Help Holy Cross

Sunday Photo: The Old Semmes School

"The Old Semmes School". Photo by Marna David

Lower 9th Ward Creative Arts Festival - August 4th @ Sam Bonart Park

T-P Features Calvin Alexander and his Backyard Farm

Congrats to Holy Cross resident and farmer (and past HCNA president) Calvin Alexander, featured in yesterday's Times-Picayune feature, "Cornucopia of vegetables, herbs grows in Ninth Ward back yard":

By Annette Sisco

When Calvin Alexander parks in front of his home on Caffin Avenue, Helen comes running. Helen is a blond hen, one of about 20 that lay eggs for Alexander’s booth at the Sankofa Farmer’s Market on St. Claude Avenue.

With his salt-and-pepper beard and salesman’s manner, Alexander, 60, is a fixture at the Lower Ninth Ward market every Saturday, peddling not just fresh eggs but also vegetables, herbs and half a dozen varieties of fiery pepper plants, all grown right in the neighborhood.

Alexander and his wife, Natalie, squeeze the most out of every corner of their back yard, plus the patch of ground at a rental they own and a couple of rows at a local community garden.

“All total, I probably have about 50 by 60 feet,” Alexander said. “That’s not even a quarter of an acre.”

Alexander started earning his backyard green thumb when he was 6 years old, living in Memphis.

“My granddad was a master farmer,” he said. “He was great with animals, as well as agriculture. And my mom and dad had a garden. We had about half an acre. We had peaches, figs, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, okra, all sorts of green vegetables, carrots, potatoes and peanuts.”

There were also chickens, ducks and geese. “And we had dozens of pigs.” READ FULL ARTICLE >>

via blog.nola.com

Support Tekrema's 4th Annual Fundraiser, Saturday, July 21

Come out and support the Tekrema Center's 4th annual fundraiser "A Night in Dakar" Saturday July 21st at 7 p.m. at the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music Performance Hall, 1901 Bartholomew Street, New Orleans.

Street Work Begins in 9th Ward: Forstall, Tupelo and Alvar

The state is set to begin reconstruction work today on several New Orleans streets in areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

All are in the city’s 9th Ward.

Barrier Construction Co. is the contractor for the $2.4 million project, which involves segments of Forstall, Tupelo and Alvar streets.

The state Department of Transportation and Development said the work will include resurfacing, repairing curbs and installing handicap-compliant ramps. Completion is expected by October.

The project is part of the Paths to Progress program targeting more than 60 roadway segments in New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish.

via neworleanscitybusiness.com

Fireworks! Another Great Holy Cross Neighborhood 4th of July Party!

Another wonderful Holy Cross Neighborhood Assn. 4th of July Party - and the best view of the city's fireworks display on the Mississippi River Levee! Thanks to our friend Darryl Malek-Wiley for these terrific photos!

Sunday Photo: House in Need of a Homeowner

"House in Need of a Homeowner". Photo by Dave Macaulay.

Red X sign on the front of this abandoned property along Dauphine Street was placed there by the New Orleans Fire Department - indicates the building poses a fire hazard.

New Lower 9 Health Clinic Will Open along St. Claude/Holy Cross School Property

The Holy Cross School has sold and donated a portion of its former campus to New Orleans Baptist Ministries, which plans to open a health clinic there by the end of the year. The primary-care clinic, Christ Community Health Services-NOLA, will be the only medical facility serving the Lower 9th Ward.

Charles DiGange, headmaster of the school, which moved to Gentilly after Hurricane Katrina, said the school is delighted that it has been able to find a partial re-use of the campus that will benefit the Holy Cross neighborhood. The Holy Cross neighborhood is named after the school, which was founded in 1859.

"The health clinic is really, really needed in the Lower 9. I'm glad we can continue our service to the neighborhood even though we're not there physically," DiGange said. "We're dedicated to making sure that whatever entity bought the property would be a good fit for the neighborhood."

Since announcing its intention to move in December 2005, the boys Catholic middle school and high school has struggled to find a new use for its 15-acre campus. The school went through a master planning process with the neighborhood a few years ago, which came up with high-rise condominiums along the river, shopping, and mixed-income housing further inland, among other things.

...

Under the new deal, New Orleans Baptist Ministries will take over 3.5 acres of the school's land.

The faith-based non-profit bought the school's former baseball field in the square bounded by Reynes, North Rampart, Deslonde and Burgundy for $405,000. READ MORE >>

via www.nola.com

Tomorrow at Tekrema Center: A Community Health Fair!

Join Us for the Annual HCNA 4th of July Celebration!

For Sale: Global Green's Holy Cross Project Homes!

