Thank You Landis!

Please join me in welcoming Landis Construction to the neighborhood. Landis shares the old Bubblegum Factory with Hopkins Imports.

In case you haven't noted the Bubblegum Factory looks GREAT these days. The old Bubblegum Factory is individually listed on the National Historic Register as the American Chicle Company Building at 8311 Fig Street. Chicle is said: chick-lee. Remember that?

Landis gave NorthWest Carrollton a great start to 2009 when they donated AND PLACED! and total of 20 new Neighborhood Watch Signs on Fig, Carrollton & Leonidas.

THANK YOU LANDIS!

Request for update on Apple Street

Subject: Apple Street work - detailed update requested
Date: Jan 7, 2009 9:25 PM

S&W...
We are hoping that you can put us in contact with someone who can give us details on the work that has been done and seems to be ongoing on Apple Street. While it is obvious that there are significant infrastructure repairs occurring, the current conditions are dreadful (and were much worse). The street is significantly torn up and is now essentially a dirt road. The drainage is worse than before. There is obviously much more work to be done but we have no idea what the end results will be, how many stages we will have to go through until we get to the end result and what the ETA of "the end" of the project will be. There are also significant concerns that we will be stuck with a dirt road environment for a long time and that this horror will expand to other areas in the neighborhood. Any information that you can provide is much appreciated. We are scheduling (our next general) meeting and know that our neighbors will expect a detailed and accurate accounting of the "progress" on Apple Street. Our hope is that if we can explain what is happening that the current horror will feel a little more like progress we want this to be.

Thanks again,
Jenel Hazlett - NorthWest Carrollton

Recycling update

Walker,

We are hoping to have a January NorthWest Carrollton meeting. We are currently working with Catholic Charities to arrange use of their Community meeting room in Incarnate Word on Apricot Street (which is appropriately inside our neighborhood boundaries.  Unfortunately we do not yet have confirmation that we can use the room.  

We have provided information on Phoenix Recycling at our neighborhood organization meetings and Phoenix Recycling offers a slight discount (a $14/month fee) for anyone who is a member of a neighborhood organization.  Unfortunately this still means that many of our neighbors will choose for financial reasons not to participate.  We do not have enough money as a neighborhood organization to offer financial assistance for recycling.  But we look forward to hearing and testing any ideas that anyone comes up with to encourage and increase recycling in the city. 

When we set the next meeting notice we will let you know date and time.  You are welcome to attend any of our meetings.

Sincerely,
Jenel Hazlett


*******************************************
From: Walker Hines <walker.hines@gmail.com>
Sent: Jan 7, 2009 2:41 PM
To: NorthWest Carrollton <nwcarrollton@mindspring.com>

Subject: Re: Correction Regarding SDT Recycling Services

Jenel,
Thank you for your endorsement of Phoenix Recycling.  Despite the
initial misinformation, I am happy that I sent an e-mail out raising
awareness of recycling services and efforts in our city.  In fact,
many residents of our District were not even aware that anyone offered
to pick up recycling post-Katrina.  Many have expressed interest in
paying for recycling.  I have forwarded contact information for
Phoenix to anyone expressing an interest in recycling pickup.  As I
previously mentioned, I would like to meet with neighborhood group
leaders and devise a strategy to increase the number of households
that participate in the recycling program.  I would also like to look
into creative financing efforts by neighborhood groups.  We have a
very active and engaged District.  I am confident that with the right
messenger and planning, we can become the most green district in the
State.  I look forward to working with you in this endeavor.

Sincerely,
Walker Hines
*******************************************************
On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 2:34 PM, NorthWest Carrollton <nwcarrollton@mindspring.com> wrote:
Walker,
Thanks for keeping attention on this issue.

I have used Phoenix Recycling for the last year.  Phoenix provides excellent curbside service for $14/month.  I realize that $14/month is not affordable for everyone.  But considering the services that Phoenix Recycling has provided to the PostK city I hope that every effort will be made to ensure that Phoenix Recycling has a place in our increasingly GREEN city.
Jenel Hazlett - NorthWest Carrollton
*********************************
From: Walker Hines <walker.hines@gmail.com
Sent: Jan 7, 2009 11:26 AM
Subject: Correction Regarding SDT Recycling Services

Constituents,
Thank you for many of your e-mails indicating an interest in
recycling.  Unfortunately, some of the details were unclear regarding
SDTs services.  As many of you know, if you go to the link I
previously provided, SDT mentions a limited offer for curb-side
recycling pickup for any zip code with 500 or more registrations
requesting residential pickup.  The 70118 Zip Code had already
received well over 500 registrations prior to my e-mail going out.
I, along with other State Legislators, was under the impression that
SDT would offer FREE recycling pickup for the few Zip Codes that
reached 500 or more.  I mentioned that I didn't know how long they
would provide free services.  It turns out, the recycling pickup was
never intended to be free for any amount of time.  For anyone
interested in pay-for-service monthly recycling, Phoenix Recycling has
already established a successful recycling pickup.  Many residents in
our neighborhoods use Phoenix.  In due time, SDT may also offer a
monthly fee for recycling pickup in certain neighborhoods.  If you
would like more information on either company, feel free to e-mail me
and I'll send you their contact information.  Phoenix's website is:
http://phoenixrecyclingnola.com/

I apologize for not verifying all information with SDT and other
companies via phone prior to sending out a mass e-mail to neighborhood
groups.

