Endangered Places: French Benevolent Society Tomb in Lafayette Cemetery No. 2

This is the second in a series following up on the Uptown sites named on the Louisiana Landmarks Society’s 2020 list of New Orleans’ Nine Most Endangered Sites. The cemetery off of Washington Avenue in Central City is, to be expected, quiet on a Monday morning. Tombs in various states of care are engraved with names reflecting the teeming diversity of New Orleans when the cemetery was established in 1850: Oberschmidt, Armato, Battiste, Tujague, Noble. Other tombs, the large multi-level ones, are often benevolent associations: Deutscheler Hendwerker Verein (German Craftsmen Association, 1868), Societé de Bienfaisance de Boucher (French Butchers Society, 1867), Young Men Olympia Benevolent Association, 1883, and Société Française de Bienfaisance et d’Assistance Mutuelle (French Benevolent Society, 1850). While not as cinematically famous as Lafayette Cemetery No.

Teen shot to death inside a car in Hollygrove late Monday

A 17-year-old was shot to death Monday (March 8) night in Hollygrove, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At 11:31 p.m., Second District officers were dispatched to Leonidas and Forshey streets to investigate reports of a shooting. They found a male juvenile slumped over the driver’s seat of a dark-colored sport utility vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was identified by the Coroner’s Office on March 12 as Rashad Anthony, 17. Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene by city emergency medical responders.

Sponsored: Introducing the Crescent Room at CR Coffee

Something fresh is brewing Uptown! Since its inception in 2009, Coast Roast Coffee has served New Orleans with locally brewed coffee, teas, and friendly service. With that spirit in mind, the next evolution of CR Coffee Shop is here! The minds behind the handcrafted beverages are excited to announce the expansion at 3618 Magazine St. and the opening of a private meeting and event space.

Roadwork update: Freret, Irish Channel, Hollygrove, Broadmoor, Audubon, Central City, East Carrollton, Fontainebleau

 

From the Mayor’s Office

An unprecedented amount of infrastructure work is happening across New Orleans — altogether more than $500 million on roadways and on vertical construction projects and there is more to come. For the first time in more than five years, the city has approved nearly $300 million in bonds for a tax-exempt sale, which will lead to multiple projects out for advertisement in the coming months. These projects are designed to improve public spaces, add more stormwater storage and fix more streets. Additionally, about $110 million in joint infrastructure roadway projects, $10 million in capital building projects, and $100 million in green infrastructure projects will be out for bid in the next few months. Roadwork NOLA released updates on the following projects in Uptown neighborhoods.

Woman found dead in second Hoffman Triangle shooting of the weekend

A woman was found face down in an open field in the Hoffman Triangle on Sunday (March 7) afternoon, the New Orleans Police Department. Police have classified the death as a homicide. Sixth District police officers arrived at the 3100 block of Second Street on Sunday at 12:38 p.m. They found the woman lying the field and later discovered an apparent gunshot wound. Medical responders pronounced her dead at the scene. The Coroner’s Office identified the victim on March 12 as Sarah Blalock. Blalock died of her wound at 34.

Uptown’s independent booksellers find ways to provide their essential service during the pandemic

Independent booksellers ordinarily rely on foot traffic and in-person browsing for their sales. That all changed in March of last year. Two Uptown bookstores, however, have found ways to adapt and even thrive through the pandemic. Garden District Book Shop, in a historic building that once housed a roller rink on oak-canopied Prytania Street, and Octavia Books, set back on a diagonal on its quiet eponymous street near the river, have both continued to sell books to residents across the city. By altering their in-store browsing, as well as shipping and delivering tomes directly to the homes of their devoted clientele, the booksellers have shown tenacity in a time of chaos and uncertainty.

NOPD arrests juvenile in armed robberies, string of burglaries

From the New Orleans Police Department
The NOPD as arrested a 17-year-old male accused in a Sixth District armed robbery and several other incidents in the First, Second and Sixth Districts. On Tuesday (March 2) Sixth District Person’s Crime detectives, NOPD Violent Offender Warrant Squad and the U.S. Marshals Service located and arrested the juvenile in relation to an armed robbery that occurred Jan. 18 in the 1100 block of Jackson Avenue in the Garden District. A search warrant was obtained for the residence. During the execution of that warrant, the following items were recovered:

A stolen black Glock 19 with a tan grip
An Aero Precision x15 rifle, along with several armor piercing 5.56 rounds
Black gloves, ski masks, and a small plastic bag containing 97 Ecstasy pills (MDMA).