At last, the sustainably-designed and -built homes at Global Green's Holy Cross Project (corner of Douglass & Andry) are on the market! Holy Cross Neighborhood resident and realtor Marna David is working with the non-profit organization to sell these wonderful properties on the levee. Here's what she says:

"Four of Global Green's 21st Century Shotgun Homes are ready for sale and you could call one of them home. Two are single story, two are two-storied and all are economical in their use of space and energy. The open floor plans provide a feel of spaciousness. Give yourself the double pleasure of living in one of the first LEED Platinum rated homes in New Orleans, and, at the same time, take in the park-like levee every time you look out your front window. With solar panels, ENERGY STAR appliances and applied green building techniques, these unique homes offer some of the most affordable and enjoyable living to be had. Come sit in one of these houses for 10 minutes and feel the difference that a people-friendly, non-toxic environment can offer. And. Call the energetic Historic Holy Cross Neighborhood home!"

Sunday Photo: The Guerrilla Garden

"The Guerrilla Garden" (Chartres & Charbonnet). Photo by Dave Macaulay.

April News from Tekrema Center for Art and Culture

On WGNO, Mack McClendon Speaks Out: "Activist Says Very Little Progress In Lower Ninth Ward"

LOWER NINTH WARD – While some neighborhoods are starting to re-populate in the Lower Ninth Ward, the Executive Director of the Lower 9th Ward Village took our cameras to places where much work still needs to be done.

via www.abc26.com

Times-Picayune: Holy Cross' Lower 9th Ward campus makeover comes up short

By Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune

Citing their inability to line up financing, developers have scrapped a proposal to buy the shuttered Holy Cross School campus and bring a full-service supermarket and affordable housing for teachers to the Lower 9th Ward site. A team led by New Orleans-based Green Coast Enterprises signed an agreement to buy the 16-acre tract last year. But the group notified the school's real estate agent recently that it would not be able to meet a late January deadline to finalize the purchase.

David da Cunha, the Property One broker representing Holy Cross, said Friday that the developers were attempting to cobble together several sources of funding, including a loan from a City Hall-administered program set up to provide residents with greater access to healthful food choices.

"It proved to be too slow of a process for them, " da Cunha said, "so they decided to pull out. It was a business decision they had to make.''

Green Coast officials couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Holy Cross officials, who moved the school to a new home in Gentilly two-and-a-half years ago, announced last spring that they were looking for a buyer for the old campus.

Property One established an asking price of $2.1 million for the entire site, including several parcels adjacent to or near the campus.

Site may be broken up

While the school still would prefer a single transaction, da Cunha said there now "may be an opportunity to carve out some of the pieces and sell it less than whole." READ MORE >>

via www.nola.com

L9 Residents Please Oppose Alcohol Permit for Gas Station in our Community!

To: Residents and Friends of the Lower 9th Ward

Re: Public Hearing Opposing Alcohol Permit Application for 5202 North Claiborne Avenue (Gas station at Lizardi and North Claiborne).

We are requesting your presence at this public hearing on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber (Room 1EO7), City Hall, 1300 Perdido Street. WE DO NOT NEED MORE LIQUOR STORES IN OUR LOWER 9TH WARD COMMUNITY.

Residents and friends of the Lower 9th ward community, let’s ban together in great numbers and oppose this alcohol permit. Your presence is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

William P. Waiters
President, HCNA

Louisiana Green Corps is Hiring!

Louisiana Green Corps is looking for Orleans and Jefferson Parish residents, ages 18 to 21 to enroll in its three month job training program.

This three-month job training program prepares individuals to enter the workforce focusing on construction and green industries. Throughout the program participants will have the opportunity to receive a variety of nationally recognized certifications and will be eligible for incentive payments, as well as an AmeriCorps Education Award of $1,250! In Addition, the program provides participants with field experience in deconstruction and salvage, basic weatherization practices and carpentry skills.

Certifications include:

• Roots of success environmental literacy
• CPR/First Aid
• NCCER Multi-Craft Core Construction
• 10 Hour OSHA Safety
• 8 hour lead rennovation, repair, and painting
• Asbestos Awareness
• Forklift operator training

Be a part of Session 9! Call: 504-613-4661

PRC Properties for Sale in the Holy Cross Neighborhood

The Preservation Resource Center's Operation Comeback renovates and sells blighted and adjudicated properties. All OC properties are carefully restored using historically sensitive materials and designs to retain the character of the home and neighborhood. OC has a revolving inventory of properties in various stages of renovation available to interested buyers. Several financing incentives are available for first-time homebuyers and first responders of Orleans Parish.

5450-52 Dauphine St.
Please contact the realtor for more information.
Raised Arts and Crafts Shotgun Double
2 Bedrooms / 1 Bathroom on each side
Approx. 1,890 square feet
30' x 159' lot

 

5204 Burgundy St.
$99,000
3 Bedroom / 2 Bathroom
1,162 square feet
32' x 64' lot
Original wood flooring

6215 Dauphine St.

$164,900

2 Bedroom / 2 Bathroom
1,331 square feet
Front porch, back porch, and side gallery
30' x 113' lot

405 St. Maurice St.
Please contact the realtor for more information.

2 Bedroom / 2 Bathroom
1,200 square feet
Private Courtyard
30' x 104' lot
Built c. 1900's

For more information on available properties, please contact Lisa Ross, Real Estate Marketing Manager, at 504.636.3078 or lross@prcno.org.