I am hoping to lobby the City Council to appropriate funds to make
recycling a city wide public service (as is the case in the vast
majority of major urban areas).  Furthermore, I am hoping that we can
find a company that will recycle materials to help rebuild our
coastlines.

Coastal erosion can help be reversed with recyclable materials.  I am
confident we can use recyclable materials as a barrier against future
storms.  If the City Council does not find the funds to provide
city-wide recycling, I will ask for an appropriation from the State
for our Legislative District.  If successful, I will negotiate prices
and sign a contract with one of the waste and debris companies
offering recycling.  I am requesting that neighborhood organizations
consider raising funds if they feel recycling is a priority in their
neighborhoods.

Thank you for your interest and attention to this important matter.

If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.

Sincerely,
Walker Hines
State Representative - District 95
Legislative E-mail: Hinesw@legis.state.la.us
Legislative Mailing Address:
5500 Prytania St. # 626
New Orleans, LA 70115
Legislative Office:  504-756-4675

*********************************************************************
From: Walker Hines <walker.hines@gmail.com>
Sent: Jan 6, 2009 2:52 PM
To: walker.hines@gmail.com
Subject: SDT To Offer Free Recycling - Please Sign up and Forward to Neighbors

Constituents,
SDT Waste and Debris will begin offering free curb-side recycling
pickup beginning January 1 to any current or new SDT residential
customer living in a Zip code with 500 or more registrations.  To
request recycling pickup in your neighborhood, please visit:
http://sdtwds.com/recycle/

I want to thank those of you living in the 70118 Zip Code.  We were
the second Zip Code in the City to reach 500 registrations.
Regardless of where you live, if you would like the opportunity for
recycling pickup, please register as soon as possible.

As always, thank you for your attention to this matter.

May each of you enjoy a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Sincerely,

Walker Hines
State Representative - District 95
Legislative E-mail: Hinesw@legis.state.la.us
Legislative Mailing Address:
5500 Prytania St. # 626
New Orleans, LA 70115
Legislative Office:  504-756-4675

New Orleanian of the Year - 2008

Gambit's New Orleanina of the Year - Karen Gadbois!

We done Karen and WELL DESERVED! We are proud of you!

Karen is on the board of NorthWest Carrollton.

See GAMBIT's article on Karen below:

JANUARY 5, 2009

Home Checker
Karen Gadbois' crusade to save the city's architectual heritage brought down a public program riddled with problems.
BY DAVID WINKLER-SCHMIT
Photo by Cheryl Gerber

