‘They need their toilet paper’: Council OKs signature throw for Tucks only

The Krewe of Tucks got its toilet paper back on Thursday (Jan. 18), when the City Council amended its new Carnival regulations to allow the 55-year-old satirical parade its signature throw. In a meeting days before the start of Carnival season, the City Council approved revisions to the city’s list of prohibited throws. Among the newly banned throws were rolls of toilet paper, prohibited because of cleanup and environmental concerns. After the ban passed, the Tucks leadership wasted no time in meeting with members of the City Council, the Department of Sanitation and Parks & Parkways.

When to put out your holiday trash, recycling and Christmas trees

Garbage truck hoppers and drivers get the day off on Christmas and New Year’s Day but will be working harder for the rest of the week. Not only do the celebrations generate more trash, but the pickup days are staggered and a Sunday pickup day is added to the schedule. For the next two weeks, residents with a Monday trash day need to bring their garbage bin to the curb on Tuesday. If your trash or recycling is normally picked up on Tuesday, it will be picked on Wednesday. And so on through the week, until the Saturday garbage is picked up on Sunday.

City closes homeless encampment at Tchoupitoulas 

From the Mayor’s Office
The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services and Strategy Director Nathaniel Fields provided updates Tuesday (Nov. 21) on city’s weeklong efforts to close one of the city’s largest homeless encampments on Tchoupitoulas Street under the Pontchartrain Expressway. The Tchoupitoulas Street encampment was officially closed and fenced off Friday (Nov. 17), and the area is now being patrolled to stop trespassers. Thirty-one people have been housed from the Tchoupitoulas encampment, while five individuals are waiting to be permanently housed.

John Kennedy Toole house in Carrollton under review for landmark status

A center-hall cottage in the Carrollton neighborhood is on its way to becoming a local landmark for its distinction as the last residence of John Kennedy Toole, the author of the Pulitzer-awarded novel “A Confederacy of Dunces.” 
The Historic District Landmarks Commission approved the building at 7632 Hampson St. at its October meeting for further study, the next step in becoming an official landmark. 
Although the property has displayed a Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission plaque since 1987, it does not have landmark protection. The designation would help to safeguard the site’s preservation. Toole lived in the house from 1966 to 1969, the year he died at 31. During that time, the “Dunces” manuscript mostly stayed at the top of an armoire in his bedroom, according to a biography. The senior editor at Simon & Schuster had returned the manuscript in 1966 after a year of back-and-forth correspondence and revisions.

Roadwork ahead: Partial street closure at Fontainebleau and Lowerline begins Monday

The eastbound travel lanes of Fontainebleau Drive will be partially closed to vehicular traffic to complete asphalt paving at the intersection of Fontainebleau Drive and Lowerline Street, the Department of Public Works announced Friday. The closure will begin Monday (Oct. 23) at 7 a.m. Vehicular traffic and sidewalks are expected to reopen at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, weather permitting. For river-bound traffic, drivers will be able to use South Carrollton Avenue and take South Claiborne Avenue to Broadway Street to get back onto Fontainebleau Drive.

Volunteers to beautify neighborhoods and meet their neighbors on Cleanup Day

The first Saturday in November (Nov. 4) is Cleanup Day across Uptown neighborhoods in Council District B.

The District B Cleanup Day, organized by Councilwoman Lesli Harris’ office, will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. Its success depends on volunteer efforts by neighborhood residents. According to the District B office, Cleanup Day as part of an ongoing effort to improve the quality of life and public safety for District B residents and businesses. Fourteeb neighborhood groups across the Uptown will serve as hosts, each with a designated meeting point (listed below) and a walking route where volunteers will collect trash and improve public areas.

Roadwork ahead: Utility repairs continue on Palmer Avenue

The partial road closure on Palmer Avenue between Loyola Avenue and Freret Street is expected to end Dec. 1, the Department of Public Works announced. Construction crews began in 1800 block of Palmer Avenue and will make progress toward the 2000 block ending at Freret Street. Crews have completed the first run of utility repairs and are currently working in the 2000 block of Palmer Avenue. The city’s construction contractor, Murphy Pipeline Construction, is performing subsurface utility repairs and roadway restoration.

Officials mark the start of Carver Playground renovations

A groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday (Oct. 3) marked the beginning of the George Washington Carver Playground Improvement Project in the Black Pearl neighborhood. The scope of work includes upgrades and renovations to the playground’s existing concessions building and restrooms to bring them up to city, Department of Health and Hospitals and Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the city’s Capital Projects Director Vincent Smith, CEO of New Orleans Recreation Development Commission CEO Larry Barabino Jr., District 98 state Rep. Aimee Freeman, former state Rep. Neil Abramson and community member Burnell Scales attended the ceremony. “The group assembled here have been boots on the ground to ensure this project happens,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Join the Clerk for Archives Month 2023 and Attend Free CLE Seminars (sponsored)

Join us as we will soon celebrate National Archives Month 2023, hosted by Chelsey Richard Napoleon, Clerk of Civil District Court! Highlighting Free CLE Seminars for more rich history of New Orleans. Tours will be offered throughout the month of October! Reach out via email or phone for more information:  civilclerkresearchctr@orleanscdc.com or 504-407-0106

About the Clerk of Civil District Court’s Office for the Parish of Orleans:

The Clerk’s Office consists of two divisions – Land Records and Civil. Our Civil Division is where civil cases — such as personal injury, accidents, successions and foreclosures — are filed.

City takes down live oaks in front of Sophie B. Wright, WWL reports

Half a dozen oak trees in front of Sophie B. Wright Charter School along Napoleon Avenue were cut down Saturday (Sept. 9) after years of decline linked to damage from 2014 construction work and a termite infestation, WWL-TV reported. The trees’ removal came after trees across the city, including a live oak on South Carrollton Avenue, came down in last week’s rainstorms and after a large limb fell on a Sophie B. Wright school bus, WWL’s Rachel Handley reported. The city’s Parks & Parkways Department told Handley the trees on Napoleon will be replaced.