Holiday Events: Toy Give Aways and Tree Lighting!

December 17th at 10 a.m.

USA Mail and Parcel is hosting its annual Toy Give Away at 5000 St. Claude Ave. Toys for boys and girls between the ages of 6 months and 12 years will be available. If you are interested in donating you can drop of new toys at the address above or give a monetary gift.

For more information please call (504) 944-8052

December 19th from 5 - 7:30 p.m.: "Celebration on St. Claude Avenue"

Toy Give Away at 1001 Charbonnet St.

• Live Stageplay!
• Refreshments
• Photo with Santa Claus

Christmas Tree Lighting at 5909 St. Claude Ave.

The Leona Tate Foundation for Change, INC., The Lower 9th Ward Village, Plessy & Ferguson Foundation, The Renaissance Project & A Desire for Change are sponsoring a "Celebration on St. Claude Avenue."

For more information please call: (504) 304-7868 

Lower 9 Business Info Session at All Soul's - Today @ 5 pm

City’s 5th ‘Fight the Blight’ Happens Saturday (12/10) @ Sam Bonart Playground

This Saturday, December 10, 2011, we are hosting our 5th “Fight the Blight” Volunteer Day from 9:00am– 1:00pm. This effort is being coordinated through ServeNOLA, the Mayor’s service and volunteerism initiative.

With the holiday season upon us and a slate of big events coming to the City, this is a great time for the community to once again take a few hours to assist in cleaning our neighborhoods, improving parks and playgrounds, and litter abatement. We have seen progress in the past year addressing our city’s pressing blight and cleanliness problem, but the battle continues. And again, to be successful, this must be a partnership between the City, local neighborhood organizations, local non-profits and volunteers from throughout New Orleans.

Our efforts will be targeted within a five-block radius of open schools, playgrounds and high-traffic commercial corridors. The five locations for the upcoming “Fight the Blight” Volunteer Day will include:

Sam Bonart Playground, 1200 Forstall Street (District E)

Activities will include litter abatement, cleaning of catch basins, improvements to parks and playgrounds, neighborhood beautification, code citing, and painting. Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves.

Please join us in our efforts. To volunteer for this Saturday’s effort, sign up online at www.nola.gov.

We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Mitchell J. Landrieu
Mayor

via nolahoods.com

Work to begin in January on Lower 9 streetscape improvements

By Christian Moises

Two five-month streetscape improvement projects in the Lower 9th Ward are expected to start by January.

Plus Concrete Inc. of New Haven, Mich., was the apparent low bidder earlier this month on the projects that will improve North Claiborne Avenue from Andry to Lamanche streets and St. Claude Avenue from the St. Claude Bridge to Egania Street.

Work will include adding a walking path to the neutral ground, replacing concrete sidewalk panels, repairing drainage and improving landscaping. READ MORE >>

via neworleanscitybusiness.com

Holy Cross Project on the Art Home Tour - Today!

Global Green's Holy Cross Project is on the 3rd Annual New Orleans Art Home tour! Be sure to stop be sure to stop by the Visitor Center at Douglass & Andry streets between 12 and 5:30 pm today to see the amazing collection of local art and photography.

Art Home New Orleans is a program from the Creative Alliance of New Orleans that introduces participants to the depth and quality of art collectors in New Orleans. On November 19^th and 20^th from 12 to 5.30pm, selected homes will open up to the public to exhibit their local collections. Art Home’s true mission is to have art collectors educate participants on the individuality of art collections and encourage them to go one step beyond appreciation, to the actual purchase of art.CANO has also paired young professionals with some of these emerging artists by staging pop up exhibitions of affordable artwork for sale. Art Home New Orleans ticket holders can also attend a lecture November 19th at 11am led by New Orleans' most knowledgeable curators, collectors, and art dealers. CANO has designed the series to explore local trends in art, demystify the practice of art collecting, and inspire confidence in a new generation of local collectors and arts patrons.

Art Home New Orleans is part of the 3^nd annual arts+gardens+new orleans fall festival.arts+gardens+new orleans is a four-month long festival of events that highlights parks, gardens, and cultural venues, performances and exhibitions all over town, including major museums, theater groups, musical venues, neighborhood cultural venues and sites.

For more information and to register, go here.

Help Us Monitor Blighted and Abandoned Properties

The New Orleans Fire Department is asking the New Orleans Police Department and the citizens of the community, to assist them in locating blighted and abandoned properties that are inhabited by unauthorized occupants (i.e. squatters). They are concerned about these individuals creating/using unsafe heating sources to keep themselves warm in the cold weather. NOFD would like to install smoke detectors in these properties in order to minimize the loss of life during cold weather and to hopefully reduce the impact of such fires.