For Karen Gadbois, the city's recovery and her own have become inextricably linked, and she has fought hard for both. On New Year's Eve 2005, Gadbois finished her final chemo treatment for breast cancer and flew from Austin, Texas, to New Orleans, so she could be here for the last day of the tragic year.
  That night she sat on the porch of her raised, side-hall shotgun house in northwest Carrollton with a friend and her husband. Newly installed streetlights illuminated the neighborhood wasteland of flooded homes, and Gadbois' pile of ruined artwork and other possessions sat on the front curb. Drinking wine, Gadbois began throwing rocks at the bright, invasive lights.
  "And I was really happy," Gadbois says. "I was so happy to be back."
  Gadbois is still happy, but she isn't content. She has battled against those, including Mayor Ray Nagin and other bureaucrats, who have attempted in the name of progress to destroy and squander our city's heritage. With little more than a digital camera, a computer, a blog and her green Honda Element, this indefatigable 53-year-old mom has shown that it is the average citizen — not government — that's leading New Orleans' recovery.
  By the time Gadbois first heard about the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership (NOAH) program in early 2008, the Boston, Mass., native had been taking on City Hall to save homes from demolition for more than two years. Nevertheless, she initially was optimistic about the program because she thought the city finally was making a gesture to help people get back into their homes by creating a program that was supposed to gut and board houses for poor and elderly homeowners.
  "A number of people were questioning why we were spending millions of dollars gutting and boarding homes when there were volunteer groups," Gadbois says. "It didn't make sense in terms of using government, but it could be used to leverage volunteer work to get people back in homes."
  It was in May when Gadbois saw a Central City house — dilapidated and the yard with knee-high grass and filled with junk — supposedly remediated by NOAH.
  "Someone put up a (NOAH) sign," Gadbois says. "It was a joke."
  Sarah Lewis, who was co-director with Gadbois of Common Knowledge, an organization promoting governmental tranparency, requested a list of "remediated" properties from NOAH. Lewis and Gadbois scrutinized the list and found it riddled with problems: nonexistent houses and remediated homes that were owned by slumlords and people like former U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson's brother Mose Jefferson, who clearly were not poor or elderly.
  "It's like finding 700 pounds of gold on your front lawn," Gadbois says, displaying her Yankee wit. "It can't be gold; it's sitting in my front yard. This is so ridiculous it can't be as bad as it looks."
  Gadbois was so flabbergasted that she put her findings aside for a while until another blogger, Eli Ackerman, convinced her the story was more dynamite than gold. Gadbois turned to WWL-TV investigative reporter Lee Zurik, who broadcast her findings in an exclusive special report on July 21. The next day, Mayor Nagin held a news conference — besides city officials, only Gadbois, Lewis and Zurik were in attendance — and decried Zurik and Gadbois' investigation, accusing them of hurting the city's recovery.
  "I was not prepared to be single-handedly destroying the recovery in New Orleans," Gadbois says. "That was a lot of insult, a very loaded insult."
  Nagin's attempt at intimidation wasn't enough to deter Gadbois. Although she had only moved to New Orleans from a small Mexican village in 2002 with her husband, Jon Schooler, and their daughter, Ida, Gadbois had already become a dedicated New Orleanian. She had her hands full trying to renovate the house they bought, but says the family was comfortable and found New Orleans' open and accepting environment similar to what they had experienced in Mexico: "I loved that you could be poor with dignity in New Orleans. The first issue of the day was not what you had on."
  In the days following Nagin's news conference, Gadbois, Lewis and Zurik continued to build a case against NOAH. City officials claimed Gadbois and Lewis were working off the "wrong" NOAH property list, and the correct list would prove NOAH had delivered services for the $1.8 million contract it had with the city. So, Gadbois, Lewis and Zurik pored over the new list; this time they found even more problems.
  Besides listing houses on blocks that don't exist in the city, and charging the city for work done by volunteer groups, NOAH had used a list of contractors that included Cedric Smith, the mayor's brother-in-law, and Trellis Smith, a business partner of former NOAH director Stacey Jackson. More allegations came forward — Jackson had business relationships with other NOAH contractors — the City Council held hearings, NOAH closed its offices and a federal investigation was launched. And it was Gadbois who had first spotted NOAH's leaky ship, but all Nagin would say at the time was, "I love that we have professional investigators involved now."
  What he didn't know, or refused to believe, was that he had been dealing with a professional investigator all along.
With her cancer in remission in 2006, Gadbois became involved with her neighborhood organization, Northwest Carrollton Civic Association (NWCCA). The group argued that a proposed Walgreens drugstore at the intersection of Claiborne Avenue and Carrollton Avenue broke zoning laws. Refusing to budge, NWCCA pushed City Councilwoman Shelley Midura to broker a plan for the new Walgreens that conformed to zoning regulations and included space for a much-needed supermarket.
  "So that was sort of the beginning of my paying attention," Gadbois says.
  Still, it was more of a desire to preserve memories than anger that kept Gadbois focused on the city's recovery. Realizing a number of buildings would be demolished as New Orleans rebuilt, she wanted to start an online memory book of photographs of those structures. It was the genesis of Gadbois' blog, www.squanderedheritage.com.
  As Gadbois began driving around the city in June of 2006 shooting photographs of houses, however, she noticed many of them appeared salvageable.
  "The city seemed to have taken the stance of, 'If you want your house demolished; you can get your house demolished,'" Gadbois says. "End of conversation."
  Even if an owner didn't want a home destroyed, the city could find a way to raze it. Gadbois discovered this when she started tracking — along with Matt McBride, another New Orleans activist — the city's Good Neighbor Program, which was ostensibly set up for residents to notify the city of blighted houses. Gadbois says McBride began crunching housing statistics and determined the program was being used to feed into the city's demolition plans. And if a house wasn't reported as blighted, the city could inflate the structure's damage assessment.
  The city's approach didn't sit well with Gadbois, and with a small grant from the Blue Moon Fund, she (Lewis signed on later) has probed deeper into the city's demolition lists than any investigative agency or reporter.
Nowadays, Gadbois is back to being a solo act — the Blue Moon grant money is nearly gone, so she and Lewis had to part ways — and she is still driving around the city and documenting houses slated for demolition. She thinks there is more to the NOAH story than the public is aware, but she believes the truth will eventually come out.

