City is remaking its parks and recreation. And it wants your input.

A new master plan for the city’s parks, The Big Green Easy project, is in the works. The city’s Office of Youth and Families and the New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission — in partnership with Parks & Parkways, the City Park Commission and the Audubon Nature Institute — is now taking the first step: collecting public input on the public’s vision for the green space and recreation opportunities. The citywide plan is part of the 2019  parks and recreation millage proposal that passed with 76% voter approval. Public input is a core part of the project. A series of public meetings and an online survey will help shape the master plan.

Neutral Ground Coffee House owners prepare for a potential ‘exile’

Caroline Williams, known by most as Phant, broke down in tears at the front door of Neutral Ground Coffeehouse. Someone waiting at the door mistook the Neutral Ground co-owner for a Realtor looking to sell the building where the coffee shop lives. That’s how Williams and James Naylor learned their coffeehouse could lose its longtime home. They don’t know when they will have to go, Williams said, but they’ve already begun preparing for Neutral Ground to be in “exile” if the building sells. Neutral Ground Coffee House is a “community space, part gallery, half stage,” often referred to as a safe third place for patrons.

Viewpoint: The challenge to voting rolls shows how lazy New Orleanians are

Voting is a privilege that Americans often take for granted. Millions of people in countries around the world are willing to risk their lives for freedom, democracy and fair elections. Yet thousands of New Orleanians are labeled on the rolls as “inactive voters” because they haven’t gone to the polls often enough. 

Sure, some inactive voters have moved out of parish or out of state. Individuals who have passed away are purged. Yet there are still plenty of New Orleanians who end up on the inactive list because they are just too lazy to get off the couch on Election Day or cast their ballots in advance.

Roadwork ahead: Lanes closed on St. Charles Avenue near MLK Boulevard

The city has temporarily closed alternating uptown bound travel lane on the 1400 block of St. Charles Avenue, approaching Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The closure to accommodate asphalt paving operations will last all day on March 2, until 5:30 p.m.
Vehicles parked on the 1600-1800 blocks of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between St. Charles Avenue and Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard should be moved off the street, and the Department of Public Works asks that residents adhere to the “no parking” signage on the streets. Vehicles parked in these zones will be ticketed and towed.

French Film Festival, ‘a mini Cannes,’ set to open at the Prytania Theatre

The annual New Orleans French Film Festival returns to the Prytania Theatre beginning Thursday, March 9, and running through Tuesday, March 13. For its 26th festival, the New Orleans Film Society will bring together 13 features and three short films from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. All screenings will be held at the historic Prytania Theatre or the Prytania Theatres at Canal Place. Part of the lineup will also be available to stream online here from March 9 to March 19. The films will all be shown in their original French or Kouri-Vini (Louisiana Creole) language with English subtitles.

NOPD seeking suspect in theft of catalytic converter

The New Orleans Police Department is reaching out for public assistance in an investigation of a catalytic converter stolen in the Audubon-Riverside area. On Feb. 10 at about 1:15 a.m., a man arrived in the 200 block of Eleonore Street driving the sport utility vehicle pictured above.  He then climbed under a Toyota Tundra and removed the catalytic converter before fleeing in the SUV. Anyone with information about this incident or this vehicle is asked to contact Second District detectives at 504-658-6020 or Crimestoppers anonymously at 504-822-1111.

City nixes the Columns’ front yard seating

The Columns’ graceful front porch, framed by the columns that give the hotel its name, has long been popular spot for celebrations, date nights or just sipping a cocktail on a balmy evening as the St. Charles Avenue streetcar rumbles by. 
It’s so popular that the current owners expanded the outdoor seating into the front yard. As part of a 2020 renovation after the hotel, bar and restaurant changed hands, they installed pavers to create new seating. 
In Uptown Messenger’s December 2020 story on the renovation, reporter Sue Strachan wrote: “One of the changes people see right away is the entrance: In the past, guests would enter via a central walkway flanked by greenery. The new entrance has moved to the side with the greenery and walkway replaced with a brick patio. This allowed a more controlled flow into the building, and more outdoor seating.

Man shot to death in Washington Avenue driveway

A shooting in Central City on Tuesday (Feb 28) left a man dead, according to the New Orleans Police Department. Sixth District officers responded to a call reporting a shooting in the 2300 block of Washington Avenue around 3:25 p.m. When at the scene, officers found the victim in a driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Emergency Medical Services. The Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Timothy Wells, 29. Wells died of gunshot wounds.