NOFD would appreciate our help with gathering the addresses of these properties. We will also be sharing the list with the Director of Homelessness Services for the City of New Orleans, and those individuals identified as homeless and want assistance, will be offered services.

Please, reply to Officer Matthew L. Alsina Sr. with any addresses you are aware of by Monday, November 14th. We will consolidate the lists and share them with NOFD and Homelessness Services. Thank you very much for your time and help.

Common Ground Relief Party, Sunday, November 20th

Please join Common Ground Relief on Sunday, November 20th, from 1 to 4 p.m., for a party – with refreshments, great music including Irma Thomas and the Youth Orchestra of the Lower Ninth Ward, and hip, new tennis shoes by Civic Duty Shoes!

What: November 20th Party at Common Ground Relief
Where: Common Ground Relief, 1800 Deslonde Street, New Orleans, LA in the Lower 9th Ward
When: November 20th, 2011, 1pm - 4pm

Come to Second Saturday at Sankofa Farmers Market, Nov. 12

Holy Cross resident Calvin Alexander is one of many local growers (and canners) who participate in the Sankofa Farmers Market at nearby Holy Angels.

PHOTO: Rashida Ferdinand. And thanks to CSED Lower 9 News for sharing!

In a continuing monthly tradition, the Sankofa Farmers Market will host its Second Saturday event on November 12th during regular market hours from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  
 
Second Saturday will feature the following activities and events:

• Health Screenings with the LSU School of Medicine 
• Healthy cooking demonstration with an LSU Ag. Center nutritionist from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Live Music from Coup de Fire from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• A Children's Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt Activity

 

Strategic Plan for Community Wellness - to be announced today!

Strategic Plan for Community Wellness to be Released by the Lower Ninth Ward Community Wellness Consortium on Monday, November 7th

The Strategic Plan for Community Wellness will be announced at an open meeting scheduled for 6:15 PM on Monday, November 7, 2011 at the Caffin Avenue International Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1019 Caffin Avenue in the Lower Ninth Ward. Dr. John Ruffin, Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health will attend the meeting to discuss the Plan withcommunity members and representatives from institutions that participated in the strategic planning.

The Strategic Plan for Community Wellness contains specificaction pathways and recommendations from the Lower Ninth Ward Community Wellness Consortium in the areas of Health and Wellness, Education and Schools, Social and Recreational, Economic Development and Jobs, Neighborhood Housing and Environment, and Community Infrastructure. Representatives from the community are clear to point out that the recommendations will become a reality through the active involvement of members of the community to promote their own well being and through partnerships with non-governmental and governmental agencies.

The Plan is the result of a one year strategic planning process conducted by leaders of community organizations and citizens of the Lower Ninth Ward in collaboration with the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, a partnership between Dillard University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center at the University of Alabamaat Birmingham also provided assistance to the effort. The community engagement effort was successful in recruiting and retaining a consistent number of participants that were highly committed and attended 21 meetings. These meetings were open to all members of the community. Eighteen organizations were represented throughout this processand came together to form the Lower Ninth Ward Community Wellness Consortium that will continue promoting the development of the Plan and the implementation of its recommendations.

Six years after Hurricane Katrina, the devastation of the Lower Ninth Ward community and its residents are still very evident in the physical environment and the psyche of the individuals who live there. "Despite the prolonged trauma and the disproportional impact to this vulnerable population, the community is resilient in its efforts to rebuild and persistent in its pursuit for justice and equity in the rebuilding process" said Dr. Shelia Webb who lead the survey research and the community focus groups that informed the Strategic Plan for Community Wellness.

Fish Fry @ the Lower 9th Ward Village - This Sunday!

Fish Fry
Noon to 2:00 PM
Suggested Contribution $7
 
3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Big Blast Block Party
Cathedral High School Students
(from Indianapolis, Indiana)
With a new annual Sunday Tradition
Come Enjoy Our Celebration & Final Day with You!

Come Celebrate 30 Years with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association

Come celebrate with the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association Significant Lock Victory and 30 years of serving the community. RSVP here!

Sunday Photo: History Remembered at the Armstrong School

"History Remembered at the Armonstrong School" (along St. Claude Ave.). Photo by Darryl Malek-Wiley.

Tekrema Open House is Today!

Tekrema’s Open House is this Saturday October 22. Please share this information with not only those who love the arts, but with everyone. Art is good for the soul! This event is free and open to the public, with activities for the entire family.