Feedback to NOPD

Major Little NOPD

Today ~2:30-3:OOPM  
A resident was coming home (8300 block of Apricot) from grocery shopping at Roberts and ran into 3 young black men coming out of the alley on the side of her house. They looked like they were carrying stuff under their jackets.  She yelled at them "WTF are you doing!!!" and they scattered.  Another one of our neighbors (from Cambronne) was across the street picking up the priest to take him to the airport.  He followed the 3 guys in his car. They split up and he saw one of the guys had a small silver handgun.  Both residents called 911. I was still on the phone with the home owner so I heard some of the content of our Cambronne neighbor's report over the phone to 911. One of the men returned to Apricot street He had turned his jacket inside out and he got into a small white van (left of resident's house and across from the church) and BACKED UP down the one way street so that the resident was not able to get the license place. The resident seems confident that nothing was taken from her house. Her dogs were upstairs and loud and nasty and her downstairs didn't look broken into.

The cops did arrive very quickly after the 911 reports. 2 cars. They checked out her alleyway. Officer B.Duncan talked to the resident. He took no written notes.  While he was still on the street talking to resident another neighbor from the 8200 Pritchard Place drove up got out of his car and said he saw the same 3 young black men coming out of the alley across the street between a house in the 2900 block of Dublin.  He too yelled at them like Karen and they scattered. He said one guy had on a black leather coat and was black with close cropped hair and shorter than he was which would be less than 5'5" or going by where he had his hand could have been less than 5 feet.  The other 2 guys had on "winter jackets" with their shirts sticking out.  B. Duncan left with our 8200 Pritchard Place neighbor, presumably to take more statements.

While we are pleased that the police showed up so quickly, our conversation with Officer B. Duncan was galling and insulting. He said repeatedly that we lived in a bad neighborhood. As if because of this we should expect to have gun carrying thieves in our alleyways.  WE DON'T.  We had not one but 3 EYEWITNESSES associated with these gun carrying criminals in our neighborhood.  The fact that we were on the street and that the neighborhood watch approach was working and doing exactly what the cops say they want from us didn't seem to matter to the officer because "We live in a bad neighborhood".  When asked what it was that made this a bad neighborhood he said that it is poorly lit (which isn't true) and that Leonidas is "right there".  He said he lived on Pritchard @ Cambronne 2 years ago after Katrina.  Interesting because I never saw him while repeatedly handing our flyers to start our neighborhood organization. We mentioned that the crime statistics do not support the fact that this is "a bad neighborhood".  Officer B. Duncan didn't seem to even hear this.

When we call the cops we do not want to feel like we are being blown off because "we live in a bad neighborhood".  1) Statistically this is not true.  2) Our Neighborhood Watch is very active, as today's actions shows. 3) Our neighborhood organization is very active at work making this better neighborhood, as recent emails regarding tire dumping behind AutoZone shows.  What we expect from NOPD is support when we work against the "bad guys", not flip comments about "living in a bad neighborhood" again in a "what to you expect manner".

Sincerely,
Jenel Hazlett - President NorthWest Carrollton

----- NOPD Response -----

Response From: Bruce Little

Sent: Dec 21, 2008 8:57 PM
To: nwcarrollton@mindspring.com, "Kirk M. Bouyelas"
, Ronald Laporte

Subject: Re: Neighborhood Watch Report
There was no response from me because there were no questions asked of me. It appeared from your email that everyone was pleased with the police response, but you were upset the officer referred to the area as bad. I'm sure he meant no disrespect to anyone personally nor to the community as a whole. I'm quite certain he was warning those involved to be wary and extra careful.  Despite the fact that today is my day off I was out with my officers and personally dispatched all available units in the area to look for these suspects.  Despite our efforts they were not located.  The residences were checked and there were no apparent signs of entry or damage. We don't know what they were up to so no report was taken.  Tying an officer up for an hour writing to write  report on  suspicious persons would be counterproductive and take that unit from responding to other emergency calls. A description was broadcast and all officer noted the descriptions.

I am thrilled by the level of cooperation and response from all of the neighborhood groups in the Second District.  Today was a perfect example of how it is supposed to work

The Second District is currently leading the entire city in not only crime reduction but also leads each week in arrests.  Morale is very high and the officers and citizens are proud of our accomplishments. It is only your organization that continues to send derogatory emails. I'm not sure why but our successes speak for themselves. 
Major Bruce Little
Commander Second District
New Orleans Police Department-
Sent using BlackBerry

