Council votes to ease parking problems linked to doubles-to-dorm conversions in university area

By Katherine Hart, Uptown Messenger

The City Council on Thursday approved two motions on parking and residential density in the University neighborhood. They are aimed at establishing an Interim Zoning District for the Uptown area near Tulane and Loyola with more stringent parking requirements than the rest of the city.

It’s an unusual move for a council that normally prioritizes the creation of housing, particularly affordable housing, over parking. But the Uptown area near Tulane and Loyola universities has an unusual problem, with investors buying up homes and converting them to high-end multi-unit rentals marketed to students.

“What’s occurring right now, particularly in the Maple neighborhood, is that doubles are being converted into dormitories,” said District A Councilman Joe Giarrusso at Thursday’s meeting. “So instead of having one or two families reside in a home, we have between eight and 10 college students. This trend is changing the complexion of the neighborhood.”

French Film Festival movies look to the past to understand the present

By Christian Willbern, Loyola Student News Service

While sitting in her hotel room complaining about the WiFi in Metz, France, Marthe Cohn scrunches her nose and sticks her tongue out at the camera, conveying how at the age of 98, the World War II spy is still a tour de force. Cohn stars in “Chichinette: The Accidental Spy,” a documentary portraying the tiny-but-mighty woman’s extraordinary battle against the Nazi regime during World War II. This was just one of several films exhibited during the New Orleans Film Society’s 23rd French Film Festival.

Octavia Books hosts Dillard University recipe book signing

Food historian, educator, and author Zella Palmer will present her recently published “Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard, 1869-2019” this Sunday, March 8. Using recipes and research, Palmer’s book documents the African American culinary history of New Orleans through the lens of Dillard University. She will be signing copies of her work for 2 p.m. at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St.