What: Celebrating National Arts and Humanities Month
Where: Tekrema Center is located at 5640 Burgundy Street
When: Saturday October 22 from 1 – 6 PM

Activities Include:

• Hip Hop Class for Children taught by our own Jaron Simpson at 12 Noon
• JAZZ A Film by Ken Burns Episode I GUMBO 1PM
• Dance Forever! Free Classes for Beginners African 2PM
• Ballroom – Paso Doble/Cha Cha Cha 3PM
• Salsa 4PM with JULIE BANKS MIMS!

Introducing New Orleans’ Brightest Rising Star 
Tychelle – Stephenie featuring Kurt Brunus

This Event is Supported by the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans

Holy Cross Welcomes Art House at the Levee

Please join Prospect.2 artist Bob Tannen and Jeanne Nathan in celebrating our new studio/residence, Art House on the Levee at 4725 Dauphine Street where friends, artists and neighbors have joined in a collaborative work called "Art by Committee", reaffirming Tannen's conviction that we are all creative.

From 3-7pm on Saturday, October 22nd you may also visit L9  to see an exhibition of work by Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun, and at the Global Green house at 409 Andry Street you can see work by Rashida Ferdinand. Also at sunset, William Pope.L launches Blink,  his caravan of projected images, from in front of the Art House on the Levee on its way around the city for 24 hours.

Hope you can join us for a creative moment, refreshments, and the beautiful view of our city and the Mississippi River from the Holy Cross levee.

2011 Night Out Against Crime - Join Us on Tuesday!

October News from Tekrema Center for Art and Culture

Industrial Canal lock project needs further review, federal judge says | NOLA.com

By Mark Schleifstein

The Army Corps of Engineers was ordered by a federal judge in New Orleans on Friday to halt work on a $1.3 billion plan to expand the Industrial Canal lock at the Mississippi River to accommodate deep-draft vessels until it writes a second supplemental environmental impact statement addressing the effects of closing the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet on the plan. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon found that the corps failed to adequately consider that closure of the MR-GO may have eliminated the need for the lock to be deep enough to handle deep-draft vessels.

“On its face this seems to be the proverbial bridge to nowhere; namely, constructing a deep-draft lock which will never be used by deep-draft traffic,” Fallon wrote in a ruling issued today.

Fallon found that a 2009 supplemental environmental impact statement violated an earlier order by failing to “sufficiently and properly consider the impact of the closure of the MR-GO to deep-draft traffic upon the project, particularly the depth of the draft, and how this depth may affect dredging and disposal alternatives.”

Ironically, senior corps and Army officials were traveling through the lock Friday on the corps’ M/V Mississippi as part of a tour of the New Orleans area levee system by federal and local officials and construction contractors celebrating its completion.

Corps officials directed requests for comment on the decision to the Justice Department, which did not have an immediate response on whether Fallon’s opinion would be appealed.

A spokesman for the Port of New Orleans, sponsor of the lock project, said officials there had not had time to review the decision.

Fallon, appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton, made clear that he was not ruling that the lock could not be built; just that the corps had not provided enough evidence, and in some cases, provided contradictory evidence, about the MR-GO’s effects on the project, in violation of the federal National Environmental Policy Act.

The ruling is the latest in a 20-year fight between the corps and the port on one side, and environmental and community groups on the other, over the project’s potential impacts on the Holy Cross neighborhood, the rest of the Lower 9th Ward and the environment. READ THE FULL STORY >>

via www.nola.com

Landrieu Announces Lot Maintenance Pilot Project will Launch in Lower 9th Ward

Initial Pilot Is Another Step in Fighting Blight and Putting Citizens Back to Work

Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced the creation of a new pilot program that will employ local residents in the City’s fight on blight.  The Nuisance Lot Maintenance pilot program will give jobs to local residents citizens to cut, clear, and maintain overgrown lots in the Lower 9th Ward. The Lower 9th Ward area has the highest percentage of vacant lots in New Orleans. The neighborhood-based pilot program is a partnership between the City’s Code Enforcement & Hearings Bureau,  the Office of Economic Development, and JOB1.

“Overgrown lots have become a nuisance throughout our neighborhoods and can be as detrimental to our quality of life as derelict structures,” said Mayor Landrieu. “This effort is about more than just fighting blight; it’s about creating job opportunities for our residents. This pilot maintenance program is another example of how the people of New Orleans can rebuild New Orleans.”

Through a partnership with Goodwill Industries, the City’s new pilot program will employ local residents with preference given to residents of the Lower 9th Ward and ex-offenders trying to find work. JOB1 will work with neighborhood and faith-based organizations to help recruit workers who need jobs now.

“Since announcing our blight reduction strategy last year, the Mayor has asked the blight and economic development teams to develop programs that can both fight blight and employ neighborhood residents. We hope this is the first of many opportunities to accomplish those two goals,” said Jeff Hebert, Director of Blight Policy & Neighborhood Revitalization.