----- Followup email-----
Major Little,
It has been a few days since I've personally been on Email.  It's the holidays and everyone deserves a break now and then. 
A couple of things:
I understand that there are times in any job when proficiency and efficiency can appear cold and heartless to those not in the middle of doing the job.  Imagine a surgeon cutting into a patient. Is it possible to do that with out some detachment? How you feel when that patient is your loved one and you are watching is anything but detached.  I'm sure you can see the analogies.
When I wrote my email I wanted to write down what I had seen and heard as quickly as possible so as not to loose anything.  Also I was offended when I wrote it and the combination of being offended and trying to get down all the data may not have been the best combination.
But there is something else in this equation that I am still concerned you may be missing.  The secret to life is public relations. We, all of us law-abiding citizens who want to work with the police, want a RELATIONSHIP with the police of the 2nd district.  We in NorthWest Carrollton know that there are other neighborhoods who "are nicer", have more wealth, have more power, and on the other side of the coin we know there are neighborhoods that are a lot worse than ours, that don't have power or influence.  When officers "dis the hood" while we have folks on the street doing what we can to stop the bad guys the relationship is damaged.  What I was trying to get across in my email was that what was said: "this is a bad neighborhood" damages the relationship.  Given that this was a minor incident in the grand scheme of things, no murder, no gun fire, just gun toting, there was, in my opinion, an opportunity for the police to say something like: "Thanks for being on the lookout, thanks for calling. It is impressive to have so many people work together and report criminal activity. We will let you know what our investigation finds."
See it isn't just about what your people do. As you indicate they did their difficult job but didn't find anything - this time. The problem is that without our email, we would have never known this.  What we would have been left with is a feeling that the cops think this is a bad neighborhood and have blown us off.  And that is inaccurate and damages the relationship and is exactly what can prevent people from calling in next time.  We, the representatives of NorthWest Carrollton, don't want that and neither do you.  My hope when I sent the email was that the information could be helpful but most importantly to let you, as leader of the 2nd district, know how important the "public relations" aspect is of the cops on the street.  The NWCCA board will continue to call on and communicate with NOPD but given a similar experience other members and citizens living in NWCCA might have just climbed back into their holes and checked out or worse "dis'd the NOPD".  And none of us want that.

Thanks for doing the difficult job that you and your team do for us. Have the happiest and safest of holidays,

Jenel Hazlett - NorthWest Carrollton bounded by Claiborne-Carrollton-Earhart-Leonidas       

What is a streetscape?

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 New Orleans key recovery areas. The streetscape is designed to benefit the surrounding neighborhood residents, business owners and visitors by providing amenities that contribute to economic vitality. Streetscape projects enhance the area surrounding the actual roadway, but do not include roadway repair or reconstruction.

 

Streetscapes can include: 

• Sidewalk, bikeway, driveway and other pedestrian surface walkway improvements
• Traffic and pedestrian signalization and signage
• Landscaping
• Lighting
• Public Art
• Pocket park improvements
• Minor utility modifications and improvements

Insulting

What & Who: Councilmember Stacy Head will attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Irish Channel and St. Mary Overlay Projects completion on Thursday morning. The ceremony marks the rehabiliation of 1.75 miles of roadway throughout the Irish Channel and St. Mary neighborhoods.

When: Thursday, December 11, 2008 11:00 a.m.

Where: Burke Park (Uptown) Annunciation St, between 2nd & 3rd St.

Background: As a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an estimated 17,000 individual sites (roadway and sidewalks) and 6,000 blockers were damaged due to flooding in 80 percent of the City. To date, the City has completed 13 roadway and walking path projects and also completed more than 2,275 repairs to city streets and sidewalks damaged by the storms of 2005.

REALITY CHECK: Really? Oh Yeah, the flood waters were REAL DEEP in the Irish Channel and on the Isle of Denial. As a New Orleans citizen who DID have ~3 FEET of Water in the streets of her neighborhood, this is nothing short of insulting. Stacy Head does good work and I admire her, but having “recovery work” work done in the IRISH CHANNEL and having the audacity to say the damage to the road way was Katrina/Rita related is inappropriate and INSULTING to those whose neighborhoods were ravaged by flooding and postK cleanup. How much does it cost the city to plan & execute a ribbon cutting ceremony for less than 2 miles of roadway in an area of town that DID NOT FLOOD!?

We all need to keep our eyes on the recovery ball. You can’t talk about efficiency in budgeting and city services and do things like this at the same time. Focus. Focus. Focus!

Entergy and the joys of having a MONOPOLY

Folks, Maybe you heard about Shelley Midura and Rod West going after it regarding “contract issues”. Maybe you didn’t.

EVERYONE should read Clancy Dubos on the Blog of New Orleans. Make sure you read the article AND scroll all the way down to where Clancy rebuts some of the stuff in the comments.
This is only just heating up and it will eventually hit your checking account.

Free Concert in Palmer Park

LPO and Palmer Park ConcertBring a picnic and enjoy music outdoors!

SATURDAY October 11, 2008 - 5:00pm

Musical SelectionsVoyages with the LPO!
Overture to HMS Pinafore
Handel Water Music
Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid
Selections from South Pacific
Armed Forces Salute
Selections from Pirates of the Caribbean
Harry’s Wondrous World fromHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Music from Apollo 13
Star Trek through the Years
Selections from E.T. The Extraterrestrial

Rain date: Sunday, October 12, 5:00 PM

The LPO concert in Palmer Park is made possible byDistrict A Councilmember Shelley Miduraand by Harrah’s Community Support Grant Program.

Earhart Expansion Schematic

Earhart Expansion Schematic, originally uploaded by NorthWest Carrollton.

