properties. The event is free and open to the public.
Workshop Schedule
9:00-9:45 am Financial Fitness
10:00-10:45 am Buy Right
11:00-11:45 am Renovate Right
12:00-12:45 pm Financial Fitness
ALL DAY "Ask a Realtor"
Participating Neighborhoods Include:
Lower Garden District
Esplanade Ridge/Treme
Irish Channel
Hollygrove
St. Roch
Mid-City
Faubourg Marigny
Central City
Holy Cross
Broadmoor
Northwest Carrollton
Carrollton/Riverbend
Audubon
Algiers Point
Bywater
Historic Faubourg Treme
Also Participating are: Iberia Bank, Gulf Coast, Whitney, Rebuilding Information Station, Rebuilding Together, and Global Green!
701 Magazine Street (corner Girod St., across from the Farmer’s Market in the Warehouse District).
For more information, contact Suzanne Blaum at (504) 636-3399 or sblaum@prcno.org.
PRC’s Great Neighborhood Sellabration features workshops, exhibits and homes for sale in sixteen New Orleans neighborhoods
Saturday, May 30
8 a.m. -1 p.m. Free.
The PRC is partnering with neighborhood associations in this homebuyers fair. The event will showcase great house buying opportunities in New Orleans historic neighborhoods plus workshops and exhibits on how to buy, renovate and finance properties. The event is free and open to the public.
Workshop Schedule
9:00-9:45 am Financial Fitness
10:00-10:45 am Buy Right
11:00-11:45 am Renovate Right
12:00-12:45 pm Financial Fitness
ALL DAY "Ask a Realtor"
Participating Neighborhoods Include:
Lower Garden District
Esplanade Ridge/Treme
Irish Channel
Hollygrove
St. Roch
Mid-City
Faubourg Marigny
Central City
Holy Cross
Broadmoor
Northwest Carrollton
Carrollton/Riverbend
Audubon
Algiers Point
Bywater
Historic Faubourg Treme
Also Participating are: Iberia Bank, Gulf Coast, Whitney, Rebuilding Information Station, Rebuilding Together, and Global Green!
701 Magazine Street (corner Girod St., across from the Farmer’s Market in the Warehouse District).
For more information, contact Suzanne Blaum at (504) 636-3399 or sblaum@prcno.org.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
4th Annual Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival
http://thebayouboogaloo.com/
It is with great pleasure and heartfelt gratitude that we announce the 4th Annual Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival May 22-23, once again being held on the banks of historic and beautiful Bayou St. John.
Over the last three years our event has experienced tremendous growth. 2008 was a milestone year for what has quickly become one of South Louisiana's signature cultural celebrations. Last year as New Orleans celebrated our annual Festival over 20,000 locals and visitors reveled in music from three stages, dined on delicious food, sampled our unique local culture and enjoyed an art market showcasing the talents and creativity of our visual artists. Based on such great past success, we are projecting continued long term growth as we produce this year's last major music and art event before the long dog days of summer set in.
This year is a real turning point in our event's history as we strive to create harmony between our festival and the environment. The 2009 Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo becomes Louisiana's first green music and arts festival with Solar powered stages, Bio-Diesel generators, locally grown and organic foods, a comprehensive recycling program and sustainable living and coastal restoration education.
As always the Festival is a family-friendly event with a kids stage, along with games and activities for children. Attendees can partake in delicious food, cold beer and libations, listen to great local music, and enjoy the very best art that New Orleans has to offer.
The MotherShip Foundation is a non-profit (501c3) organization dedicated to encouraging social change by bringing forth a higher quality of life for all Louisiana and New Orleans residents through the promotion of arts, culture, and recreation. We are seeking partners who will unite with us and help us continue this tradition. We invite you to become an integral part of this unique celebration and to partner with us and help make the 4th Annual Bayou Boogaloo a bigger than ever success!
With the help of our traditional and new partners, we will reach out to local and new audiences and increase the attendance from surrounding Parishes and States. By joining with us, you and your company will make a lasting positive impression on the many thousands of attendees.
Contact Jared Zeller: (504) 488-3865
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thank You Landis!
After YEARS of struggling with the commerical blight in the lot behind the AutoZone on Fig @ Dante we now have this thing of beauty...
Everyone needs to know that we have Landis to thank for it.