This pilot program will work in concert with the existing Interim Nuisance Abatement Program (INAP) which is funded with federal disaster aid for the one-time clearance of storm-impacted nuisance properties. The pilot program will allow for overgrown lots to be cut more than once since it is funded with general fund dollars. In order to identify which lots to target, the city is collaborating with the University of New Orleans, Lowernine.org, and Project Homecoming which recently completed a survey of property conditions in the Lower 9th Ward.

Individuals interested in this job opportunity can contact Juanita Johnson of JOB1 at (504) 658-4513. Applicants must pass a drug test and bring a picture ID and Social Security Card.

Tekrema Center for Art & Culture: September News

Sunday Photo: Katrina 6 Memorial, Back from the Bridge

"Katrina 6 Memorial, Back from the Bridge" - Monday, August 29, 2011. Photo by Dave Macaulay.

A Storm Approaches

Residents of the Lower Ninth Ward are bracing for a major tropical storm expected to hit New Orleans this weekend...it's slow moving (about 1 mph) and could dump about 10-15 inches of rain on the area...so everyone's getting prepared.

Tropical Storm Lee forms south of the Louisiana coast. Heavy rainbands continue to spread across much of southeastern and south-central Louisiana. At 1:00 p.m. CDT the center of Tropical Storm Lee was located by an air force reserve reconnaissance aircraft and observations from oil rigs to be near latitude 27.4 north, longitude 91.5 west.

Lee is drifting toward the northwest near 2mph, 4 km/h. A continued slow and possibly erratic motion toward the northwest or north is expected today and Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of the tropical storm is expected to approach the coast of southern Louisiana during the weekend.

via www.nola.com

 

Here's more from the Mayor's office:

NEW ORLEANS, LA—Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu joined City officials as they outlined the City’s preparedness plans for this weekend’s potential heavy rain and wind event caused by a tropical weather system.

"Today, we are preparing for a significant rain and wind event that could last into early next week," said Mayor Landrieu. "It is unpredictable and slow-moving. The City and our partner agencies are taking all necessary steps to prepare. I am asking all of our residents to get prepared and heed our warnings."

In advance of the weather, the City is taking the following precautions:

• Sewerage and Water Board pumps are 100% operational, and backup generators at the Sewerage and Water Board Power Plant are active.
• The Department of Public Works has two contractors on standby for road repair and debris removal.
• The Departments of Parks and Parkways and Sanitation have equipment staged and ready to clear roadways for fallen trees or debris.
• Capital construction projects will be shut down if sustained winds reach 25 miles per hour.
• The City is also coordinating with tourism leaders to ensure the safety of visitors.

In advance of the weather, the City is asking residents to take the following precautions:

• Clean or clear catch basins near your home.
• Prepare emergency supply kits to ensure your personal safety and well-being in the event of loss of power or heavy street flooding.
• Secure debris and loose furniture on your property.
• Additionally, the City is allowing residents to secure their vehicles on the neutral ground throughout the weekend.

EMERGENCY SUPPLY KITS

According to Emergency Preparedness officials, families should build an emergency supply kit at home that includes:

• Water (one gallon per person, per day – three day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for home)
• Non-perishable food (three-day supply for evacuation and a two-week supply for home)
• Can opener for food
• Radio (battery-powered or hand crank)
• Flashlights
• First aid kit (medications and medical supplies, seven-day supply)
• Whistle
• Dust masks
• Sanitation items
• Personal hygiene items
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Maps
• Important family documents

EMAIL AND TEXT ALERTS

Citizens are encouraged to sign up for email and text message alerts by going to www.nolaready.info or sending a text message to “NOLA4U”. This service allows city officials to contact citizens during emergencies, which includes life-threatening weather events, evacuation or shelter in place information, and other pertinent emergency information.

Lower 9, Six Years Later >> The Gambit

Very nice piece in yesterday's Gambit - highlighting some of the community's efforts to build back green:

While the city and the mayor's office had no official plans to commemorate the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the federal flood, local politicos announced their participation in several memorial services. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, City Council members and area parish presidents all committed to anniversary events.

In the Lower 9th Ward, several groups highlighted a different kind of recovery. Last week, Global Green, the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, the Make it Right Foundation and the Sierra Club partnered with bike activism and events group NOLA Social Ride for a bike tour of the neighborhood's "green" renaissance and development, which in the last six years has become a model for sustainability and green design.

The tour highlighted Global Green's Holy Cross Project, Make It Right homes, and the Bayou Bienvenue platform, a community-build project that widened the floodwall between the bayou and neighborhood and created an observation deck.

Stephane Tonnelat, a research fellow with France's National Center of Scientific Research, says because of the neighborhood's hand in projects like this, "no one in the neighborhood, in the city, or in the United States will question the Lower 9th Ward's claim to be a fully fledged part of the city. In fact, by making the bayou visible, the deck has also helped make the neighborhood viable. ... It is a testimony to the shareable power that a fully fledged public space, however small it may be, can give to a neighborhood that is striving to survive in a risky location."

The Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development and the LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio also released a plan for Lower 9th Ward revitalization projects (the L9 Waterfront) over the next decade — including St. Claude Bridge pedestrian and bicycling connections, improved lighting, and wetlands research. Other potential projects include an amphitheater, art installations, a market and playgrounds. The report says the Lower 9 is poised to become a "unique place to live and work, a destination for arts and culture ... and a recreational hub for New Orleans residents as well as visitors from around the world." — Alex Woodward

via www.bestofneworleans.com

Mayor Mitch Landrieu's District E Lower 9 Meeting, Wed. 08/31

Mayor Mitch Landrieu & New Orleans City Council

Community Meeting District E        Please join Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Councilmember Jon Johnson for a community meeting in your district to discuss budget priorities. The Mayor will bring his entire team including all Deputy Mayors and Department Heads, so come out and make sure your voice is heard.   Wednesday, August 31, 2011 5:30 to 6:00 pm - Resource Center (Citizens will have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with various departments.)     6:00 to 8:00 pm - Community Meeting    Dr. King Charter School     1617 Caffin Ave.

Mayor Landrieu and FEMA announce $45 Million in New Funding for Lower Ninth Ward Streets

Important press release, fresh from the Mayor's office!

As the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and FEMA officials today detailed significant progress on New Orleans' recovery efforts since the Mayor took office in May 2010. Since Landrieu took office, a joint task force made up of officials from the City, Sewerage and Water Board, FEMA, and the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) meet regularly to coordinate and share information and to resolve issues as projects move from planning to construction. The City has met with FEMA officials in 215 meetings and site visits resulting in nearly 250 action items, and the funding for City projects has substantially increased over previous years.

Since August 29, 2005, the City and Sewerage and Water Board have received nearly $1.1 billion in total obligated FEMA funding. The City received about $706.6 million and Sewerage and Water Board received $376.5 million. This funding is reflected in 4,709 total project worksheets (PWs) which describe eligible work, the scope, and cost estimates for repair. Since Mayor Landrieu took office in May 2010, funding for City repairs has significantly surged over the past years-649 PWs have been produced resulting in $170.6 million. This equals more than $11 million per month. Further, 27 percent of funding for the City's permanent repairs has been obligated in this sixth year.

"When I came into office, the priority was clear. We wanted to get out of the recovery phase and get into the let's get it done phase," said Mayor Landrieu. "We wanted to make sure that the City receives everything we're entitled to but also begin to move beyond haggling and into construction. Our partnership with FEMA has netted significant results for our citizens. We will continue to work together so that our people are made whole and so that we're creating a smarter, safer, and more prosperous New Orleans."

In 2010, Mayor Landrieu identified over 100 committed projects that cover a range of facilities and projects from recreation to health clinics to libraries to streets to criminal justice facilities. This year, the projects are moving through the lifecycle more quickly, largely based on the closer collaboration and coordination with FEMA.

"We've learned that the key to restoring and rebuilding cities is to work with leaders to identify the projects that are essential to recovery and working out any issues that could derail the progress we want to maintain," said Tony Russell, Regional Administrator for FEMA. "We don't always agree on every point, but it is important for us to have an open dialogue and that's what we've achieved with Mayor Landrieu and his team."

Cedric Grant, the City's Deputy Mayor for Facilities, Infrastructure and Community Development said, "We realized early on that we needed to have a productive relationship with FEMA and work with them to make sure all eligible damages were identified. After all, the project worksheet is an evolving document and that has been the key in making sure the City has received the maximum amount in obligated funds."

Interim GOHSEP Director Pat Santos said, "As the 6th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, the New Orleans area has so much to look forward to as construction and growth continues. And as we've done in the past, the state, federal and local officials will work together to make this community more resilient and better than before."

One key achievement has been a second assessment of neighborhood streets. The first neighborhood to have new funds obligated in this program is the Lower Ninth Ward. As a result of this partnership, Mayor Landrieu and FEMA announced today an increase of nearly $45 million for Lower Ninth Ward street repairs, a major infrastructure improvement targeted for one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in Hurricane Katrina.

During Katrina, roadways throughout New Orleans were inundated with flood waters, resulting in widespread street damages. Additionally, excessive weight from emergency vehicles and construction trucks on the already vulnerable roadways caused further damages. As such, additional eligible damages have been realized.

Inside the Tekrema Center for Art and Culture (VIDEO)

Really nice video of Greer Mendy leading a tour of the Tekrema Center for Art and Culture at 5640 Burgundy (Burgundy & Lamanche). This was created nearly a year ago - but in case you haven't viewed it, please do: excellent overview of this community gem!

Sunday Photo: A Village Summer

"A Village Summer". Photo by Darryl Malek-Wiley.

Thanks to Our Oklahoma Student Volunteers!