In June 2008, NorthWest Carrollton invited Department of Public Works Robert Mendoza and team to talk to us about the new that Earhart would finally be resurfaced. What the plans showed was that Earhart would be expanded from 4 to 6 lanes and that a left turn lane would be placed at Carrollton and Earhart.

Citizen reaction to this plan was not good. A Carrollton Area Network meeting was held at St. Matthew's and the reaction at this meeting was essentially the same.

The citizen proposal was created and meetings were held with Department of Public Works and Regional Planning. Traffic studies were done and traffic models created. The citizen proposal had the best traffic flow in the models.

Democracy worked.

Thank You Marc Robert - POWER update

Smart enough to place a generator at his new store on Claiborne & Dublin, Robert was open for business on WEDNESDAY. Thank you Marc Robert.

On Wednesday about 1/2 of the neighborhood had power. By Friday power came back on for most of the rest of the neighborhood. The street light at Walmsley/Apple & Carrollton is now working. This should prevent the accidents we saw after Katrina. The power was still out at Earhart & Carrollton.

Should we EVER have to do this again please leave your porch light on. This will allow us to drive down the streets in the neighborhood and report which blocks *look* like they have power. Even when the bulk of a neighborhood has power there can still be some houses without. IF you don’t have power when you return report the outages to Entergy at 1-800-9-outage. Entergy is working hard to get the power back up a soon as possbile.

When you see the trucks - stop and tell them THANK YOU.

Why come back (and why not come back) - PostGustav Evacuation

O.K. That’s it I’ve had it. I am tired of unthinking or flat foolish people saying things regarding our return to OUR CITY!

So let’s list it out for those who can’t think it out for themselves:

1) My job requires me to return. Yeah they can make a lot of noise about “Tier 1″, but there are MANY companies who have to know that their PEOPLE are back before we begin to get our city back (power or no power). Let’s think about who these companies are. Let’s take the example of the saints game this weekend. WHO do we neeed? Ticket takers, concession stand workers, parking lot workers, cleaning staff, building maintenenace staff, security staff. Now that you are thinking about the fact that you need your fellow citizens start thinking about other services. Do you want your gabage picked up? Do you want to be able to go to the grocery store? Do you want to be able to fill your tank? Do you think filling your tank takes place 100% withOUT people? We are all Tier 1 because without citizens there is no city.

2) My finances require me to return. Some of us are lucky enough to have family and friends to take us in indefinately and do NOT have to return to work. Thank goodness for family and friends. Some of us have the means to fly to New York or California or Europe. Yes believe it or not some New Orleanians spent their Katrina evacuation in France. Some of us have the financial means to whip out a Credit Card and stay indefinately in a hotel. Think about the people who make up this city. REALLY think about it. Think about the state of the economy in this country and tell me that you realy believe that the bulk of the citizens of New Orleans, many who are financially strapped because of Katrina Recovery, and tell me you can’t understand why they might want to come home.

3) My house is MY HOUSE and it is MY HOME! While family and friends are great and a hotel stay may be fun, my house is my home. I want to see how it faired in the storm. If there are damages that need to be addressed I want to do it as fast as possible to prevent further damage. But more importantly ESPECIALLY POSTKATRINA! I want to be HOME, in my HOUSE, in my neighborhood! Kids want a return to normalcy. They want to go to THIER Schools with THEIR Friends and not to an “evacuation school”. People who could not go home quickly postKatrina want to come home quickly now. There is very little to prevent this.

That said there are some reasons to stay away. Let’s talk about those.

1) If you have critical medicial needs: like a requirement for oxygen (which requries power) or dialysis or ongoing speciality disease treatment that can be handled by facilities where you are, you need to stay where these services are readily available. Yes, we have hospitals. But the entire electrical transmission system (the interstate highway of power) is severely damaged. NorthWest Carrollton does not currently have power. Even if we get power as the systems are repaired there maybe temporary but significant power outages. THINK before you move if you have medical needs.
2) The entire electrical transmission system (the interstate highway of power) is severely damaged. Yes, Entergy is working diligently to repair this system, but this is NOT just a New Orleans problem this is a River Parish problem that includes Baton Rouge (and I’m not talking about the governor, I’m talking about the power grid infrastructure.) So if you want to come home KNOW that you could be in the dark and living out of an ice chest and cooking on the grill for quite some time. No power, No Air Conditioning! Can you and your family stand each other for days in the heat? Do you have a generator and the means to fill it with gas? Do you have ice chests and the means to fill them with food? Because their are few to no groceries open today. Make SURE that you have enough gas for your vehicle to get you all the way HOME. No power, no working gas pumps. THINK camping. Think October 2005. Think seriously roughing it. Make an informed decision.

IF you do return, Think traffic safety! Assume every non-functioning traffic signal is a 4 way stop. People have reverted to PostKatrina driving habits and not all of these are good. Be safe. Make an informed decision.