Take one more look at the photo and then mentally see the trees that we will be planting between the sidewalk and the street in November.
Everyone needs to know that we have Landis to thank for it.
Take one more look at the photo and then mentally see the trees that we will be planting between the sidewalk and the street in November.
New Orleans gets the 2013 Superbowl!
From Council Vice President Fielkow Statement
Re: 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans
New Orleans, LA - May 19, 2009 - "Today, the City of New Orleans and the entire State of Louisiana received the wonderful news that we will be hosting a record 10th Super Bowl in 2013. The National Football League's decision reflects enormous confidence in the future of our great city and is a testament to the resilience, passion, and dedication of those who came back to, moved to, and invested in post-Katrina New Orleans. The economic impact of the 2013 Super Bowl, representing hundreds of millions of dollars, is a tremendous shot in the arm for our community.
Many individuals and groups need to be thanked for today's announcement, but special thanks go out to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFL owners, Mr. Benson and the entire Benson family, the Saints organization, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and its CEO Jay Cicero, presenters Rod West and Stephen Perry, and representing members Bob Brown and Ron Forman. Kudos to each of them on a remarkable job!"
Re: 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans
New Orleans, LA - May 19, 2009 - "Today, the City of New Orleans and the entire State of Louisiana received the wonderful news that we will be hosting a record 10th Super Bowl in 2013. The National Football League's decision reflects enormous confidence in the future of our great city and is a testament to the resilience, passion, and dedication of those who came back to, moved to, and invested in post-Katrina New Orleans. The economic impact of the 2013 Super Bowl, representing hundreds of millions of dollars, is a tremendous shot in the arm for our community.
Many individuals and groups need to be thanked for today's announcement, but special thanks go out to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFL owners, Mr. Benson and the entire Benson family, the Saints organization, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and its CEO Jay Cicero, presenters Rod West and Stephen Perry, and representing members Bob Brown and Ron Forman. Kudos to each of them on a remarkable job!"
Monday, May 18, 2009
Research the History of your House
Except for a few blocks, most of NorthWest Carrollton is in the Carrollton National Historic Register Neighborhood. The City Archives has an online article that outlines how to research the the History of your house.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Building Community, not just homes
NorthWest Carrollton will be participating in the Preservation Resource Center's SELLabration. SELLabration takes place on May 30th and highlights the neighborhood and houses for sale to encourage people to think about buying and loving one of our historic homes in our great neighborhood. So I asked Stephanie Bruno, who writes a weekly column for the Times Picayune InsideOut if she would consider visiting a block in our neighborhood.
She did. The article is on the wonderful set of Arts and Crafts houses in the 8200 Block of Apricot. Planets aligning indeed. Thank you Stephanie.
If anyone who lives in the neighborhood would like to help staff the table at the PRC's SELLabration from 8AM to 1PM (enough volunteers and we can work shifts) on May 30 a 701 Magazine @ Girod, please contact us at nwcarrollton@mindspring.com
She did. The article is on the wonderful set of Arts and Crafts houses in the 8200 Block of Apricot. Planets aligning indeed. Thank you Stephanie.
If anyone who lives in the neighborhood would like to help staff the table at the PRC's SELLabration from 8AM to 1PM (enough volunteers and we can work shifts) on May 30 a 701 Magazine @ Girod, please contact us at nwcarrollton@mindspring.com
Friday, May 15, 2009
Bubblegum Factory
Thank you Landis Construction!
Our beloved bubblegum factory has never looked so good. The residents of NorthWest Carrollton are thrilled to have you as neighbors. We are grateful that you have restored and enlived this beautiful old building.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
What if THIS were the Logo on Rock 'N Bowl?
Mr. Blancher could paint this as large as he wanted and the neighborhood organization would write a letter of support to CPC to encourage it.
NorthWest Carrollton's PhotoStream
I recently set up a NorthWest Carrollton flickr account and and photostream.
The "Sets" group the house photos taken (so far) by street.
See if you can find your house.
Not all houses have photos yet.
I'd love to be able to get photos of you on your front steps. So if you are interested in being "online" please send eMail to nwcarrollton@mindspring.com
I'm also looking for people to help us staff the at NorthWest Carrollton's table at the PRC's SELLabration on
Saturday, May 30, 2009, from 8a.m. to 1p.m.
at 701 Magazine St (across from the Farmer’s Market)
If you are interested please please send eMail to nwcarrollton@mindspring.com
and let me know what time you'd be available.
