events

Neighborhood cleanup planned for Delachaise area

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The Delachaise Neighborhood Association, District B Councilwoman Lesli Harris’ office and the Department of Sanitation have organized a neighborhood cleanup day for Saturday, May 21. The association calls the event “a rare opportunity to clean up our neighborhood in one swoop.” Volunteers will meet at Samuels Square Park, 2100 Napoleon Ave., at 9 a.m.  From there, assignments will be provided and volunteers will break up into groups. The bags of trash will be brought back to Samuels Square Park, where city sanitation workers will pick them up. Garbage bags, gloves, T-shirts and refreshments will be provided. More volunteers are needed, even if it’s just for an hour.

land use & development

Demolitions create a tear in the fabric of a neighborhood, Faubourg Delachaise residents say

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Three rundown ranch-style buildings that the Historic District Landmarks Commission recently approved for demolition were classified by HDLC staff as “non-contributing,” a label given to buildings found to be “not historically or architecturally significant.”

To the Faubourg Delachaise neighbors who addressed the commission on Aug. 4, however, the one-story four-plexes at 900 Aline St., 901 Foucher St. and 909 Foucher contributed to the neighborhood in ways that may not be evident to a casual observer or HDLC commissioner. “I live right across the street from this property,” said Laurel Street resident Debby Pigman. “And although I will not be very distressed to see the buildings disappear, I am very distressed that a lot of my friends in the area were forced to move.”

The loss, she said, is not just personal — it’s a loss to the entire neighborhood.

land use & development

St. Charles Avenue apartment developers to add more trees and green space

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The corner of St. Charles and Louisiana is getting a little greener. 

On Wednesday (Aug. 17), the Historic District Landmark Commission’s Architectural Review Committee approved updated designs for the planned 115-unit residential and retail development at 3401 St. Charles. The new designs take into consideration the committee’s previous recommendation to add green space by incorporating more trees and two public courtyards along Louisiana Avenue. 

“We’re seeing this now as a great opportunity to not only increase the quantity and quality of public space, but to improve on the previous design,” said Ken Gowland of MetroStudio Architects in his presentation to the committee. 

This was the fourth meeting about 3401 St.

sports and recreation

NORD promises to reopen Saratoga Playspot, outlines improvements to historic Atkinson-Stern Tennis Center

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Calling Uptown’s Atkinson-Stern Tennis Center one of the city’s jewels, Larry Barabino Jr., CEO of the city’s recreation commission, said NORD is moving forward with its renovation plans for the historic tennis venue. Barabino told the City Council’s Community Development Committee last week that the renovations that began in late 2020 are expected to continue until at least the end of this year. That information session will be discussed tonight (Aug. 17) at the Delachaise Neighborhood Association meeting. Opening in 1897 as a private club, Atkinson-Stern is one of the nation’s oldest tennis centers.

land use & development

Apartment and retail complex planned for St. Charles and Louisiana

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The old Rite Aid property at 3401 St. Charles Ave., vacant since 2018, may gain new life. Developers plan to build a 115-unit apartment complex with 19,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. 

Neighborhood residents are abuzz about the planned development at St. Charles and Louisiana avenues, and reactions are split between excitement over the new development and concerns over its size. The development will have a five-story building facing Louisiana and a three-story townhouse behind it, facing Delachaise Street.

Krewe of House Floats

Yardi Gras Stories: Touro, Milan and Bouligny still love a parade (of house floats)

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It’s almost unimaginable to think of Uptown New Orleans without Mardi Gras parades in February. But with parades canceled due to COVID, residents have imagined a new tradition – creating wild and whimsical Yardi Gras house floats all over their neighborhoods. Yardi Gras, organized by the Krewe of House Floats, is a safe alternative to Mardi Gras parades in the coronavirus era. Instead of congregating in large groups to watch floats go by, people have decorated their own houses and turned the streets of New Orleans into a giant, stationary parade. 

In normal times, the residents of the Touro, Milan, Bouligny and Uptown areas enjoy their easy access to Carnival parades, as reflected in their subkrewe’s theme: “Celebrating Uptown Parades.” Notable house floats include a “catnival” filled with feline puns on the 2200 block of Marengo Street and “Chewy’s Guide to the COVID Galaxy” on the 4700 block of Camp Stre

et, where giant letters spell out the much-needed message “DON’T PANIC!” 

Residents are also working to help their neighbors in need and support the artists and musicians who make Mardi Gras possible.

schools

Ruling on parking paves the way for Cohen high school construction

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The Board of Zoning Adjustments on Monday approved a long-debated parking plan for a rebuilt Walter L. Cohen College Prep high school campus. The campus will have more parking spots than the School Board originally proposed, but the plan falls short of the amount lobbied for by the school’s neighbors in the Delachaise area. The high school operated by the New Orleans College Prep charter school network is set to redeveloped into a 103,000-square-foot three-story building with 35 classrooms that could accommodate about 600 students and 75 faculty and staff members. The school currently on the site will be demolished. Such a campus, according to the city’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, needs 145 off-street parking spaces.

city government

Delachaise Security District expected to begin patrols in February

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By Sue Strachan, Uptown Messenger

The Delachaise neighborhood is getting closer to becoming a security district. Organizers are pushing for active patrols by the second weekend of Carnival parades. At the Delachaise Neighborhood Association meeting Tuesday (Jan. 21), board member Remy Richard said the association was awaiting the release of funds from the city before he sent out a prospectus to security companies to patrol the neighborhood bounded by Carondelet and South Saratoga streets, and Louisiana Avenue and Marengo Street. It will also include Palm Terrace, between St.

blight and demolition

Delachaise residents grapple with blight, Cohen High parking and parade Port-o-lets

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By Sue Strachan, Uptown Messenger

With the Uptown Carnival parades three weeks away, the new ordinances governing parades was one of the central topics at the monthly Delachaise Neighborhood Association meeting, Tuesday (Jan. 21) at Martin Wine Cellar. Other items on the agenda included updates on a new security district, Cohen High School demolition and parking, and blight. Milan resident Helene Barnett gave an update on the demolition and rebuilding of Walter L. Cohen College Prep High School, 3520 Dryades St. The demolition is scheduled for February, but the parking variance was still a major consideration: Cohen originally had 25 parking spots.

city government

Faubourg Delachaise holds informational meeting on crime cameras

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The Faubourg Delachaise Neighborhood Association is hosting an informational meeting tonight (Wednesday, May 28) about anti-crime cameras, and may pursue a grant from City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell’s office to help install them throughout the neighborhood. For details about the meeting, see the email from organizers below:

Crime Camera Informational Meeting
Wednesday, May 28, 6:00pm
Global Maritime Ministries
3635 Tchoupitoulas Street

There has been an uptick in crime in our area: daytime burglary, theft of items on and inside cars, shootings and stabbings, etc. Crime cameras are a proven deterrent and crime fighting tool. Come learn about surveillance systems, cameras, how they can help the NOPD catch criminals and keep you safe. Also learn about the crime camera grants available through the District B City Council’s office and Harrah’s.