The city needs to think about this:
People won’t leave if they can’t come back.

Let us not forget that the people who live in New Orleans survived the months following Katrina. Power? Please. Post K I didn’t have Gas at my house and therefore no heat and no hot water until Christmas 2005. Flushing the toilet with a bucket, yep. We lived in houses with gutted bottom floors with NOTHING in them and if we were lucky enough to have 2nd floors lived there or in formaldehyde FEMA tin cans. We lived in these circumstances for MONTHS, not days. MONTHS. Some of us YEARS. If there is one thing that the politians in the city of New Orleans should know by now is that we are tough enough to deal with adversity. We can live without power. We can cook on our grills. We can haul in food and water if that is what we are told to do. We can make the determination NOT to return if we feel that is best for our own personal circumstances. But I believe that the at the very least what we have earned is the right to make our own determination about what is best for us. The Mayor needs to stop acting like Big Brother and should not treat me or my neighbors as children.

5 Myths about Katrina

The national press is finally beginning to understand that New Orleans and the surrounding areas are not just below sea level areas of the country where people just should not live. I even saw coverage that touched on the wetlands and MRGO and the damage done to the wetlands by the oil and gas companies that put fuel in the nations cars and heat homes in the northern US in the winter.

Encourage your friends and family to watch this video put together by Levees.org

Robert Fresh Market Open in August

Finally the grocery store is here!

See their website for details on all the offerings.

Yeah! Marc Robert for your perseverance to get to this day.
We are thrilled to have your in our neighborhood!

S&W Leaks

Thank you very much for your help. BOTH leaks have been repaired.

Happy 2009! Sincerely, Jenel Hazlett - NWCCA

*********************************************************


From: NorthWest Carrollton <nwcarrollton@mindspring.com>

To: "EJSterling@cityofno.com" <EJSterling@cityofno.com>, Shelley Midura <smidura@cityofno.com>

   

Subject: Large Leaks in 8500 Block of Apricot & 8300 Block of Pritchard

Date: Dec 27, 2008 12:38 PM

 

Happy Holidays, I am hoping that you can help us contact the right people at Sewerage & Water Board who can help us get action on 2 large leaks in NorthWest Carrollton. The first photo is of the leak at 8300 Pritchard Place. It has been reported to Sewerage & Water Board from this address. The leak is on the street side of the water meter. At first we were not sure if it was a leak or rainwater, but now we can literally see it getting larger every day. The second photo is of the leak in the 8500 block (even side) of Apricot Street. It has been reported by the folks at 8530 Apricot, repeatedly for more than a month. The exact source is hard to determine The surrounding area is soggy and the puddles stretch for half a block. Any thing you can do to expedite these repairs before things get worse is appreciated. Sincerely, NorthWest Carrollton

Earhart Planning - Citizen Proposal

The Citizen proposal was reviewed and endorsed by the Regional Planning Commission & New Orleans Public Works in the Fall of 2008.

A public meeting was held in April 21 @7PM at St. Matthew’s Church, 1333 South Carrollton Avenue and follow up meetings were held with Regional Planning & Public Works.

Harvard Presentation

In 2007/2008 NorthWest Carrollton participated in meetings in held as part of Harvard University's Broadmoor Project. Click here to see our neighborhood presentation.

The Economics of Neighborliness

I’m reading Bill McKibben’s book, Deep Economy. It has some very interesting ideas to consider. Personally I think “Local” is the “new Green”.

But decide for yourself. Come and see Bill McKibbin discuss his book in person at the Garden District Book Shop on March 12th from 5:30 to 7:30PM.

Earhart BOULEVARD

Urban Conservancy, City Council, Senator Grey:

NorthWest Carrolltion would like to talk with someone in your organization regarding work that will soon begin on Earhart.

Wednesday February 20th, Robert Mendoza came to our neighborhood meeting and gave us the low down on the Earhart “repairs”. While we are glad to see these much needed repairs move forward we were not happy with what we heard regarding the plan.

Currently Earhart is 3 lanes (each way for a total of 6) in Jefferson Parish and then merges to 2 (each way for a total of 4) as it enters Orleans at the overpass. The “repairs” will cause Earhart to be 3 lanes in Jefferson Parish, drop to 2 at the overpass, EXPAND to 3 at the base of the overpass in Orleans, grow a total of 5 lanes (8 lanes both ways!) at Carrollton & Earhart and then drop back to 2 on the Orleans side of Carrollton. Nothing in anything we have read regarding Earhart improvements mentioned increasing the number of lanes. What we naively assumed was that the street would be repaired and proper curbs and sidewalks installed.

While we can appreciate that modifications may be necessary to help traffic flow at Carrollton and Earhart and we completely support a marked and dedicated turning right turning lane (to the river) at Carrollton, we are concerned about the total lost of green space in the center of this intersection to allow for 2 turning lanes onto Carrollton toward the lake. We are also disappointed that NO effort has been made to provide a marked and dedicated turning lane off of Carrollton and onto Earhart toward Jefferson Parish. Anyone who has used this intersection knows that this is a traffic issue in the evenings.