The "Sets" group the house photos taken (so far) by street.
See if you can find your house.
Not all houses have photos yet.
I'd love to be able to get photos of you on your front steps. So if you are interested in being "online" please send eMail to nwcarrollton@mindspring.com
I'm also looking for people to help us staff the at NorthWest Carrollton's table at the PRC's SELLabration on
Saturday, May 30, 2009, from 8a.m. to 1p.m.
at 701 Magazine St (across from the Farmer’s Market)
If you are interested please please send eMail to nwcarrollton@mindspring.com
and let me know what time you'd be available.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
LSU Hospital Plans - half empty!?
Take a look 
Then read the TP article
Here was the ultimate tipping point for me personally.
The plans for the Hospitals assume that the
existing, functional, state of the art multimillion dollar
BLOOD CENTER will be demolished.
If this is planning be afraid. Be VERY afraid.
And then plan to participate in the City Planning Commission public meeting May 28 on the plans for new Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University hospitals in New Orleans. The session will begin at 4 p.m. in the City Council chamber at City Hall and is expected to run several hours.
Thursday, May 28, 2009, at 4PM in City Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido Street.
City Planning Commission will hold a special public forum on the proposed Louisiana State University and Veterans Administration Hospital projects. Information obtained from the meeting will be used in the development of a Master Plan for the City of New Orleans. Hospital and City representatives are invited to make brief presentations at the beginning of the meeting, followed by public comments and questions to be answered by the appropriate parties. The public forum will close at 9pm.
Then read the TP article
Here was the ultimate tipping point for me personally.
The plans for the Hospitals assume that the
existing, functional, state of the art multimillion dollar
BLOOD CENTER will be demolished.
If this is planning be afraid. Be VERY afraid.
And then plan to participate in the City Planning Commission public meeting May 28 on the plans for new Veterans Affairs and Louisiana State University hospitals in New Orleans. The session will begin at 4 p.m. in the City Council chamber at City Hall and is expected to run several hours.
Thursday, May 28, 2009, at 4PM in City Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido Street.
City Planning Commission will hold a special public forum on the proposed Louisiana State University and Veterans Administration Hospital projects. Information obtained from the meeting will be used in the development of a Master Plan for the City of New Orleans. Hospital and City representatives are invited to make brief presentations at the beginning of the meeting, followed by public comments and questions to be answered by the appropriate parties. The public forum will close at 9pm.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Reporting Sewerage & Water Board Problems
Please use S&W Board's online form to report problems. Using the Online tool is just one way that we can work S&W Board.
We met with S&W last week to discuss Apple & Fig Street Repairs. We also discussed the other smaller S&W issues we have in our area.
Critical issues with sewerage and maintaining sufficient water pressure to fight fires will always take precedent over other issues.
Also please realize that S&W repairs take time because, even once they isolate the problem and think that they have repaired it, sometimes the repair process creates a problem on other areas of nearby pipe. It should not take months to repair 2 blocks, but some time needs to elapse between the repair and paving to ensure the repairs are complete. If a repair is complete and the street paved and it is still leaking (it happens), please report it again via the online tool and send eMail to NAcarrollton@mindspring.com. When repairs are complete S&W is responsible for returning the street/sidewalk back to the condition they found it in. So we will have to continue to work with City of New Orleans Department of Public Works and our City Council Representative on street and sidewalk repairs.
We have an old system BUT the salt water from PostKatrina flooding also significantly damaged the infrastructure.
So REPORT problems.
If you aren't getting action or have concerns about the quality or safety of the work please contact us at NWcarrollton@mindspring.com.
But be patient too.
We met with S&W last week to discuss Apple & Fig Street Repairs. We also discussed the other smaller S&W issues we have in our area.
Critical issues with sewerage and maintaining sufficient water pressure to fight fires will always take precedent over other issues.
Also please realize that S&W repairs take time because, even once they isolate the problem and think that they have repaired it, sometimes the repair process creates a problem on other areas of nearby pipe. It should not take months to repair 2 blocks, but some time needs to elapse between the repair and paving to ensure the repairs are complete. If a repair is complete and the street paved and it is still leaking (it happens), please report it again via the online tool and send eMail to NAcarrollton@mindspring.com. When repairs are complete S&W is responsible for returning the street/sidewalk back to the condition they found it in. So we will have to continue to work with City of New Orleans Department of Public Works and our City Council Representative on street and sidewalk repairs.
