crime

Bicyclist robbed at gunpoint on Prytania Street, police say

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A man riding his bicycle on Prytania Street was followed by an unknown vehicle and then robbed at gunpoint by its occupants shortly after midnight, New Orleans police said Wednesday morning. The victim, a man in his mid-20s, was riding near Prytania and Josephine streets in the Lower Garden District around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, April 4, when he realized he was being followed by a “dark colored sedan,” according to the initial NOPD report. “The victim stopped his bicycle and two unknown armed subjects exited the vehicle,” the report states. “The subjects demanded the victim’s property. The victim complied and the subjects fled.”

events

Audubon to present draft of park master plan at third public meeting

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A draft of the new master plan for Audubon Park based on feedback from residents will be presented Thursday night at the the third public meeting on the issue. The first two meetings were held in February and March, and comments largely concerned protection of open space in the park and transportation and parking issues. The comments from those meetings, as well as from online surveys and collected by in-person interviews of park users during the same time, have been compiled into a draft master plan, which will be presented for the first time at Thursday’s meeting. The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at Audubon Tea Room, 6500 Magazine Street. It is open to the public.

Suspect arrested in robbery of TJ Maxx on South Claiborne

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A man who filled a shopping cart with shoes at TJ Maxx on South Claiborne Avenue and then took it from the store while brandishing a handgun at employees who attempted to stop him was arrested the following day, New Orleans police said. Shortly before noon on Friday, a man walked into TJ Maxx at 2900 South Claiborne Avenue, filled a shopping cart with shoes, then left through the rear emergency exit, according to a NOPD report. When employees confronted him to pay for the items, the man drew a handgun and pointed it at them and continued out, the report states. Around 10 a.m. Sunday, officers with the NOPD Sixth District saw a man matching the robbery suspect’s description and tried to stop him, but he began running away, according to the reports. He threw a handgun away in the 2100 block of South Claiborne, but police closed down the streets around the block and were able to find him and the gun, the report states.

events

Mike Dillon, Motel Radio, Caesar Brothers’ Funk Box to headline Freret Street Festival on Saturday

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Mike Dillon, Motel Radio and the Caesar Brothers’ Funk Box will headline the three music stages at the Freret Street Festival on Saturday. The festival, now in its 21st year, will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. along the Freret commercial corridor from Napoleon Avenue to Valmont Street, starting with a second line by Mardi Gras Indians. Live music will play on three stages, and 150 regional vendors will sell art, jewelry, clothing and other items.

The festival will also feature 50 food vendors, with a “food court” serving beer at each corner this year. Freret Street businesses will also feature Festival specials during the day. In the Company Burger parking lot, Zeus’ Rescues will have pet adoptions featuring animals saved from Puerto Rico by Steve-O (from the JackAss movie and TV series) and sent to New Orleans.

public safety

Woman hit by SUV, killed on Louisiana Avenue, police say

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A woman walking near Louisiana Avenue was hit by an SUV and killed Monday evening, New Orleans police said. The victim, a 66-year-old woman, was walking on Clara Street around 6:15 p.m. Monday, April 2, when she stepped onto Louisiana Avenue and was hit by a brown SUV, according to police reports. She was taken to the hospital by ambulance, where she died from her injuries, the report states. The SUV driver, whose name has not been released, “was transported to the Traffic Unit for further investigation,” the report states. Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call the NOPD Traffic Fatality unit at 658-6208.

city government

Cherry Espresso wins initial approval to add restaurant service

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Cherry Espresso, the coffee shop in the former firehouse on Laurel Street at the edge of Wisner Park, won an initial thumbs-up this week from the City Planning Commission for its plan to add dinner service. Cherry owner Lauren Fink is seeking a conditional-use permit for a standard restaurant in the space at 4877 Laurel Street, in place of what is now technically considered a specialty restaurant. Fink’s tenure at Cherry won universal praise from neighbors who spoke before the City Planning Commission — even though not all were in favor of her request. “The Cherry Espresso owner has done a great job with the business that she’s built there,” said John Howell, who lives a few doors down on Laurel Street. Howell and one other neighbor, Robert Swan, said they opposed any intensification of the use of the space, however — not because of any concerns about Fink, per se, but because of what might follow if Cherry ever leaves the space.

crime

Woman took 15-year-old terrier from Lyons Street, then gave it away, police say

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A woman took a 15-year-old Yorkshire terrier from Lyons Street, then gave it away to a passer-by on Magazine Street, New Orleans police said. The dog, named “Sassy,” was reported stolen Friday, March 23, from the 800 block of Lyons Street, according to a NOPD news release:

Through the course of the investigation, Danielle Elise Druilhet, 33, was arrested for the incident after it was determined that she took the dog because she believed it was in distress. Druilhet took the dog back to her job, which is located in the 4500 block of Magazine Street. She then tied the dog up outside, called the SPCA and waited for someone to arrive. While waiting for a representative from SPCA, another unknown white female reportedly named Monica asked if she could have the dog.

schools

Noble Minds, new charter school, to move into former Lycee Francais space at Carrollton church

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The Noble Minds Institute of Whole Child Learning, a new charter school in the process of completing its first year, plans to move into the Central St. Matthew UCC church classroom building formerly occupied by Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans over the summer, officials said Tuesday night. Noble Minds opened this year serving children in grades K-2 on Herschel Drive in Algiers. Founded by educator Vera Triplett, the school’s five guiding principles, according to its website, are “whole child learning, learning by doing everyday, tight feedback loops, collaborative inquiry, and therapeutic versus punitive responses to challenging behavior.” “We are currently serving grades K-2 and will serve K-3 next year adding a grade every year until we are a full service K-8,” Triplett said in an email to Uptown Messenger.

business

Starbucks drive-through coffee shop planned for South Claiborne Avenue

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A Starbucks drive-through coffee shop is planned for the corner of South Claiborne and Washington avenues, across from the Magnolia Marketplace shopping center, according to plans pending before the City Planning Commission today. The Starbucks is planned for 2841 South Claiborne Avenue, as a standalone building at the far edge of a strip mall anchored by Citi Trends, Save A Lot grocery and Dollar General. A small portion of the strip mall that most recently housed a “Sports Action” retail store will be demolished to make room for the Starbucks, which will sit along the Washington Avenue where patrons can enter the drive-through, according to the site plan. “There would be pedestrian entrances facing both Claiborne Avenue and Washington Avenue, the drive-through would
be accessible through the existing parking lot, and could be entered either from Claiborne Avenue or Washington
Avenue,” architect Charles Neyrey told neighbors in a letter earlier this year. Construction is scheduled to begin in July of this year and take about three months, Neyrey said.

schools

Design period for new Cohen High School building could take a year, College Prep says

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The design process for the new Cohen High School is likely to take about a year, because the building will be a custom design rather than a template modeled off another school as previously expected, College Prep officials said Monday evening. Cohen has been awaiting the construction of its new campus since 2015, when the Recovery School District announced that it would not be combined with a new Booker T. Washington High School and instead given a new building on its current site. That project has recently gotten underway with a new round of conversations between Cohen and RSD officials, and College Prep officials said earlier this month they hoped construction could begin as soon as this year of a building modeled after the Livingston Collegiate Academy building in the lake area. Further preparations have revealed that the Collegiate Academy building’s footprint would not fit on the Cohen site, so Cohen’s building will be designed from scratch, College Prep’s new CEO Joel Castro told the board on Monday night. That design process typically takes about a year, but the delay may benefit the school by giving its community more opportunity for input on what they would like to see in the building, Castro said.