Police blotter: Shooting in Hoffman Triangle, carjacking in B.W. Cooper area, battery in Broadmoor, armed robbery in the Lower Garden District

A shooting, carjacking, aggravated burglary and armed robbery were among the crimes reported in Uptown neighborhoods this week. The shooting occurred Tuesday afternoon (July 27) on Second Street at South Tonti Street. The victim, an 18-year-old male, was transported to a local hospital in a private vehicle. The carjacking occurred overnight on Wednesday (July 28), and police were informed at about midnight on Thursday. The victim, a 37-year-old male, was giving a ride to a man who, in the 3000 block of Thalia Street, took out a gun and demanded his vehicle.

Viewpoint: Politics is in the way of public safety, crime watchdog says

Raphael Goyeneche, head of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said Wednesday (July 28) that the city’s political leadership “must step up and give the NOPD the resources they need to protect and serve the community. Politics needs to get out of the way of public safety. Citizens want to feel safe in their neighborhoods.”          

Earlier this week, the MCC released the Orleans Parish Violent Crime Maps, a three-year look at violent crime by police district. Also included are results from the New Orleans Crime Coalition’s 2021 Police Satisfaction and Police Policymaking surveys. 

The majority of Orleans Parish voters (64%) who participated in the surveys clearly stated they believe the city is not safe. An even larger majority (74%) said that the crime problem has worsened over the past year.

Group working to add B.W. Cooper buildings to Broad Street Cultural District

Broad Community Connections is proposing to include the B.W. Cooper public housing site in the South Broad Street Cultural District. 

Three original buildings are left of the original Calliope Projects, renamed for B.W. Cooper in 1981. After Hurricane Katrina, the development was shuttered. Most of it was demolished and replaced with Marrero Commons, a mixed-income townhouse-style development. Broad Community Connections, a nonprofit that works with small businesses to redevelop the Broad Street corridor, said about two-thirds of the Marrero Commons complex sits within the proposed expansion area. The proposal would expand the South Broad Street Cultural District to include the land bordered by Earhart Boulevard, South Dorgenois Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and South Galvez Street. 

The Cultural Districts Program was created by the Louisiana legislature in 2007 to revitalize and preserve cultural hubs within the state.

Woman injured in shooting while driving in Irish Channel with a child in her car

A woman was injured by gunfire while driving in the Irish Channel, the New Orleans Police Department reported. A child was in her car when it was apparently targeted by shooters. The 25-year-old victim was driving on Laurel Street on Friday (July 23) at about 2:50 p.m. when a driver got out of a sport utility vehicle near Phillip Street and started shooting. Then a second gunman got out of another car and also began shooting at the woman. The victim suffered a graze wound to her back.

‘A Century on Harmony Street’ to honor the Kohlmaier cabinet makers in the Irish Channel

Furniture maker Ruppert Kohlmaier Jr. was just 6 years old when he started working in his father’s shop on Harmony Street in the Irish Channel. Almost 80 years later, he still works there every single day. His long career has been blessed, he said, by having a legion of New Orleanians as clients, whom he considers to be his extended family. Select pieces from his clients’ collections will be on view at the Louisiana State Museum’s Cabildo beginning Nov. 4 in the exhibition “A Century on Harmony Street: The Kohlmaier Cabinet Makers of New Orleans.” Curated by gallery owner Cybèle Gontar, the retrospective honors both father and son Kohlmaier and will be accompanied by a catalog.

Soulfood Sunday with Chef Ash at Rouses on Tchoup (sponsored)

It’s never too hot for gumbo! Just ask Chef Ash. Chef Ashley Dominique has a thriving catering business, A Taste of Chef Ash, and works as a private chef to big names in the sports world. Her clients request gumbo year-round. On Sunday, you, too, can get A Taste of Chef Ash’s famous gumbo, when Chef Ash pops up at the Rouses Market at 4500 Tchoupitoulas St.

Viewpoint: If not the Municipal Auditorium, what could become the next City Hall?

While Mayor LaToya Cantrell told members of the Save Our Soul (SOS) coalition Tuesday that she was “good” with the Municipal Auditorium not becoming the next City Hall, the historic structure remains her first choice probably because of the $38 million allocation from FEMA that comes with it. 

Cantrell has given SOS a 90-day deadline to come up with a solid, fully funded plan to renovate, operate and maintain the auditorium. In the event that SOS successfully meets that goal, city officials might want to start looking at other suitable ›locations across New Orleans. If the prevailing sentiment is to stay in the downtown area, the Plaza Tower could be ripe for the picking. The 485,000-square-foot building features 45 floors, 13 elevators and its own parking garage. There’s even a separate parking lot for sale directly behind the building.