We have an old system BUT the salt water from PostKatrina flooding also significantly damaged the infrastructure.
So REPORT problems.
If you aren't getting action or have concerns about the quality or safety of the work please contact us at NWcarrollton@mindspring.com.
But be patient too.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Saturday May 9th!
Please join us in a Community Action for the relocation of the cement plant.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
10am
Norwood Thompson Park at Pine and Earhart Blvd.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
10am
Norwood Thompson Park at Pine and Earhart Blvd.
Managing Indoor Air Quality in Your Home
Tuesday, June 9
9:15 – 9:45 AM
St. Gabriel's Community Center
4700 Pineda St.
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Learn what causes poor indoor air quality and how to manage it. Mold is a common problem in New Orleans homes and vapors from building materials, carpeting, cabinetry, paints and varnishes can be hazardous to our health. This presentation will provide information on how source control, ventilation and filtration can improve the indoor air quality in your home.
9:15 – 9:45 AM
St. Gabriel's Community Center
4700 Pineda St.
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Learn what causes poor indoor air quality and how to manage it. Mold is a common problem in New Orleans homes and vapors from building materials, carpeting, cabinetry, paints and varnishes can be hazardous to our health. This presentation will provide information on how source control, ventilation and filtration can improve the indoor air quality in your home.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
May 13th General Meeting
When: Wednesday, MAY 13th 6:00pm – 8:30pm
If there is rain the walk will be rescheduled and the meeting will start @ 7:30PM
Where: Incarnate Word - 8326 Apricot Street
Come meet your neighbors,
& discover what is going on in our area!
Please note time change STARTING @ 6PM just this once
so we can hold our
Silence is Violence
Neighborhood Watch Walk
within NorthWest Carrollton's boundaries
Silence is Violence Neighborhood Watch Crime Walk route will be:
Start @ Incarnate Word
Walk down Apricot to Leonidas
Walk down Leonidas to Belfast
Walk down Belfast to Cambronne
Walk down Cambronne to Nelson
Walk down Nelson to Dublin
Walk down Dublin to Apple
Walk down Apple to Joliet
Walk down Joliet back to Apricot
Return to Incarnate Word for cool down, refreshments
and see our ideas on a Neighborhood Orchard
Other Topics are:
Sewerage & Water Board repairs on Apple, Apricot & Cambronne
PRC's SELLebration - May 30th, 701 Magazine St
Monthly magazine exchange
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Jane's Walk 2009
Tour spotlights bright spots, blight
Ten neighborhoods in N.O. are exploredSunday, May 03, 2009 By Ramon Antonio VargasStaff writer
Ronnie Seaton, a master chef who has cooked for three U.S. presidents, lives in a neatly groomed shotgun house in New Orleans' northwest Carrollton neighborhood, less than 100 feet from a blighted corner known to residents as a hot spot for drug peddling.
Despite the contrast, Seaton's home and the crime-ridden corner both were designated stops on a walking tour Saturday that commemorated a renowned urban activist who advocated the sort of walkable neighborhoods common to New Orleans.
Named for Jane Jacobs, who touted cities where people can get along without cars and make strong connections with their neighbors, more than 100 so-called "Jane's Walk" neighborhood tours took place Saturday across the United States and Canada. Volunteers led 10 tours in New Orleans enclaves including Broadmoor, Central City, Faubourg St. John and eastern New Orleans.
Northwest Carrollton Civic Association members Jenel Hazlett, Karen Gadbois and Kim Carver added a creative twist, celebrating their area's assets and calling out its liabilities. Though not well attended, perhaps because of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and other events around town, the tour was packed with landmarks that neighbors say have helped the area's Hurricane Katrina recovery, hurt it -- or both.
Hazlett, the group's president, pointed out Seaton and his Apple Street home as one of the neighborhood's indisputable assets. Greeting the tour in boxers and sandals, Seaton announced plans to conduct free cooking classes at a nearby church "to get kids off the street."
Another prime asset was the Landis Construction Co. headquarters in the 8300 block of Earhart Boulevard, former bubble-gum factory. Guides said the once-decrepit building now is the home base of rebuilding projects worth billions of dollars.
