Student injured in shooting outside Booker T. Washington High School

 

On Tuesday (Jan 10) at about 3:30 p.m., NOPD Sixth District officers responded to a call of shots fired outside Booker T. Washington High School on South Roman Street. Upon arrival, officers found a 16-year-old boy, identified as a student at the school, in the 3200 block of Erato Street who had been shot in the leg. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Police said the teen was standing outside the when someone opened fire from a passing sport utility vehicle, striking the teen in the leg. Two other students were also transported for precautionary reasons for non-gunshot injuries sustained in this incident.

Merriment on Magazine kicks off the holiday season

The quirky collection of small businesses on Magazine Street provides an enjoyable, locally based opportunity to cross items off on your Christmas list. The Magazine Street Merchants Association is sweetening holiday shopping with “Merriment on Magazine” on Saturday (Dec. 3). The participating businesses will offer special treats and exclusive holiday offerings for Saturday only, from noon to 5 p.m.

Dating back to the early days of the expansion of the city beyond the original French Quarter, Magazine Street is a six-mile stretch of businesses, restaurants and bars with their own character. The day provides shopping specials beyond Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, notes Natalie Steuer, the director of the Casey Langteau Art Gallery, a  Merriment on Magazine particpant.

Police blotter: Another carjacking in the Riverbend; robbery in Hollygrove

A carjacking and a robbery were among the crimes reported in Uptown neighborhoods over the weekend. A 19-year-old male was attacked and had his car stolen Sunday afternoon (Sept. 25) in the 600 block South Carrollton Avenue, near St. Charles Avenue. A man asked the teen for money, then physically attacked him when he refused.

17-year-old found dead inside home in Leonidas area

A 17-year-old was fatally shot inside of a Leonidas home on Sunday (Sept. 25). Police rushed to the scene when they received a call at around 2:45 p.m that a teenage boy was shot in the 9000 block of Cohn Street. When officers arrived they found Cameron Thomas with a bullet wound and called for the Emergency Medical Service. Medical responders pronounced Thomas dead shortly after their arrival.

Life of civic activist Mary Zervigon to be celebrated Saturday

Uptown resident and long-time philanthropist Mary Keller Zervigon, who died Aug. 27 at 83, will be memorialized and celebrated Saturday (Sept. 10). Throughout her lifetime in New Orleans, Zervigon was dedicated to serving her community. When Zervigon was inducted into the Tocqueville Society in 2018, Danae Columbus interviewed the Carrollton area resident for Uptown Messenger.

Entrepreneur battles neighbors to open Daiquiri World restaurant

An old Church’s Chicken building on Louisiana Avenue has turned into a battleground for a neighborhood association and a fledgling entrepreneur who is renovating it into a full-service restaurant with alcohol sales. The Delachaise Neighborhood Association filed an appeal with the Board of Zoning Adjustments to stop work on the building two blocks from St. Charles Avenue. It alleges that the planned Daiquiri World will be a bar disguised as a restaurant and that the layout resembles a fast-food operation. The BZA staff recommended denying the appeal, stating that the plans show a standard restaurant. But the BZA board said those plans are incomplete and are not stamped by a licensed architect.

Affordable housing, child-care center proposed for blighted firehouse

A blighted firehouse on Louisiana Avenue could be transformed into affordable housing and an early childhood center, if plans submitted to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority are granted final approval. The proposal was presented Wednesday evening (July 27) at a public Zoom meeting to inform the community about ongoing plans for renovating and repurposing the disused firehouse at 2314 Louisiana Ave. 

Mid-July marked the close of NORA’s solicitation for the development proposal period, and the organizations Home by Hand and Alembic Community Development presented their joint plans for the site. Their proposal would see the old firehouse renovated to become an early childhood education center on the ground floor and seven affordable rental units on the two floors above. “One of the requirements of the program is that any development that arises from the [NORA-run] program must create either affordable housing units or economic development opportunities in the form of jobs,” said NORA project manager Kyle Gilmore. 

The city is leasing the property to NORA for a 99-year term; NORA will then sublease it to a development partner that administers the overall process of putting the building back into use. According to NORA, an award for the sub-lease will be granted Aug.

Police blotter: Three vehicles stolen Uptown in 12 hours, and one carjacking attempt thwarted

An armed burglary, a carjacking, a vehicle theft and an attempted carjacking were reported recently in Uptown neighborhoods. Three armed men stormed a Central City home early Wednesday (June 15) and drove off in a car belonging to one of the victims, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At about 3 a.m., the gunmen forced their way into a home in the 3000 block of Loyola Avenue and threatened the two residents, a 39-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man. They demanded the woman turn over her car keys, which she did. The fled in her vehicle, which was later recovered.

Sobriety checkpoints planned for Thursday night

The NOPD Traffic Division will conduct sobriety checkpoints in New Orleans on Thursday and Friday (June 9-10) and again on June 23 to 24. The checkpoints will operate at undisclosed locations from 9 p.m. on Thursday to 5 a.m. on Friday and from 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 23, to 5 a.m. on Friday, June 24. Motorists will experience minimal delays during these checkpoint operations, the NOPD said, and should have the proper documentation available if requested (i.e., proof of insurance, driver’s license, etc.).