In the process of creating the plan for Earhart there has been no discussion of bike racks and very little thought given to green space and tree cover. There is a requirement to put in sidewalks and ADA crosswalks because of the associated federal dollars. But we see very little in the plan that looks at the whole picture or the long haul. Will people really use the sidewalks if they are right on top of the 3 lane “highway”? This is one of the last opportunities that we will have to improve Earhart for a long time. With all the planning that has been done in the city of New Orleans it would be nice to see some broader thinking. Many of the planning sessions that New Orleanians participated in discussed a need for better integrated streets, sidewalks and bikepaths, some of them specifically referred to Earhart.

Why are we making what should be an “Urban Corridor” into a 6 lane highway? 8 lanes at Carrollton Avenue?

Does anyone remember that Earhart was part of the horrible idea of a Vieux Carre INTERSTATE?

What sense does it make to have Earhart be come 3 lanes on each side only to drop to 2 (on each side) as it crosses Carrollton?

What sense does it make to have the overpass at the Jefferson/Orleans line drop to 2 lanes only to widen to 3 lanes in Orleans Parish. Won’t this only encourage speeding on what should be an Urban Corridor and partially residential street? Once traffic is slowed down from the 3 lane Jefferson part of Earhart by the overpass and narrows to 2 lanes in Orleans WHY allow it to spread out and speed up again?

We hope that there are opportunities to tweak the plan to provide for more green space and to reassure residential and business owners that the intent is not to create a Veterans highway like environment in New Orleans. We CHOOSE to live in New Orleans and it is the character of New Orleans streets that we wish to retain. Please see that attached article written by a graduate student at UNO.

We look forward to hearing from you regarding the concerns expressed by the neighbors of NorthWest Carrollton.

Jenel Hazlett – President, NorthWest Carrollton Civic Association

A Tale of 2 Januarys

January 2006. I’ve been back in my home since October 2005. The bottom floor of our house is gutted. We have replaced our water heater, a washer & dryer. My husband and daughter came home to our raised bungalow from Austin, TX in November 2005. We finally got gas service in December 2005. I’ve been driving from Carrollton to my job at the Chalmette Refinery through postapolcalytic New Orleans for months. My route usually takes me down Carrollton to I-10 to the Claiborne exit and then to Franklin where I jump to St. Claude. The Claiborne bridge has been raised since I returned. The only 2 routes into Chalmette are either via Paris Rd or St. Claude, limited access and both routes require you to go through a military/police check point.

I watched the tide rise and fall from my porch before we floated ourselves and our bicycles out on air mattresses and then rode to I-10 & Causeway. I slept under the I-10 and had FEMA throw bottled water and MRE’s at me. I’ve gutted my own house and driven past more dead refrigerators and tatoo’d houses and debris piles bigger than garbage trucks than I can count. I repeatedly worked side by side with the folks removing debris piles sweeping and scooping the debris from in front of my home. I drive past the devastation and emptiness daily. I have a profound sense of loss but I’m tough and grateful. I have a job, a home, my daughter can return to school, my husband is working on our lower floor, we had insurance. I know that it could be worse. My mom lost everything in her lower 9th Ward home, her job moved to Covington then the Mississippi gulf coast. My brother lost everything in his home in old Arabi. His job is here. His family is still in South Carolina.

In December 2005 I take what is left of my 2005 vacation and spend some down time at home with my family, a real luxury. Then in January 2006 I drive back to work, down Carrollton to the I-10 to the Claiborne exit, down Claiborne. But it’s been 2 weeks and I am on automatic pilot so I forget to turn on Franklin, I reach the foot of the Claiborne bridge and see that it is open. Cool. Great. Progress, right? I drive over the bridge and there to my left is the barge that split the levee still sitting amide what is left of the broken and battered homes. I gasp out loud. How can I still be shocked? I keep driving and there at the foot of the bridge is a house in the middle of the right hand lane. I have to veer around it. I drive on to work but feel gut punched. But the time I get to the light at Claiborne and Caffin I have tears running down my cheeks. I’m a bit bleary eyed as I go through the checkpoint on St.Claude/St.Bernard Hwy. but the cop on this watch has seen it before. I show him my badge and go through. I’m recovered enough to put in a days work before I drive home through the devastation again.

January 2008
I’ve been on vacation putting the finishing touches on our downstairs. It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve driven down Carrollton to the I-10 to the Claiborne exit, down Claiborne across the Claiborne bridge to Chalmette. As I come up over the bridge there on the left are rows upon rows of little pink houses. And I smile broadly at the vibrant image of hope and say out loud “Thank You Brad Pitt”.

January 2006 Despair . January 2008 Hope.