Other stops were less uplifting.
More than a dozen blighted homes and buildings that languish throughout the area are owned by the same few landlords, the guides said.
Gadbois, Carver, Hazlett knew the property owners names but said that neighbors have had little luck prodding them to clean up or sell their parcels.
One landmark simultaneously has blessed and hurt the neighborhood, Hazlett said.
John Blancher's decision to move his iconic Mid City Lanes Rock 'n Bowl music hall and bowling alley to the corner of Carrollton and Earhart had made NorthWest Carrollton "the next coolest neighborhood" in New Orleans, she said.
Unfortunately Hazlett said, Blanch didn't drop the "Mid-City" moniker from his business signs. The name is no doubt a powerful brand, she said, but it does nothing to polish the tarnished image of Northwest Carrollton that drug dealers and slumlords have created. "We are so excited to have them here. It's just that we're not Mid-City. She said, "They are no longer there."
Photo Captions:
Master Chef Ronnie Seaton talks outside his Apple Street home to Jenel Hazlett, Jason Tudor and Kim Carver during a walking tour Saturday of NorthWest Carrollton.
Karen Gadbois, left, Jason Tudor, Jenel Hazlett and Kim Carver take part in Jane's Walk, a walking tour Saturday that commemorated and urban activist who advocated the sort of walkable neighborhoods that are common in New Orleans.
Ten neighborhoods in N.O. are exploredSunday, May 03, 2009 By Ramon Antonio VargasStaff writer
Ronnie Seaton, a master chef who has cooked for three U.S. presidents, lives in a neatly groomed shotgun house in New Orleans' northwest Carrollton neighborhood, less than 100 feet from a blighted corner known to residents as a hot spot for drug peddling.
Despite the contrast, Seaton's home and the crime-ridden corner both were designated stops on a walking tour Saturday that commemorated a renowned urban activist who advocated the sort of walkable neighborhoods common to New Orleans.
Named for Jane Jacobs, who touted cities where people can get along without cars and make strong connections with their neighbors, more than 100 so-called "Jane's Walk" neighborhood tours took place Saturday across the United States and Canada. Volunteers led 10 tours in New Orleans enclaves including Broadmoor, Central City, Faubourg St. John and eastern New Orleans.
Northwest Carrollton Civic Association members Jenel Hazlett, Karen Gadbois and Kim Carver added a creative twist, celebrating their area's assets and calling out its liabilities. Though not well attended, perhaps because of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and other events around town, the tour was packed with landmarks that neighbors say have helped the area's Hurricane Katrina recovery, hurt it -- or both.
Hazlett, the group's president, pointed out Seaton and his Apple Street home as one of the neighborhood's indisputable assets. Greeting the tour in boxers and sandals, Seaton announced plans to conduct free cooking classes at a nearby church "to get kids off the street."
Another prime asset was the Landis Construction Co. headquarters in the 8300 block of Earhart Boulevard, former bubble-gum factory. Guides said the once-decrepit building now is the home base of rebuilding projects worth billions of dollars.
Other stops were less uplifting.
More than a dozen blighted homes and buildings that languish throughout the area are owned by the same few landlords, the guides said.
Gadbois, Carver, Hazlett knew the property owners names but said that neighbors have had little luck prodding them to clean up or sell their parcels.
One landmark simultaneously has blessed and hurt the neighborhood, Hazlett said.
John Blancher's decision to move his iconic Mid City Lanes Rock 'n Bowl music hall and bowling alley to the corner of Carrollton and Earhart had made NorthWest Carrollton "the next coolest neighborhood" in New Orleans, she said.
Unfortunately Hazlett said, Blanch didn't drop the "Mid-City" moniker from his business signs. The name is no doubt a powerful brand, she said, but it does nothing to polish the tarnished image of Northwest Carrollton that drug dealers and slumlords have created. "We are so excited to have them here. It's just that we're not Mid-City. She said, "They are no longer there."
Photo Captions:
Master Chef Ronnie Seaton talks outside his Apple Street home to Jenel Hazlett, Jason Tudor and Kim Carver during a walking tour Saturday of NorthWest Carrollton.
Karen Gadbois, left, Jason Tudor, Jenel Hazlett and Kim Carver take part in Jane's Walk, a walking tour Saturday that commemorated and urban activist who advocated the sort of walkable neighborhoods that are common in New Orleans.
