Amid a chorus of upset voices raised over escalating violence around New Orleans, a volunteer at Johnson Elementary School asked police officials Tuesday night what could be done to keep schoolchildren safe, since a man was gunned down in the street just outside her campus late last year.
“There’s nothing you can do,” piped up another woman, a longtime teacher: All you can do is teach the children to drop to the floor quickly when the shooting starts. Continue reading »
Top: 7008 and 7016 Zimple, both owned by Tulane, were cleared for demolition. Bottom: A request to demolish 5514 and 5518 Tchouptioulas was denied Tuesday. (all photos via Preservation Resource Center, blog.prcno.org)
With little to no opposition, however, the city did approve demolitions of two homes owned by Tulane University to make room for an expansion of the library, as well as part of the Booker T. Washington school on South Rampart and a caretaker’s cottage at the former LaSalle school being redeveloped near Audubon Park. Continue reading »
Top: 7008 and 7016 Zimple, both owned by Tulane. Bottom: 5514 and 5518 Tchouptioulas. (all photos via Preservation Resource Center, blog.prcno.org)
Owen Courreges
Mayor Mitch Landrieu claims that he is genuinely concerned about the due process rights of those accused of automated traffic camera violations. So does Council President Jackie Clarkson.
Indeed, when State Representative Jeff Arnold (D-Algiers) began making noise about the issue last May, he was openly lauded by Landrieu as “a steadfast advocate for due process rights for those accused of an automated camera violation.” Continue reading »
The Krewe of Carrollton parade gets ready to roll down Napoleon Avenue in 2011. The area will be under construction in 2013 and 2014, but Mardi Gras this year won't be affected. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
A massive, multi-year project to install a new canal underneath Napoleon Avenue won’t affect the parades that line up there during this year’s Carnival season, but the work is likely to have an effect on Mardi Gras in future years, officials said Thursday. Continue reading »
Phase 1 of the Claiborne drainage project runs from Monticello Avenue to Leonidas Street, and is expected to last from next month until 2014. Phase 2, from Leonidas to Lowerline, will begin next year and finish in 2016. (map via Sewarage & Water Board)
South Broad at White and Delachaise (photo by Jean-Paul Villere for UptownMessenger.com)
Drive in New Orleans much? Despite being such a walkable city, invariably and at some point one will get behind the wheel, and when that happens, it can be downright epic. From street condition to poor signage to watching vehicles seemingly competitively expel trash (airborne spent push-up ice cream tubes, errant and recently chewed chicken bones, I can go on), the experience transcends far beyond any driver’s ed course. But my question specifically therein and today is: Do you dosey doe? Continue reading »
The low water pressure will be on Calhoun Street and one block of South Carrollton, according to the Sewerage and Water Board.
Neighbors concerned about the future of two large Uptown properties near Audubon Park — an apartment complex on Tchoupitoulas and a mental health facility on Calhoun — received hopeful signs Tuesday night that the city is inclined to prevent major changes to either of them. Continue reading »
Owen Courreges
Police Chief Serpas has concocted a curious strategy for dealing with New Orleans’ intractable crime problem, particularly our sky-high homicide rate. It all comes down to managing expectations. Continue reading »
An entryway at the old LaSalle school. (photo courtesy of David J. L'Hoste, djlphoto.com)
In November, after months of negotiations with Orleans Parish School Board, developer Jim MacPhaille finally completed his purchase of the century-old LaSalle school on Perrier Street.
Later that month, MacPhaille met again with neighbors to the property, who have been enthusiastic about his latest plans to redevelop the building into a handful of spacious condos.
Then, sometime over the holidays, a crew of professional thieves showed up and stole what MacPhaille estimates as $100,000 worth of copper out of the building. Continue reading »
Allan Katz and Danae Columbus
With former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney taking a major step at the Iowa caucuses toward the Republican Presidential nomination, it’s only a matter of time until the national media begins the buzz speculating on the possibility of Romney picking Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal as his running mate. Continue reading »
The apartment complex at State and Tchoupitoulas, photographed in August. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
The effort to “Keep Tchoup Residential” (as the yard signs say) will get a public hearing next week, when one Uptown neighborhood group plans to ask for land-use rules that will prevent a large apartment complex from undergoing any sort of commercial transformation. Continue reading »
Neighbors react to a shooting in December in front of James Weldon Johnson Elementary School in the west Carrollton neighborhood. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)
Editor’s note: We had originally intended to do a listing of “most popular” posts on UptownMessenger.com in 2011, but in the process decided that a focus on the most important stories of the year in Uptown New Orleans would be more substantive. What follows is our assessment of the stories we’ve covered over the past year that continue to matter the most, with some commentary explaining our thinking. And, for anyone curious, those “most popular” posts are included at bottom as well. Thank you to everyone who read us in 2011, and we look forward to another year. Continue reading »
Owen Courreges
In a few places around the city, some citizen with a flair for the dramatic has pasted up posters featuring black-and-white photographs of traffic cameras emblazoned with the word “OPPRESSION.” Given the news that continues to come out about New Orleans’ “safety camera” program, these posters appear more accurate with each passing day. Continue reading »
The camera on Henry Clay Avenue at Coliseum issued 40,000 tickets this year, and the camera on Jackson Avenue at Chestnut issued 25,000 — both overlooking 25-mph zones “where drivers tend to think the speed limit is higher — often for good reason,” reports Gordon Russell of The Times-Picayune.
Since OccupyNOLA’s eviction from Duncan Plaza earlier this month, a small group of protesters have been camping on a lot near the Guste housing development in Central City. Nadra Enzi, also known as Capt Black, who has served as a liaison of sorts between protesters and police, alerted media Friday morning that the group has been served an eviction notice, and Gambit’s Charles Maldonado has confirmed with the city and NOPD that the lot is private property and the group will be ordered to move.
Update: The lot has been evicted, Maldonado reports.
The weekly internal leadership meetings of the NOPD Sixth District this week and next week have both been canceled because of special events during the holidays, officials said. Continue reading »
Jean-Paul Villere
As the 2011 calendar year winds down, New Orleans property owners’ thoughts turn toward their 2012 property taxes due by the end of January, because the city has mailed out its annual notice and reminder – just in time for the holidays! However, this is not a new phenomenon. It is effectively an annual ritual, like Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest, though clearly with less pageantry. And it applies to property owners only. Not renters. And not non-profits, which are another article for another time. Continue reading »
Owen Courreges
On Dec. 15, the City Council adopted a “Complete Streets” ordinance. At first blush, this ordinance appears entirely innocuous. It merely requires city agencies, most notably City Planning and the Department of Public Works, to create and adopt internal policies mandating that engineers consider curb ramps, bus stops, bike lanes and a variety of other traffic elements when resurfacing or rebuilding roads.
The overall goal is to create streets that are designed not just around private automobiles, but also pedestrian traffic, bicycles and wheelchairs — hence the notion of a “complete street.” Continue reading »