business

Leidenheimer at odds with Central City neighbors over proposed bakery expansion

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By Emily Carmichael, Uptown Messenger

Iconic baguette producer Leidenheimer Baking Co. wants to expand its factory, but some of its Central City neighbors are pushing back. Leidenheimer, one of the city’s premier providers of po-boy loaves, wants to add 23,436 square feet to its factory at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Simon Bolivar Avenue, doubling its size. The renovations are designed to modernize its space and increase its production capacity. Public feedback in response to these plans has revealed neighborhood complaints of disruptive after-hours deliveries, noise pollution, air pollution, litter, emission of black soot that stains neighboring buildings, and traffic and parking difficulties.

arts, books and music

Pop-up library open in Central City

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Central City Library’s temporary pop-up is now open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at the site of our new location at 2020 Jackson Ave. The pop-up offers WiFi access and iPads, children’s crafts and toys, storytimes on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and library materials available for checkout. During the closure and before the new Central City Library opens, books on hold that are usually picked up at Central City Library may be sent to any of the other 14 library locations. You may request to have them sent to another branch by logging into your library account online or by calling any library location. The new location on Jackson Avenue will feature increased days and hours of operation, dedicated areas for children and teens, more public computers, more than 2,500 more materials in the collection, outdoor space for programs and events, and two on-site parking lots

For more information about the move to the Allie Mae Williams Multi Service Center, click here.

business

Molly’s Rise and Shine won’t be serving mimosas anytime soon

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By Katherine Hart, Uptown Messenger

Molly’s Rise and Shine, the quirky Magazine Street breakfast spot run by one of the city’s rising culinary stars, appeared Thursday to be on its way to adding bloody Marys to its menu. It had the backing of the City Planning Commission as well as a crowd of enthusiastic supporters, who packed the Council Chambers for a hearing and City Council vote. In the end, however, the attempt failed. Council members voted to deny the building at First Street and Magazine commercial zoning and a conditional use that would allow the owners to apply for a permit to sell alcohol. “With these zoning issues, we put in an inordinate amount of time trying to work things out,” said District B Councilman Jay Banks, holding a thick stack of comment cards before the hearing.

city government

Mayor touts affordable housing amendment, pushes homeownership at District B meeting

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By Jesse Baum, Uptown Messenger

Mayor Latoya Cantrell told a meeting on affordable housing Wednesday that she wants to push New Orleans to 65 percent homeownership, well above the current percentage of around 46 percent. Cantrell made an Uptown stop on her affordable housing tour at the Ashe Powerhouse Theater. The affordable housing tour has been a way for the Cantrell administration to go into different communities around the city and explain different affordability programs that are already in place. Residents in the area surrounding the Ashe Powerhouse Theater are predominantly renters, and Cantrell said she wants more homeownership to allow residents to build equity and pass that value to their children. This is especially important in New Orleans, Cantrell said, where burgeoning rent prices have pushed long-time residents out of their neighborhoods, and black renters are disproportionately likely to be cost-burdened — paying over 30 percent of their household income to housing costs.

arts, books and music

Central City Library begins transition to new location with pop-up services

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Library services within the Mahalia Jackson Learning Center end today, Sept. 26, in preparation for a move to the a new larger location in the Allie Mae Williams Multi Service Center at 2020 Jackson Ave. Until the new location opens this fall, there will be three-day-a-week library service outside of the new location beginning Monday, Oct. 7. The pop-up library will be open Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pop-up library services will include books and other materials for checkout, children’s crafts and toys, weekly storytimes every Saturday at 10:30 a.m., and free WiFi access.

business

Owner seeks commercial zoning for property in Lower Garden District

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By Emily Carmichael, Uptown Messenger

The owner of a Lower Garden District property, long used for offices, is seeking to rezone the building from residential to commercial. RCI Hospitality Holdings, a Houston-based publicly traded adult entertainment company, purchased 1428 Terpsichore St. in April. It is seeking to rezone its newly acquired property as commercial, claiming it was mistakenly categorized as residential during the city’s zone restructuring in 2015. During a Neighborhood Participation Project meeting on the change Thursday, Sept.

city government

Community meeting planned for tennis club in Dixon neighborhood behind Costco

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A community meeting is planned for the proposed tennis club at Palmetto and Monroe streets in the Dixon neighborhood. The tennis center is the dream of Kevin Chaouat, a former Xavier University tennis player and now coach at Xavier. Chaouat has said he wants to create a tennis center that is a place for play, from beginner to professional, and for instruction at all levels. The business plans include accessibility to the facility for community members, particularly children. The meeting will be held Monday, Sept.

city government

City board rejects attempt to grandfather in short-term rental licenses

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A Lower Garden District property owner’s appeal to regain his short-term rental licenses was spurned by the Board of Zoning Adjustments this week, giving an indication of the city’s stand on grandfathering in short-term rentals. Christian Galvin received four temporary STR licenses in 2017 for a fourplex he owns at 919 Jackson Ave. When he applied for renewal in May, the Department of Safety and Permits rejected the application. In 2018, the City Council passed an interim zoning district, or IZD, that prohibits renewing the temporary STR licenses in most of the city, including those areas with historic urban residential zoning, like the Jackson Avenue building. Galvin, an active STR proponent, objected to the decision and took his case to Civil District Court, claiming the city unlawfully denied him a legal nonconforming use.

city government

Central City Library moving to larger location

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Central City Library is moving to a new, larger location this fall: the Allie Mae Williams Multi-Service Center at 2020 Jackson Ave., the New Orleans Public Library announced. Library services within the Mahalia Jackson Learning Center will end Thursday, Sept. 26. From Sept. 26 until the new location opens, there will be three-day-a-week library service outside of the new location.

city government

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 to close temporarily for repairs beginning Monday

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On Monday, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the Garden District is scheduled to close temporarily for maintenance and repairs conducted by the Department of Property Management, the Mayor’s Office announced. During the closure, neither the public nor commercial tours will be permitted in the cemetery. Tomb owners may continue to access their family plot and make funeral arrangements by calling Property Management at 504-658-3781 to set up an appointment. Some of planned work includes thorough cleanup of debris; trimming of grass, overgrowth from street trees; removal of magnolia trees; repair of water line; removal and repaving of walking paths; structural repair of brick wall on the Coliseum Street side; repairs of abandoned tombs; and drainage improvements.