Assets & Liabilities Jane's Walk
Take a look at the Times Picayune article on NorthWest Carrollton Assets & Liabilities Jane's Walk.
While we made sure that we brought the hot spot in the 8300 Block of Apple Street to light, our neighborhood is not defined by drug dealers. We are defined by our historic register neighborhood, the opportunities waiting for anyone who wants to see and our fabulous diversity of people, housing and businesses.
While we made sure that we brought the hot spot in the 8300 Block of Apple Street to light, our neighborhood is not defined by drug dealers. We are defined by our historic register neighborhood, the opportunities waiting for anyone who wants to see and our fabulous diversity of people, housing and businesses.
Rebuilding Green Events
The Rebuilding Information Station (RIS) is partnering with several community organizations to offer FREE workshops at several locations in the Greater New Orleans area. Please plan to join us for one or more of these popular events and bring a friend!
Tuesday, May 5
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Community Center of St. Bernard
1107 LeBeau St
Arabi, LA
Keep the Water Out: Flashing for Windows
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Contractors as well as do-it-yourself homeowners are invited to this hands-on demonstration of the proper installation of house wrap, flashing, sealants and water barriers that control moisture, increase comfort and reduce water damage in Louisiana homes. Learn the “tricks of the trade” of keeping houses dry with
modern flashing materials by watching construction demonstrations using a real windows in this homeowner-friendly seminar.
Event website: http://ccstb.org/commevents/index.html
Thursday, May 14
6:00 PM
BuildSmart Learning Center
1001 S. Broad St (under the Broad St overpass).
Weatherization Workshop: Keeping Energy Costs Down
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Did you know that 30-40% of heating and cooling is lost through air leakage in your home? This air leakage occurs mainly in your floors, walls and ceilings. Want to know how to keep air conditioned air where you want it? LSU AgCenter Associate Bill Robinson will help you to understand some of the choices you can make to insulate, air seal, and keep the heat out of your home in the summer. This workshop will cover how insulation, air sealing and radiant barriers will help you lower your energy costs and increase your comfort while maintaining a durable home.
Event website: http://www.all4energy.org/events
Sunday, May 17
Noon - 7:00 PM
Green Crawl
Are you looking to have your building/rebuilding project be greener? Join us on Sunday, May 17, when the Alliance for Affordable Energy, the Green Project, UNO's Rebuilding Information Station, Global Green and the Tulane City Center will open up their doors for tours of green building resources in New Orleans.
Feel free to check out these locations at you leisure from 12 - 5 pm and join us for a party from 5 - 7 pm at the Buildsmart Learning Center! There will be music from Bye & Bye, beer, snacks and if you visit all 6 locations, you qualify for green raffle prizes, including a solar water heater gift certificate, a dual flush toilet, tankless water heater, BOSCH Cordless Impact Drill, Green Project grab bags and much more.
Pick up your map today from sponsoring locations! You can have your passport stamped at any of the locations prior to May 17th.
Further information on the Green Crawl is available at:
http://www.all4energy.org/events/green-crawl
Green Crawl locations are: BuildSmart Learning Center (Alliance for Affordable Energy)
1001 S. Broad St.
tel. 504.208.9761
Website: www.buildsmartnola.org
The Green Project
2831 Marais St., NOLA
504.945.0240
Website: www.thegreenproject.org
Rebuilding Information Station (a collaboration of UNO, LSU AgCenter, Tulane City Center and The Road Home Program)
2045 Lakeshore Dr., Ste 103, UNO Lakefront campus
tel. 504.280.5577
Website: www.lsuagcenter.com/rebuilding/informationstation
Eco Pavilion at Botanical Gardens (Tulane City Center)
City Park - no tel.
Website: www.tulanecitycenter.com
Global Green house (Global Green)
409 Andry St.
504.525.2121
Website: www.globalgreen.org/neworleans
Hollygrove Growers Market and Farm (Tulane City Center)
8301 Olive St.
tel 504.483.7037
Website: www.hollygrovemarket.com
Rebuilding Information Station
UNO/CHART
103 CERM Bldg
2045 Lakeshore Dr
New Orleans, LA 70148
chartoutreach@uno.edu
tel: 504.280.5577
fax: 504.280.5587
Tuesday, May 5
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Community Center of St. Bernard
1107 LeBeau St
Arabi, LA
Keep the Water Out: Flashing for Windows
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Contractors as well as do-it-yourself homeowners are invited to this hands-on demonstration of the proper installation of house wrap, flashing, sealants and water barriers that control moisture, increase comfort and reduce water damage in Louisiana homes. Learn the “tricks of the trade” of keeping houses dry with
modern flashing materials by watching construction demonstrations using a real windows in this homeowner-friendly seminar.