A nice piece from PRC's "Preserving Green" blog about a group of volunteers from Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, working on Dauphine Street on a project coordinated through the Lower 9th Ward CSED:

Volunteers clean up under 5450! Thanks to Brooke, Eugene, Carrie, Sandra, Victoria, PiePie, Rebecca, and Crystal who generous helped Operation Comeback clean up the site during their summer vacation.

For two days we had eight volunteers connected to Bacone College in Muskogee, OK. They were students, parents, teachers, and others were students from other colleges related to Bacone. The volunteers were connected to us by the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development in the Lower Ninth Ward, which we at Operation Comeback have been so grateful for this successful partnership.

The volunteers completed the following:

Volunteers emptied a full shipping container in front of 603 Tricou.

Volunteers cleaned out 5450 Dauphine and we were able to remove a full 38 foot dumpster of debris from the site.

Thank you to all those that continue to set aside time to help New Orleans!

via blog.preservinggreen.org

Lower Ninth Ward Street Library at the Guerrilla Garden: Join Us!

Bringing a Green Grocer to the Lower 9

It was a standing-room-only crowd at last week's Holy Cross Neighborhood Association (HCNA) meeting inside Greater Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church as a team of developers presented their ideas to residents for a new full-service supermarket on the old Holy Cross School site. Lots of discussion, lots of debate - and lots of promising ideas!

Wendell Pierce, Jim Hatchell and Troy Henry of the development team.
Ruben Teague of Green Coast Enterprises.
ALL PHOTOS: Darryl Malek-Wiley

New Video on Lower 9th Ward Village!

The Lower 9th Ward Village from Victoria Holt on Vimeo.

New Grocery at the Holy Cross School Site? It Could Happen!

Great discussion, great news at last night's Holy Cross Neighborhood Association (HCNA) meeting - as a group of developers led by Green Coast Enterprises and including New Orleans' own Wendell Pierce - presented their plans to build a full-service supermarket on the Holy Cross School site. The story has generated some great coverage by the press as well:

And a nice story in the Times-Picayune, "Holy Cross Neighborhood Association reviews supermarket proposal":

The team of developers looking to bring a full-service supermarket to the Lower 9th Ward for the first time in generations was greeted with a mix of unbridled joy and wary resistance Thursday night during the first public airing of the proposal.

While most of the speakers who attended the meeting of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association said they would welcome the store, others expressed concerns that the targeted site would destroy the tranquility of a residential area still struggling to rebuild six years after Hurricane Katrina.

Community activist Vanessa Gueringer said while she is "thrilled" at the prospect of a nearby grocery, she fears the suggested spot at the northern edge of the shuttered Holy Cross School campus "is the wrong location."

Echoing the comments of neighbors who questioned whether large delivery trucks might damage their homes, the Rev. Mark Ford said he "does not want the quietness of the neighborhood to go."

While they were vocal, opponents of the project appeared to be in the minority among a crowd of more than 100 who filled every chair inside Greater Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church,

Light applause greeted one man who said if increased traffic accompanies the new store, "that's a price I'm willing to pay." READ MORE >>

New high school is promised for Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans | NOLA.com

The Lower 9th Ward community that once surrounded Alfred Lawless High School has always felt a greater urgency than officialdom about the need to jump-start the recovery process.

Back in 2007, 18 months after Hurricane Katrina breached the floodwall that stands just a few blocks from the campus, a group of local activists brushed past the objections of a school security guard and began hauling equipment from the second floor, claiming authority to salvage books and computers for other needy schools because "we live in this community." No one called the police.

Now, with the sixth anniversary of the storm closing in, the neighborhood residents finally have a promise from city and state education officials -- a promise some say is long overdue -- that Lawless will reopen its doors on the same patch of ground where the old building bore the worst of Katrina's floodwaters.

John White, the new superintendent of the state's Recovery School District, made the decision official at a ceremony Monday on the now-barren patch of grass where Lawless was demolished.

It is just one of dozens of decisions school officials will make as they tweak the city's master plan for spending about $2 billion in federal aid to repair or rebuild storm-damaged school facilities. But the clutch of high-profile New Orleans political figures that came out to laud the announcement attested to its symbolic weight -- and the hope that practical good will come of re-establishing a community pillar in a neighborhood where Katrina's mark is still overwhelmingly present.

"The best thing to create a community around besides a church is a school," said Mayor Mitch Landrieu, alluding to the kind of "site-based development" he's been pushing for around the city. "The Lower 9th Ward is going to become the symbol for how America can find her greatness again."

It was an event that combined elements of a religious revival meeting, high school pep rally and campaign whistle stop, with a backdrop of still-vacant lots and crumbling roadways.

"This is a day that the Lord has made!" declared the Rev. Willie Calhoun Jr., one of the most persistent advocates for reopening schools and a familiar voice at meetings of the state board of education and the Legislature in Baton Rouge. "Let us rejoice and be glad in it." READ MORE >>

via www.nola.com