Event website: http://ccstb.org/commevents/index.html
Thursday, May 14
6:00 PM
BuildSmart Learning Center
1001 S. Broad St (under the Broad St overpass).
Weatherization Workshop: Keeping Energy Costs Down
Presenter: Bill Robinson, LSU AgCenter Associate
Did you know that 30-40% of heating and cooling is lost through air leakage in your home? This air leakage occurs mainly in your floors, walls and ceilings. Want to know how to keep air conditioned air where you want it? LSU AgCenter Associate Bill Robinson will help you to understand some of the choices you can make to insulate, air seal, and keep the heat out of your home in the summer. This workshop will cover how insulation, air sealing and radiant barriers will help you lower your energy costs and increase your comfort while maintaining a durable home.
Event website: http://www.all4energy.org/events
Sunday, May 17
Noon - 7:00 PM
Green Crawl
Are you looking to have your building/rebuilding project be greener? Join us on Sunday, May 17, when the Alliance for Affordable Energy, the Green Project, UNO's Rebuilding Information Station, Global Green and the Tulane City Center will open up their doors for tours of green building resources in New Orleans.
Feel free to check out these locations at you leisure from 12 - 5 pm and join us for a party from 5 - 7 pm at the Buildsmart Learning Center! There will be music from Bye & Bye, beer, snacks and if you visit all 6 locations, you qualify for green raffle prizes, including a solar water heater gift certificate, a dual flush toilet, tankless water heater, BOSCH Cordless Impact Drill, Green Project grab bags and much more.
Pick up your map today from sponsoring locations! You can have your passport stamped at any of the locations prior to May 17th.
Further information on the Green Crawl is available at:
http://www.all4energy.org/events/green-crawl
Green Crawl locations are: BuildSmart Learning Center (Alliance for Affordable Energy)
1001 S. Broad St.
tel. 504.208.9761
Website: www.buildsmartnola.org
The Green Project
2831 Marais St., NOLA
504.945.0240
Website: www.thegreenproject.org
Rebuilding Information Station (a collaboration of UNO, LSU AgCenter, Tulane City Center and The Road Home Program)
2045 Lakeshore Dr., Ste 103, UNO Lakefront campus
tel. 504.280.5577
Website: www.lsuagcenter.com/rebuilding/informationstation
Eco Pavilion at Botanical Gardens (Tulane City Center)
City Park - no tel.
Website: www.tulanecitycenter.com
Global Green house (Global Green)
409 Andry St.
504.525.2121
Website: www.globalgreen.org/neworleans
Hollygrove Growers Market and Farm (Tulane City Center)
8301 Olive St.
tel 504.483.7037
Website: www.hollygrovemarket.com
Rebuilding Information Station
UNO/CHART
103 CERM Bldg
2045 Lakeshore Dr
New Orleans, LA 70148
chartoutreach@uno.edu
tel: 504.280.5577
fax: 504.280.5587
Friday, May 1, 2009
Next Tree Planting Event
The next Hike for KaTREEna planting event in NorthWest Carrollton
is Saturday November 14th, 2009.
We will meet @ the Lions @ the corner of Pritchard Place & Carrollton
for 9AM.
Volunteers Welcome.... Show up with your shovel and help us plant a Tree or 2 or many!
If live in NorthWest Carrollton (bounded by Earhart-Carrollton-Claiborne-Leonidas) and you want a form to request free trees, leave a comment and we’ll get back to you!
is Saturday November 14th, 2009.
We will meet @ the Lions @ the corner of Pritchard Place & Carrollton
for 9AM.
Volunteers Welcome.... Show up with your shovel and help us plant a Tree or 2 or many!
If live in NorthWest Carrollton (bounded by Earhart-Carrollton-Claiborne-Leonidas) and you want a form to request free trees, leave a comment and we’ll get back to you!
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